The following morning, the press conference for the start of filming of " The Realm and Old Friends " was held at the conference center next to Hengdian World Studios.
The conference center can seat five or six hundred people, and it was full before nine o'clock.
The front row was the reporters' area, with a row of cameras and microphones set up, and cameras positioned at three angles facing the stage.
The back and sides were the fan zone, where hundreds of people were crammed together, holding up light boards and banners in a dense crowd.
Cheng Che's fans arrived earliest and occupied most of the area.
Some people held up light boards with " Shen Che " on them, some held up banners with " Cheng Che " on them, and others held up signs that read " The Realm and Old Friends Enjoy High Ratings".
A girl with a ponytail was holding a stack of banners, handing them out to the people next to her, muttering:
"When he comes out, let's shout together."
"What are you shouting about?" someone next to him asked.
"First call out Cheng Che, then Shen Che's. I'll count to three, two, one, and we'll all call out together."
Several people nodded and began practicing quietly.
The girl with the ponytail is named Zhou Jie. She's a sophomore and came all the way from Nanjing by high-speed rail.
She's liked Cheng Che for a long time, ever since the music video shoot.
She had seen him play basketball, appeared on variety shows, and acted in " The Youth Here ".
But this is my first time wearing a period drama.
"I'm a little nervous." She took a deep breath. "What if I don't look as good in person as in the promotional photos?"
The person next to her patted her on the shoulder. "What are you worrying about? When has Cheng Che ever had a car accident?"
"But he's wearing a coarse linen robe this time," Zhou Jie whispered. "He looked so handsome in that black brocade robe in the promotional photos, but for today's press conference, Shen Che is a hostage in the early stages of the story and can't afford nice clothes, so he'll probably be wearing plain clothes. Plain clothes are a real test of one's face, and what if he can't pull it off..."
"Even if Cheng Che," the person next to him said confidently. "When have you ever seen him unable to hold on?"
At the other end of the fan area sat a dozen or so of Ning Qing's fans.
There weren't many of them, but their banners were exquisitely made, featuring Ning Qing's profile picture from " Walking the Flower Road Together ".
A short-haired girl sat on the far side, looking at the densely packed light boards of Cheng Che's fans, her expression not very pleasant.
"This is quite a spectacle," she muttered under her breath, "It's like Cheng Che's personal press conference."
His companion chimed in, "This is his home turf. He's the lead actor, the one who carries the show."
The short-haired girl pursed her lips. "So what if he's the lead? Ning Qing is also the female lead. If this drama didn't have Ning Qing, could it be carried by just one guy? The comments are full of people shipping them; frankly, they're just riding on Ning Qing's popularity."
"That's a bit sarcastic," his companion chuckled. " With Cheng Che's current popularity, does he need to piggyback on anyone else's fame?"
The short-haired girl didn't reply, but her expression clearly showed she was still unconvinced.
The host came on stage.
He started by warming up the atmosphere with a few opening remarks, and then invited Director Zhou and Producer Fang up.
The two chatted for a few minutes about the project's initial intentions and casting ideas. The audience's reaction was lukewarm, with polite applause and occasional reporters taking notes.
Ning Qing's fans clapped, with the short-haired girl clapping quite enthusiastically.
Then the host raised his voice. "Next, let's welcome Cheng Che, who plays Shen Che, the male lead in ' The Realm and Old Friends '!"
The backstage curtain was lifted.
Cheng Che came out.
He wore a plain, cross-collar robe, moon-white in color, made of coarse linen, with slightly frayed edges at the collar and cuffs, and a dark gray cloth belt tied around his waist.
Her hair was half-tied up, without a hair ornament, held in place only by a wooden hairpin.
She was as plain as a sheet of paper, but her face and figure transformed that plainness into a kind of aloofness.
[ Stars Surrounding the Moon ] was triggered in that instant.
The fan area fell silent for a moment.
Then it exploded.
" Cheng Che!!!"
Zhou Jie was the first to shout it out, then the people next to her shouted it out, and then the people next to them shouted it out.
Hundreds of people stood up at the same time, raising their light boards and banners in a continuous display.
Some people shouted " Shen Che ", some shouted "So handsome", and some shouted until their voices cracked.
Zhou Jie held up the light board, her hands trembling so much the board was shaking. She shouted " Cheng Che " until her voice cracked, and tears welled up in her eyes.
The girl next to her who had said, "When has Cheng Che ever crashed?" was now crying so hard she couldn't speak, holding up a banner in one hand and frantically wiping away her tears with the other.
The short-haired girl sat in Ning Qing's fan area, staring blankly at Cheng Che on stage, her mouth slightly open.
She had just been saying that "the male lead is just riding on Ning Qing's popularity," but now, looking at the person standing on the stage in a pale white linen robe with his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, she had only one thought in her mind: I think I've fallen in love with him.
My companion whispered, "He looks so good in period costume."
The short-haired girl didn't reply, but her hand moved inside her bag, and she took out her phone.
She didn't raise it to take a picture; she just placed it on her lap, the screen lit up, and the camera was on.
On stage, Cheng Che bowed slightly towards the fan area, then looked up and smiled.
The corners of her mouth curved up, and her eyes curved up a little too.
That laugh sent the screams from the fans' section into another frenzy.
In a corner of the fan area, a middle-aged woman held up a handwritten sign that read, " Cheng Che, my daughter says you are her role model."
She didn't shout or cry; she just stood there quietly, holding up her sign.
Cheng Che's gaze swept across the fan area, pausing briefly on that sign.
He paused for a moment, then bowed again in that direction.
This time the bow was deeper than the previous one.
The entire room fell silent for a moment.
Then applause and screams mingled together, louder than before.
Zhou Jie, who was standing nearby, saw this and asked while crying, "Did he see that sign just now?"
"I saw it," someone nearby said. "He bowed."
Who is that auntie?
"I don't know. But Cheng Che saw her."
The live stream chat exploded with comments.
[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit this outfit!!!]
[Can you really make a moon-white coarse linen robe look like this???]
He wore simple clothes with the air of a refined and aloof nobleman; I'm impressed.
[This wooden hairpin, this half-up hairstyle, I'm totally blown away!]
[This is the real Shen Che!!! This is the real Shen Che!!!]
[I took a screenshot of that laugh just now and used it as my wallpaper.]
He bowed to that sign, did you see that?
[I saw it, he bowed twice, the second time deeper than the first]
What does that sign say?
" Cheng Che, my daughter says you are her role model."
I cried, he really saw it.
The actors backstage stood behind the curtain, looking at the spectacle outside, exchanging bewildered glances.
Zhao Yiming leaned against the wall and chuckled, "I told you guys on the set of ' The Youth Here ' last time, what's this scene compared to what we've seen today?"
The press conference continued.
The host kept Director Zhou, Producer Fang, and Cheng Che on stage to discuss a few questions about the characters and plot.
Cheng Che answered steadily, occasionally mentioning his understanding of the character Shen Che. The reporters in the audience lowered their heads to take notes, while the fan area quieted down and listened attentively.
After chatting for about twenty minutes, the host announced that it would be time for a Q&A session with the media.
The first reporter stood up and asked a standard question:
" Cheng Che, from ' The Youth Here ' to ' The Realm and Old Friends,' what are your criteria for choosing scripts?"
Cheng Che thought for a moment:
"Are the characters interesting? Zhou Ye is interesting, and Shen Che is interesting too."
A chuckle rippled through the room.
The second reporter stood up, and his questions were far less polite:
" Cheng Che, you transitioned from tennis to mathematics, and then from mathematics to acting. Some people think you're just dabbling, while others think you're serious about it. What's your own perspective?"
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Zhou Jie gripped the banner tightly in the fan area, her expression a little tense.
Cheng Che did not answer immediately.
He tilted his head slightly, as if he was seriously considering the question. Then he spoke.
"I won Champion when I played tennis, published in top journals when I was doing math, and am now standing here acting. Do you think I was just dabbling or serious?"
He paused for a moment.
"I don't think you should be asking me that question. You should be asking those who think I'm just dabbling. When they did anything, did they achieve what I did?"
The fan section was silent for a moment, then exploded.
"Holy shit!!!"
"He's so cool!!!"
"This is Cheng Che!!!"
Zhou Jie held up the light sign, tears welling up again, but this time she smiled.
The girl next to her was so excited she couldn't speak, and kept patting Zhou Jie's shoulder.
The live stream chat was flooded with comments so much that the screen was obscured.
He's so outspoken!!!
"When they did something, they did it in a way that I did" -- I'm going to save this as my signature!!!
This is the real Cheng Che —unpretentious, unassuming, and speaks his mind.
He wasn't being arrogant; he was simply stating the facts.
[If you're so good, then you do it; if you're not, then shut up.]
[My Che Baby's outfit today is killing me, and his words are killing me too!]
[I'm completely dead, I won't be able to sleep tonight after watching this press conference.]
The third reporter stood up and asked Ning Qing:
" Ning Qing, as a singer, your first acting role is as the female lead in an S-level project. What would you like to say to those who doubt you?"
Ning Qing took the microphone, her expression indifferent.
"How well I acted will be revealed when the show airs. There's no point in saying anything more now."
She paused for a moment, then added.
"But I want to say something. I took this role not because it was the only role I could play, but because I wanted to play it. Wanting to play and being forced to play are two different things."
There was a moment of silence in the audience, then Director Zhou led the applause.
The short-haired girl sat in the fan area and paused for two seconds after listening to Ning Qing finish speaking.
After the press conference, the actors took a group photo.
Cheng Che stood in the middle, Ning Qing stood next to him, and Zhao Yiming and Actor Zhou stood on either side.
The flashbulbs went off everywhere, and the fans in the fan area cheered again.
As Cheng Che walked backstage, passing the edge of the fan area, Zhou Jie called out from behind the railing, " Cheng Che!"
He glanced at her sideways and nodded.
The girl next to Zhou Jie quickly handed over her notebook. "Could you sign this?"
Cheng Che took it, signed it, and handed it back. Then he asked:
What's your name?
Zhou Jie.
He took the notebook back, wrote something else, handed it back, smiled, and walked backstage.
Zhou Jie looked down and saw that besides the signature, there was another line of text in the notebook:
" Zhou Jie, study hard."
She paused for a moment, then squatted down and cried.
People gathered around; some patted her on the back, others took a look at the notebook, and then joined in the exclamation.
Cheng Che wrote your name down!!!
He asked you your name!!!
" Zhou Jie, stop crying, your makeup is ruined!!!"
Zhou Jie squatted on the ground, clutching her notebook, crying so hard she couldn't speak.