OSM Chapter 38: “Is this what you mean by ‘leading the conversation’?”

Translator: Abo Dammen

Li Yuze said he didn’t know. He then asked He Zhiqiu where he had seen this term.

He Zhiqiu said on the production team’s Weibo, and casually mentioned the matter to him as well.

Li Yuze, after hearing that, was unfazed and kindly reminded He Zhiqiu that it would be best to stay away from the world of fans.

After all, no matter who you interact with, you need to give each other some distance and space in order to maintain a good relationship.

The same applies between fans and idols. Although closely connected, it’s best to remain unrelated.

He Zhiqiu, looking at how Li Yuze continuously fed him “workplace advice,” imagined his serious expression at that moment.

He couldn’t help but feel playful and smilingly asked, “Does that mean we should keep our distance too?”

Li Yuze said, “Of course.”

Two seconds later, he retracted those two words.

When it came to fan interactions, He Zhiqiu might still need to learn for a while.

However, when it came to interacting with Li Yuze, it seemed like he had regained some of the feelings from the past.

After a short break, He Zhiqiu and Zhou Pu had to get busy again. They had a full day of filming together, and during a brief break, He Zhiqiu took a moment to check some gossip.

He Zhiqiu stood up from the shade of a tree, adjusted his costume, and placed the small fan Zhou Pu had returned next to his water bottle. Just as he was about to place his phone there as well, he heard a notification from a private message on Weibo.

He clicked on it, but it wasn’t anything important. Tang Song had recently taken on an advertisement, and it seemed the company had sent a promotional message to his followers using his account.

He Zhiqiu didn’t respond and suddenly remembered what Li Yuze had said about fan etiquette. So, he opened his fan list to take a look at the people following him, curious about what they were like.

Of course, this “look” only meant checking their profile pictures and IDs. He Zhiqiu had over 100,000 fans now. If he clicked on each profile to get to know them individually, it would take a long time.

The fans on the first few pages had only just followed him, and since he hadn’t posted any Weibo updates this week, he didn’t have any impressions of these IDs.

Zhou Pu noticed that he hadn’t moved yet and called out to him a couple of times.

He Zhiqiu hurriedly responded, “I’m coming,” and just before putting his phone down, he saw a name that seemed familiar.

@ImNotPetty.

Wasn’t that… the top comment on the production team’s Weibo just now?

She’s one of his fans?

He Zhiqiu didn’t have time to think much more about it and rushed to work.

Two days later, Wu Lei still hadn’t entered the set. The director didn’t seem to be in a hurry. If Wu Lei didn’t come, they would shoot He Zhiqiu’s scenes. Some unnecessary scenes with a partner were filmed with He Zhiqiu acting against the air. As long as the editing was done well, there was no need for Wu Lei to actually be present.

Zhou Pu said that Wu Lei’s situation was a bit awkward.

Even if he wanted to join the set now, he would probably have to wait a while.

He Zhiqiu asked, “Why?”

Zhou Pu pulled out his phone and showed him the trending news.

The entertainment news had been buzzing again lately, with Wu Lei’s situation at the forefront, even pushing Li Yuze’s daily outfit posts off the trending list.

Most of the news was about his romance and rumors of being kept by a rich woman. The drama had also gained attention because of his name, even before it aired, with several trending searches linking the show to his scandal.

He Zhiqiu thought they might change the male lead this time, but Zhou Pu said they wouldn’t.

Revealing a relationship wasn’t considered negative news, and there was no concrete evidence about being kept by a rich woman. Even if these things were true, only Wu Lei and his team would be dealing with the fallout.

The investors were actually happy to see this kind of situation. As long as Wu Lei didn’t commit any serious crimes or have a major social impact, they could ride his coattails for free. Why not?

But if he wanted to join the set, he had to explain the situation clearly. After all, the hype was already there. Being kept by a rich woman didn’t have proof, but dating a female star was almost confirmed. Plus, he had just taken on a role in a drama adapted from a gay-themed novel.

Naturally, the original fans weren’t pleased.

After all, he was a straight man with a girlfriend—how would they ship this CP now?

So, many fans’ opinions had shifted dramatically as the situation developed.

It was pretty much the same as what that “petty” girl had said.

The drama could still be filmed, and the script didn’t need to be changed.

As long as, after filming, the two male leads didn’t show up together to profit off the original CP, they would be grateful.

And their tone was very unified, with a sense of reluctant acceptance.

These incidents had caused quite a stir.

The hardest part must have been for Wu Lei, who still hadn’t joined the set.

There was the rich woman, then the girlfriend pursuing him, and a crowd of netizens stirring the pot.

Not even half a day later, Wu Lei’s team was finally forced to clarify. Zhou Pu said that they only had three options: 1. Admit to being kept, 2. Admit to dating, or 3. Keep quiet and forget about the drama.

He would never quit the drama. Wu Lei needed a project to establish his career. He wouldn’t give up his acting career over something like this.

So, after weighing it all, coming out about the relationship was the least damaging choice. At most, he would lose a few female fans, but he’d gain them back later.

The production team also came out at this time to ride the wave of attention. They assured the original fans of the show that since the two male leads’ romance was cut from the script, they wouldn’t promote them together in future publicity. After all, Wu Lei had a girlfriend now, and they had their bottom line.

This whole issue caused a huge stir for over a month before it finally settled.

As an outsider, He Zhiqiu just watched the drama unfold. He finished work early that day and, while changing into his costume, took a selfie in a white shirt with a stand-up collar and his hair tied up. He posted it to Weibo.

His selfie skills had improved a lot. Though it was still a straightforward shot with his face centered, at least some of the background was visible now.

Compared to the constant chaos over on Wu Lei’s side, He Zhiqiu’s Weibo comments were much more harmonious. Though there were still some radical fans of the original story criticizing him, most of the attention was on his photo.

Some fan IDs were very familiar to him. Every time he posted, they were among the first to comment. He still chatted with them when he wasn’t busy but couldn’t reply to every comment, as it was simply impossible.

Less than five minutes after posting the photo, over 300 comments had appeared. He Zhiqiu quickly skimmed through them. Most were compliments about the photo, with a few concerned about his health, advising him to be careful about sun exposure during the hot weather.

Only one comment stood out as unusual.

He Zhiqiu stared at the comment.

@ImNotPetty: “QiuQiu looks great! Your selfie skills are getting better! I really want to know what that thing around your neck is! It’s been in the frame several times!”

His neck?

He Zhiqiu blinked and immediately placed a hand on his collar. Since it was so hot, he had undone two buttons of his stand-up collar, and during the photo, his brown braided necklace was visible.

But what exactly it was, no one knew. He had taken several selfies before, and this necklace had appeared in two or three shots.

But no one had pointed it out before, so no one had noticed.

Now that she mentioned it, many fans also shifted their attention and began speculating about what he was wearing.

When He Zhiqiu changed clothes and checked the comments again, the “petty” girl had made it to the top comments once more.

She was still interacting with others in the comments. A simple sentence taken on its own might not seem like much, but when taken in context, it seemed very suggestive.

She implied that this necklace was something special, leading others to believe that it was indeed something extraordinary since it appeared so often in He Zhiqiu’s selfies.

He Zhiqiu looked at it for a while and then forwarded the comment to Li Yuze, asking, “Is this what you mean by ‘leading the conversation’?”

Ten minutes later.

Li Yuze replied: I don’t understand either.