The Chief's Wife

Xie Ran did not find it troubling. "They're just petty tricks that can't be brought into the open. Ignore them."

Seeing how calm and composed Xie Ran was, Guan Shunan relaxed a little and reminded him, "Xiao Ran, be careful to keep your distance from Fang Huiwang in the future... But you still have that Ruiyan two-person commercial coming up, so that might be difficult."

"Speaking of that," Xie Ran said, "I've already turned down Ruiyan's commercial."

Guan Shunan was startled and nearly jumped up. "Why? Ruiyan is such a great opportunity. Even if you don't want to be tied to Fang Huiwang, there's no need to..."

"I don't have time." Xie Ran cut her off. "I have another collaboration with Ruiyan."

Guan Shunan: ???

Ambition Studio.

"Xie Ran turned down Ruiyan's two-person commercial." Kuang Youfang asked Fang Huiwang curiously, "What's going on? Ruiyan is such a great opportunity. Why doesn't he want it?"

Fang Huiwang did not seem particularly surprised. He merely gave a cold laugh. "How would I know what he's thinking? If he doesn't want it, then he doesn't want it. It doesn't affect me."

Kuang Youfang keenly noticed that Fang Huiwang seemed to have changed somewhat after returning from the show. He was naturally suspicious, and after thinking it over, he said doubtfully, "This doesn't make sense. Could he be trying to draw a clear line between himself and you?"

Fang Huiwang's gaze darkened. "Then go ask him."

"What's going on between you two now?" Kuang Youfang frowned, uneasy. "Didn't I tell you to find some way to tie yourselves together no matter what? Even if it's fake, it only has to look real."

Fang Huiwang did not answer. He simply scowled as he scrolled through his phone. On the screen was content related to the recently popular Wangran CP.

Kuang Youfang immediately sensed trouble and grew anxious. "You two haven't broken up, have you? I put in a huge amount of effort to hype up the Wangran CP again. Even if you're going to split, it can't be now..."

"Why are you panicking?" Fang Huiwang shot him a cold glance, smiling without warmth. "We can't split. Just keep hyping it up. The hotter, the better. We'll only untie ourselves when I want to. Xie Ran doesn't get to decide."

Whether it was an illusion or not, Kuang Youfang felt that Fang Huiwang had become far more forceful. It made him instinctively hesitant to argue, so he lowered his voice and asked, "Then what are your plans next?"

"Two things." Fang Huiwang put down his phone. "First, arrange a meeting with Lansi's representative. I'll speak to them myself."

Kuang Youfang was a little surprised. Lansi was the luxury brand Ambition Studio had been negotiating with all this time without success.

Fang Huiwang's work had always focused on public exposure, and he rarely showed up personally for business negotiations. After his attempt to cultivate an image of sophisticated taste had failed, Kuang Youfang had thought he had given up hope. He had not expected Fang Huiwang to persist, much less to negotiate in person.

Kuang Youfang felt something strange in his heart, but he still said, "All right."

Fang Huiwang continued, "Second, bring Ni Le over. I want to discuss Nangong Xu again with him."

At the mention of Nangong Xu, Kuang Youfang's heart ached faintly. If they had not poured so much money into developing that virtual idol, the studio would not have ended up in such dire straits.

Suppressing the pain, Kuang Youfang said, "Nangong Xu doesn't have much value anymore. The market is watching Meng Feixuan now, and the response to Nangong Xu has been lukewarm. I think we should just sell Nangong Xu cheaply. At least we can recoup some of our losses."

"How does Nangong Xu have no value?" Fang Huiwang gave an unreadable sneer, a trace of twisted hatred in his eyes. "What part of Nangong Xu's image or settings is inferior to Meng Feixuan's? Whatever Meng Feixuan can do, Nangong Xu can do too."

Kuang Youfang finally understood what was wrong with him.

Fang Huiwang had always been ambitious, but he had concealed that ambition well before. On the surface, he still maintained a star's humility. Now, however, his ambition was completely exposed, as though he were desperate to prove something.

Yet Kuang Youfang did not think that was a bad thing, because he could clearly feel that Fang Huiwang's abilities had grown along with his ambition.

This might truly become the studio's turning point.

Kuang Youfang unconsciously became a little more respectful toward Fang Huiwang. "All right. I'll handle it right away."

"Meng Feixuan." Fang Huiwang let out a cold, teeth-gritting laugh. He opened WeChat for the troll farm they worked with on the company phone. He did not even want to leave it to someone else; he wanted to confirm it personally.

That week of filming had been the most humiliating week of his life. Xie Ran had brushed him off and ignored him, and in the end, he had even let Meng Feixuan, a fake person, humiliate him.

Even now, Fang Huiwang could clearly recall Meng Feixuan's expression at the time: arrogant and mocking.

Did Xie Ran really think he had no way to deal with him? Then Xie Ran was underestimating him far too much.

Ambition Studio: [Boss Duan, keep posting Wangran content. I want this CP to stay at the top of the rankings from now on.]

The reply came quickly, with a hint of urgency.

Boss Duan of Yashen Internet Marketing: [Brother Fang, something unexpected happened.]

Boss Duan of Yashen Internet Marketing: [For some reason, the Xuanran CP suddenly started getting pushed everywhere online. Every major platform is producing content for them, and there's an especially large number of works.]

Boss Duan of Yashen Internet Marketing: [Xuanran's real-time popularity has already surpassed Wangran's. We tried to control the situation, but their numbers are too strong. We can't suppress them at all.]

Fang Huiwang's expression changed.

Ambition Studio: [Xuanran?]

Boss Duan of Yashen Internet Marketing: [Meng Feixuan x Xie Ran. Fuck, people are even making content overseas—and it's in English!]

Author's Note: Fang Huiwang: I get to decide when we untie ourselves.

Mark, proudly: That's not up to you.

The Chief's Wife

Gossip Forum

Title: Xuanran? Fifth on the trending searches?

Content: I just saw it on the trending searches and clicked in out of curiosity. It turned out to be Meng Feixuan x Xie Ran??? Who the hell is shipping this? And they got it onto the trending searches?

1L: Meng Feixuan??? Isn't he a 2D character? People ship him too?