OSM Chapter 15: “Can you… help me?”

While preparing for the wrap party, the staff had bought a variety of drinks and a massive cake.

He Zhiqiu had spent half the day helping carry things around, so cracking open a drink wasn’t unreasonable.

Carbonated beverages, of course, don’t take well to shaking; mishandle one, and it’ll spray everywhere.

Apologizing sincerely, He Zhiqiu quickly grabbed tissues to help the young actor clean up and even offered to wash his clothes. The attention in the room shifted from Li Yuze’s Weibo to the two of them.

Initially, the young actor wasn’t ready to let it go, but considering his career was on the rise, coming off as aggressive might hurt his image.

In the end, he could only glare at He Zhiqiu and warn him to be more careful in the future.

He Zhiqiu apologized again with a bow, which thoroughly satisfied the vanity of the relatively new star.

And thus, the issue was smoothed over.

Tang Song, who had rushed over earlier to stand beside He Zhiqiu, waited until the young actor walked away before pulling a face that screamed, “Come at me if you dare—see if I care!”

He had long disliked this guy. Every time he and He Zhiqiu chatted about idols, that person would find an excuse to throw in some snide remarks. Not only was he incompetent, but he also didn’t work hard, spending his time sulking and stirring up trouble.

“Sharing the same company with him is a stain on my reputation!” Tang Song growled, shaking a fist at the retreating back before turning to He Zhiqiu. “Some people just refuse to admit when others are better. Li Yuze’s acting skills and looks? Even eight lifetimes wouldn’t be enough for him to catch up! Waiting for him to flop? Ha! No way. If Li Yuze ever fades into obscurity, it’ll be the end of the world first!”

If you want to truly provoke a fan, the best way is to insult their idol right in front of them.

Tang Song had had enough. He even thought the splash of soda He Zhiqiu accidentally sprayed on the guy’s neck was too mild. If it were up to him, he’d grab a bottle of water and dump the whole thing over his head.

He Zhiqiu quickly stopped him. “Let it go. Just avoid interacting with him in the future.”

Tang Song huffed. “Same company, same projects—interaction’s unavoidable. But if he dares to run his mouth in front of me again, I swear I’ll dig up his family’s ancestral grave with a shovel!”

In the two months they’d known each other, He Zhiqiu and Tang Song had grown close. Tang Song even considered himself He Zhiqiu’s first friend in the industry.

To be fair, that was true.

Frowning, he added, “You’re way too soft sometimes, like a lump of dough. Why’d you apologize just now? You let him walk off with his nose in the air!”

“It was my fault. I had to apologize,” He Zhiqiu said.

“How was it your fault? You didn’t do it on purpose!”

He Zhiqiu’s eyes curved in a smile. “Still, it was my mistake.”

Tang Song, finding him incorrigible, pulled out his phone and opened Weibo.

Li Yuze’s trending topic hadn’t budged from the top spots. Regaining his composure, Tang Song analyzed, “With Li Yuze’s acting skills and popularity, unless he self-destructs, he’ll stay at the top. Just one look is enough to win countless fans, and combined with his exceptional acting? There’s no way he won’t stay famous.”

At that moment, Zhou Shan joined them, nodding in agreement. “And his current popularity is despite people knowing he’s married. If he ever announced being single again, he’d probably attract even more fans!”

Tang Song shook his head. “Not necessarily.”

“Why not?”

“People like him now because of his strength and honesty. If he announced being single or it came out that he was never married, it’d be seen as a lie—a betrayal even. That’s a whole different story.”

Zhou Shan said, “Why do you still think he’s not married? Didn’t I tell you last time…”

“But there’s no concrete proof,” Tang Song countered. “As a fan, I worry. If it turns out he’s not really married and this gets exposed, it’ll be a major blow to his reputation.”

“Why?” He Zhiqiu, who had been silently listening, finally spoke up.

Tang Song, though new to the acting world, was a seasoned fan. He turned the question back on He Zhiqiu. “Do you know why people are fine with celebrities who openly announce their marriages but despise those who hide theirs?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s about trust!” Tang Song explained. “For many fans, idols are a source of emotional support. They invest genuine feelings into their fandom. Who wants their idol to lie to them? Li Yuze didn’t hide his marriage. He openly admitted it, earning everyone’s respect for his courage and integrity. But what if it’s not true? What if he’s been lying for six or seven years? And it’s not even a harmless lie!” Tang Song glanced at He Zhiqiu and Zhou Shan. “If it turned out to be a scam, how do you think people would react?”

“Well, if the focus is on the lying… yeah, it could hurt his image,” Zhou Shan admitted, nodding toward He Zhiqiu.

He Zhiqiu, who had been listening intently, suddenly looked worried. “Then, if—just if…”

“If he’s not really married, how could he keep the media from finding out?”

“Keep a low profile, and don’t appear too much in public,” Tang Song said. “Just like before—maintain that level of exposure.” As he spoke, he quickly saved the selfie that Li Yuze had posted, then sighed wistfully. “But this time, it’s probably just to help a friend with some promotion. If we’re waiting for him to hit the trending topics like this again, who knows how many years it’ll take.”

Everyone thought this was just a fluke, assuming Li Yuze had some personal connection with Director Sun and had simply helped out by posting some promotional content.

But just two days later, Li Yuze unexpectedly posted another Weibo update.

This time, it wasn’t promoting anyone. Instead, it was an ordinary post about daily life, accompanied by a photo. The image, taken from behind, seemed to show him in a kitchen.

When fans saw the post, they were momentarily stunned. Once they processed what they were seeing, they couldn’t help but flood the comments in disbelief.

“I must be dreaming, right? Someone pinch me! I can’t believe I’m seeing Li Yuze post about his daily life in my lifetime!”

“Oh my gosh, look at that beautiful kitchen! Wait, does Ge know how to cook?!”

“Cooking should be normal, right? Don’t forget, Ah Ze is married! Ohhh, this picture only shows Ah Ze’s back. So, who was the one who took this picture?”

“Do we even need to guess? Everyone knows who it is!”

“Is ge finally going to introduce that someone to us?!”

“Isn’t the kitchen too clean? Did anyone even cook in there? This feels staged.”

“Ughhh, I’ve quietly shipped them for so long. Please, Li Yuze, throw us some sugar now and then! Just a crumb of this domestic bliss!”

“Agreed, but it still looks staged to me.”

Once again, Li Yuze found himself trending on Weibo, thanks to the uproar caused by the post.

Given that the post revealed something about his private life, fans naturally reignited the debate about whether or not he was actually married.

Some people argued that he had no reason to keep such a thing a secret. After all, publicly announcing a marriage was unlikely to benefit a celebrity’s career—especially considering that he had disclosed it right when he debuted.

Others believed that with his level of fame and influence, there was no way he could have kept such a marriage completely under wraps. Even if he wanted to protect his partner from harassment, it was hard to imagine not even a single rumor leaking.

And then there were those who didn’t care one way or the other, content to sit back and munch on melon seeds, just enjoying the drama.

As the discussions heated up, the media began to stir again. The fact that Li Yuze had started attending various events and granting interviews after such a long period of silence only added fuel to the fire. For nearly a month, his name dominated the trending topics.

Meanwhile, He Zhiqiu had finished filming his company’s web drama and hadn’t taken on any new projects.

Xu Sui had selected a few scripts for him to consider and encouraged him to prepare thoroughly for the auditions. Every day, He Zhiqiu would attend acting classes at the company, like clockwork.

When He Zhiqiu found out that Li Yuze wasn’t actually married, he asked Gao Kui for his number and sent him a text message.

Over the next few weeks, the two occasionally kept in touch, but there wasn’t much to talk about.

On one hand, both of them were busy with work.

 On the other hand, they’d been apart for so long that they struggled to find common ground.

Even though He Zhiqiu was now part of the entertainment industry, the gap between him and Li Yuze was still immense.

There was something, though, that He Zhiqiu wanted to bring up with Li Yuze when the opportunity arose.

After an acting class, Xu Sui came in, walked around the classroom, and saw He Zhiqiu alone, going over a script. Pulling up a chair to sit beside him, Xu Sui asked, “How’s the preparation coming along?”

“It’s going okay,” He Zhiqiu replied, standing up.

Xu Sui nodded in approval. He had seen the promotional footage for the web drama and was generally pleased with He Zhiqiu’s performance. He appreciated young people who worked hard and persevered. Combined with He Zhiqiu’s natural talent, the progress he’d made in just a few months was clear.

Initially, Xu Sui had considered assigning someone else to mentor He Zhiqiu. But after some thought, he decided to keep him under his own guidance—better safe than sorry. Talented seedlings needed proper care.

“I’ll give you the day off tomorrow. Take some time to rest,” Xu Sui said.

“But the audition is next week,” He Zhiqiu replied. “I’d like to keep studying the role.”

“Resting doesn’t mean you can’t study,” Xu Sui said. “Besides, the audition might be delayed. There’s been some trouble with the production.”

“Trouble?” He Zhiqiu asked, puzzled. He didn’t usually follow entertainment news unless it involved Li Yuze.

Xu Sui pulled out his phone to show him a news article. Lighting a cigarette, he explained, “The male lead caused a major uproar. They’ll probably have to replace him.”

“Replace him?” He Zhiqiu was confused.

The lead role for the production he was auditioning for had been given to Wei Sheng, an actor well-regarded in the industry. Known for his stellar acting and good reputation, Wei Sheng was someone widely admired. What could he have possibly done to spark such backlash?

Looking closely at the article, He Zhiqiu blinked and asked, “Faked… his academic credentials?”

“Yeah.” Xu Sui flicked some ash from his cigarette and said, “Honestly, it’s not a big deal. There are plenty of celebrities in this industry who fake their academic credentials.”

“Then why did he spark so much public outrage?” He Zhiqiu asked.

Xu Sui replied, “Because he’s been using his so-called high education to his advantage for years, constantly crafting this image of being intellectually superior. Combine that with his considerable popularity, and this movie he’s working on would’ve taken his career to the next level. As far as I know, someone got jealous and was waiting to exploit his weak spot. They were just waiting for his movie to be announced before using the academic fraud issue to bring him down.”

He then pointed to the trending topics. Sure enough, Li Yuze’s name had been replaced by Wei Sheng’s. “Looks like they succeeded.”

He Zhiqiu wasn’t interested in the scheming within the industry. He skimmed through the public’s comments about the situation. Most were dripping with sarcasm and filled with condemnation for the deception. People seemed fine with him being a skilled actor who only graduated from high school, but they couldn’t stomach the idea of him lying to pose as an intellectual.

Everyone had different levels of tolerance for such lies. Some thought it was harmless, while others found it completely unacceptable.

The fan wars raged on social media. Meanwhile, Wei Sheng’s reputation plummeted, losing hundreds of thousands of followers overnight.

Naturally, He Zhiqiu thought of Li Yuze.

As he was about to call him, Li Yuze reached out first.

The next day, they met at a private tea house.

Li Yuze… didn’t look great.

“Have you been busy lately?” He Zhiqiu asked, sipping his tea from across the table.

Li Yuze, looking weary, leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Forcing a smile, he asked, “What about you? Been busy? Taken on any new roles?”

“Not yet,” He Zhiqiu said. “I’ve been attending acting classes. I’ll be auditioning for a few roles next week.”

Li Yuze nodded. “If there’s anything you’re unsure about, feel free to ask me.”

“Alright.” After a moment, He Zhiqiu asked, “What about you? You seem exhausted. Is something going on?”

They spoke like old friends, steering clear of past emotions.

Li Yuze hesitated, then finally said, “Have you seen the recent news?”

“Wei Sheng?”

“Yeah.”

He Zhiqiu fell silent, understanding what Li Yuze was hinting at.

Sure enough, Li Yuze said, “What do you think would happen if people found out I’m not actually married?”

He Zhiqiu tried to be optimistic. “It probably wouldn’t blow up like this. The situations aren’t the same. Yours didn’t cause…”

“But it’s the same at its core.” Li Yuze interrupted, his dark eyes catching a faint glint under the dim light before it disappeared.

He was right.

Regardless of the reasons, both situations boiled down to lying.

If someone latched onto that fact, it would undoubtedly affect Li Yuze’s career.

“And with all the attention I’ve been getting recently, people are already annoyed with me.”

“So what do you plan to do? If it really becomes an issue, can your company help?” He Zhiqiu asked.

“They can’t,” Li Yuze said. “No amount of PR can erase the fact that I lied to the public.”

“Then…”

“If only the lie could become the truth.” Li Yuze’s voice dropped to a murmur, the teacup in his hand slowing as he turned it.

Suddenly, with a light tap, his finger struck the lid of the cup. He lifted his gaze to He Zhiqiu.

He Zhiqiu found his stare a bit unsettling. “What’s wrong?”

“I just thought of a solution,” Li Yuze said.

“Can you… help me?”