Qin Jiran's statement on the official website initially stirred reactions within the fan circle, but soon discussions grew louder and the influence spread from the fan community to major websites, forums, and across various media platforms.
By noon, numerous media outlets were broadcasting the news of Qin Jiran's confession, and although their tones were not fully affirmative, they speculated that the confession was indeed made by him, which drew even more attention. Suddenly, topics related to Qin Jiran were everywhere, and all the celebrities who had been rumored to have a relationship with him in the past were dug up and reviewed as people speculated about who Qin Jiran's true love might be.
[Discussing who Best Actor Qin's true love is—commenting on the top ten most popular actresses in the entertainment industry!]
[Who best matches Best Actor Qin, let's guess!]
[Best Actor Qin, don't have a true love; you belong to everyone, you definitely can't belong to just one person!]
Qin Jiran watched the various topics concerning him on TV and online, his expression changing over and over, but in the end, he did nothing.
He did want to admit that the one he liked was Su Yanyi, but he absolutely couldn't say it. Even if he didn't care, he didn't want to subject Su Yanyi to public speculation, so the best course of action for now was to remain silent—not to affirm, but definitely not to deny.
In reality, Qin Jiran's inaction was a way of dealing with the situation and it was quite provocative. There was no need for much concern. For many stars in the entertainment industry, as long as it was not a scandal, even a bit of extra romance rumors didn't matter and might even add to their appeal.
But clearly, some people were not satisfied with Qin Jiran, like his agent, Tao Yuke.
When Tao Yuke entered President Su's office, part of him was regretting his decision, not because he felt he shouldn't be there to complain, but because he was somewhat afraid of Su Yanyi's cold aura.
"President Su, you are aware of the situation with Qin Jiran, aren't you?" Tao Yuke asked cautiously, with a sycophantic smile on his face.
"Mhm." Su Yanyi responded with a hum, but internally she was feeling displeased with Tao Yuke, finding the man's smile annoying. Would Qin Jiran find it uncomfortable too? Maybe she should consider getting Qin Jiran a new agent?
"Well, Qin Jiran took the liberty to stir up rumors, and now that there's trouble, he won't let me help handle it. The impact is not looking good, and many fans have started protesting. He doesn't listen to me, so maybe you could talk to him? Although he's now Best Actor, he still has to tread carefully in this industry, and some actions are just improper. I'm saying this for his own good, but he seems ungrateful. I offered advice, and he threatened to change agents, which is really disheartening."
Tao Yuke was an agent well-known in the industry for being resourceful and well-connected, albeit a bit petty. He had, however, taken Qin Jiran from a newcomer to Best Actor, which made him even more arrogant and self-satisfied, or else he wouldn't have dared come to complain to President Su.
President Su listened with an expressionless face, but as she listened, she scolded herself, what kind of agent had she found for Qin Jiran? Was she blind?
"It is rather disheartening," Su Yanyi replied coldly, the meaning behind her words known only to herself.
However, Tao Yuke mistakenly took it as a sign President Su was on his side, since he had no idea about the relationship between President Su and Qin Jiran. Otherwise, he would have never boldly complained about Qin Jiran.
"You always understand the situation, President Su. You must talk to him for me. It's truly difficult to manage an artist who doesn't listen. I..." Tao Yuke's intention was to use President Su's influence to pressure Qin Jiran into obedience, but before he could finish, President Su interrupted him.
"If that's the case, then there's no need to bring him along. I'll arrange a new agent for Qin Jiran. As for you, we'll see."
"Ah? That's not what I meant, I mean..." Tao Yuke was somewhat taken aback, hurriedly explaining, but he was unceremoniously interrupted by Su Yanyi again.
"That is what I mean, you may leave now." At this moment, Su Yanyi had already begun considering how to deal with this Tao Yuke. She didn't believe that just changing the agent would solve everything. Since he dared to complain in front of her, there was a definite possibility that he might do something else unfavorable. Having promised to protect Qin Jiran, she naturally didn't want any undesirable trouble to find him.
Tao Yuke walked out of the office trembling, and right after that, Su Yanyi instructed Kang Zhong on a few things.
Qin Jiran knew about the change of his agent and was quite surprised, and even more surprising was that his new agent turned out to be Su Yanyi's assistant, Kang Zhong.
When Qin Jiran arrived at the company, Kang Zhong was already waiting for him.
"Mr. Qin, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future." Since Kang Zhong was capable of being Su Yanyi's assistant, there was absolutely no problem for him to manage Qin Jiran. However, this was clearly a case of underutilization, which made Qin Jiran somewhat uncertain.
"Assistant Kang, is this arrangement really what President Su said?" Having her assistant act as his agent, what did it mean?
"Yes, but I am still President Su's assistant. If there's any conflict in my work, I hope you can understand." Kang Zhong's job was already busy enough, and even now, becoming Qin Jiran's agent, he couldn't possibly be with Qin Jiran around the clock.
However, Su Yanyi understood this, so she assigned two more assistants to Qin Jiran and gave him priority access to the company's resources. There was consequently less for Kang Zhong, as the agent, to do.
After understanding Su Yanyi's intentions, Qin Jiran couldn't quite articulate how he felt.
Ever since he agreed to marry Su Yanyi, the company's resources had never stopped flowing his way. The various forms of support he received made many people envious, but even so, Kang Zhong's current announcement was too excessive.
"Did President Su really say that the company's resources would all be preferentially provided to me from now on?"
"Yes." Kang Zhong nodded very firmly.
"Why?" He didn't believe that Su Yanyi was doing this just for the sake of their deal, especially since they were almost on the verge of divorce.
"You should ask President Su about that," Kang Zhong replied. He was actually curious as well. Had Su Yanyi really fallen for Qin Jiran to the point of recklessness out of love?
But thinking this, Kang Zhong quickly dismissed the idea. Su Yanyi, with her cold face and indifferent tone when making that decision, did not seem to be driven by any emotional considerations.
...