He's not good enough for anyone else! He's absolutely perfect!
Sure enough, someone in the comments section has already come forward to refute this person's statement!
@Qingqiu: Since you insist on calling Xiao Cheng a "pretty face with no substance," then I must briefly mention his performance level. Veteran opera enthusiasts know that his handling of the crying tone in this segment of "The Legend of the White Snake" was borrowed from Master Zhang's innovative techniques and then improved upon, right? The public's eyes are discerning; in the edited version on the pink-themed website, you can see a screen full of praise and compliments. How can you be the only one criticizing his performing skills as poor and a "pretty face with no substance"? And is it really that important whether he comes from a famous teacher's lineage? Shouldn't it be the capable who succeed? Previously, students from the Central Academy of Drama testified that Xiao Cheng was an excellent student, consistently ranking first in his class. How does that "tarnish" your traditional, high-class art?
Other sisters also stepped up and unleashed their full power!
@Xiqu: Still rejecting the fandomization of traditional Peking Opera... Please, learn more before you speak. The Peking Opera circle during the era of the Four Great Dan (female role performers) was the earliest entertainment circle. Everyone was vying to support their favorite Peking Opera actors, and some people even wrote opera reviews in newspapers... This fandom thing is something they've already done!
The comments section under this Weibo post was a mess, with people stirring up trouble saying things like, "I'm just a passerby, let me say a few words," "I'm old and have been a fan of opera for decades," and "If you're going to enter the entertainment industry to make money, don't expect to have both fame and fortune," etc. It was quite a lively argument.
Zhang Chaohe wanted to comment, but he didn't know what to say. Then another comment popped up: "Isn't he recently been creating a CP (couple pairing) with President Zhang? Is his influence so great because President Zhang is behind him?"
Bai Chen's fans below are still actively fueling the fire, maintaining his "dance-loving" persona: "Very likely!"
Enraged that he had been given such a powerful backer for no apparent reason, Zhang Chaohe immediately called his assistant Chen and demanded that they send a lawyer's letter!
After hearing this, Assistant Chen said: "You've barged into the gates of hell, haven't you?"
Zhang Chaohe's blood pressure soared, and he was about to go on a killing spree when Cheng Jixue came over and returned his phone to him: "The matter has been resolved."
He scrolled through Weibo but didn't see any new trending topics or tags appearing—in fact, the arguments were getting even more heated.
At first, the two sides were still arguing about whether Cheng Jixue was a good match for the role. However, because many new fans had recently become fans of Peking Opera through songs like "Suo Wu Long," everyone was angered by the arrogant and indiscriminate tone of this person. So, the debate turned into a discussion about just how "noble" Peking Opera art really is!
Zhang Chaohe was so angry that he looked like he hadn't eaten any bok choy leaves for three days. Cheng Jixue stared at him for a while, then suddenly gently pinched his furrowed brows: "The matter will definitely be resolved before tonight. Let's finish filming the last take first, okay?"
To be honest, Zhang Chaohe didn't quite believe this—but when he thought that the person he had just spoken to was Cheng Xuelan, he felt that it wasn't impossible to believe it to some extent.
How much does Cheng Jixue really understand the wickedness of human nature? For truly ruthless methods, you'll have to look to our top agent, Ms. Cheng Xuelan!
The next scene is an outdoor shot that continues from the location where Group A next door finished filming the war scene. It is a scene where Chang Xiaoyue goes crazy after hearing the rumor that Gu Yinqiu died in Xinpingye. She insists on going to Xinpingye to sing opera for Gu Yinqiu, wearing a messy costume.
What Zhang Chaohe had to do was appear on the horizon, covered in dust and grime, with a group of his personal guards, and stare intently at the seemingly deranged Chang Xiaoyue.
Both of them needed to have their makeup and costumes changed. In order to reflect Chang Xiaoyue's crazy and long journey under the impact of grief, the stylist specially made his imperial concubine's palace dress dirty and tattered.
Zhang Chaohe, like a parent anxiously awaiting their child's grades, was constantly checking their phone.
Cheng Jixue smiled and advised him, "Don't rush, give me some time. Maybe the people I hired will be here after this take is finished."
Zhang Chaohe was itching with curiosity: "Who did you hire?"
Cheng Jixue winked mysteriously: "It's a secret."
Zhang Chaohe's blood pressure spiked again! He glared at Cheng Jixue through gritted teeth, vegetable leaves swirling around his feet, and he would occasionally yell at Cheng Jixue, whose makeup was a mess, neither human nor ghost, and whose rouge and powder were a smeared mess!
He secretly swore that if he ever interfered in Cheng Jixue's affairs again, he would be a dog!
Then Zhang Chaohe refreshed the trending searches again, and silently barked "woof" in his mind.
Cheng Jixue's performance in the first half of the play was excellent, as if a madman really lived inside him—he cried and sang at the same time, his steps were unsteady, and he used all his strength to go into the most desperate madness, while Zhang Chaohe watched him get through it in one take from not far away.
The oppressive atmosphere tugged at his heartstrings, causing Zhang Chaohe to completely forget his earlier troubles and quickly immerse himself in the role.
The second half of the scene depicts Chang Xiaoyue, finally exhausted, collapsing sadly onto a mound that symbolizes a grave, panting, when suddenly she hears the sound of horses' hooves approaching. Chang Xiaoyue looks up in surprise, only to meet Gu Yinqiu's gaze.
In this atmosphere, both of them performed exceptionally well—their eye contact contained both the ecstatic joy of surviving a disaster and the stunned disbelief of ice melting away. Their eyes held not only a touch of madness but also a hint of the entanglement of unrestrained confrontation.
It must have been a strange sense of power, like the tearing and pouncing of prey when it was cornered.
Chen Xingting wanted to kiss them both, and shouted "Cut!" repeatedly.
Zhang Chaohe went over and helped Cheng Jixue up, then patted the dirt off his clothes. However, it was a pity that he probably couldn't wear that palace dress anymore.
Cheng Jixue smiled and shook his head, but his smile didn't look good now; it resembled a terrifying ghost: "Don't you want to check the trending topics?"
Zhang Chaohe then remembered the trending topic. He checked his phone and refreshed the page... He couldn't tell if it was black or white!
#China Peking Opera Association Speaks Out#
Zhang Chaohe looked at Cheng Jixue with a puzzled expression: ?
I knew Cheng Xuelan was generous, but I didn't expect her to be this generous!
Just as Zhang Chaohe hurriedly clicked in to see what the Peking Opera Art Association had said, Cheng Jixue also received a phone call.
Ji Boyang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. The phone rang several times before his second uncle slowly answered, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Jixue initially thought her nephew was worried about him after seeing the trending topic, which was why he had called more than ten times. However, Ji Boyang's first words were an ultimate, invincible spiral bouncing bomb—
"Hey, Uncle! Chairman Zhang suddenly invited me to his house for dinner! What should I do??"
Cheng Jixue was incredulous: ...
Why did Mr. Zhang's father invite you to dinner first?
So you're the one who betrayed your second uncle?
A note from the author:
Xiao Cheng: Commemorating a wonderful day of indirect kissing (shy) (ecstatic)
Smoking is not good for kids, so please don't follow suit!
Waaaaah, I went to a classmate's house today and didn't get back until late. I was writing and revising, so I'm a little late. I'm so sorry everyone!! I've written about the guest stars in the order they appeared in chapter 48!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 54
Chairman Zhang had previously asked Assistant Ma to check Dian Dian's recent list of friends. Assistant Ma did not fail in his mission. After thorough investigation and selection, he finally identified the most likely candidate!
This person is a college student who started his own business, but fortunately he has a clean background, decent appearance, and no bad habits, so he is barely acceptable.
Chairman Zhang stared at his headshot for a long time before handing it to Assistant Ma: "Is this the child you saw last time?"
Ma Gaozhu couldn't help but recall those sweet, cloying calls of "husband," and a chill ran down his spine. He hesitated for a long time, then looked at the man, saying, "I guess so... He was covered up so much that I didn't see him clearly, but his eyes do look a bit like his."
Ma Gaozhu glanced at the height "178" written on the form again: "I feel like he's a little taller than the Second Young Master, but it's also possible he's wearing platform shoes..."
The two old men whispered for a while before Chairman Zhang finally made his decision: "I think this young man is quite good. The small size of the company is not a problem. If Dian Dian really likes him, the boss can just give him a hand. Look, his name is Ji Boyang, what a nice-sounding and traditional name!"
"Let's arrange a time for him to come over for dinner," Zhang Dong said, feeling a sense of relief that he had finally sold off a worthless item at a loss. "I knew Diandian was more successful than the eldest! Look, he's found a girlfriend!"
Zhang Yinshan, still unaware that he had been unfairly dragged into this, and Ji Boyang, frantically seeking help from his second uncle: "Chairman Zhang said he wanted to introduce me to General Manager Zhang to discuss business development, Second Uncle, should I go or not?"
Meanwhile, Zhang Chaohe was also making a fuss next to Cheng Jixue: "What? Little Cheng, you're actually of such a high generation! Bai Chen seems to be your nephew's nephew!"
For a moment, Cheng Jixue was overwhelmed and wanted to hit herself with a pestle: Is this the terrifying life of dogs howling and geese flying in the future?
Ji Boyang was still rambling on: "Is Chairman Zhang trying to recruit me to be a spy in Xiao Zhang's life? But he said he'd let Da Zhang and me talk! Second Uncle, what do you think I am..."
Zhang Chaohe exclaimed in amazement: "The Peking Opera Association even posted a photo of you as a child with your mentor, Master Qian Xiurong. You were so beautiful as a child!"
In the photo, a few-year-old Cheng Jixue stands with a sprightly grandmother. Although his rustic fluorescent green training clothes make him look like a bean sprout, he stands upright and elegantly. His face is only the size of a palm, his eyes are a bit round, and his eyelashes are long, like two fluttering butterfly wings.
They look both cute and sensible.
Cheng Jixue was pondering how to respond to her nephew who had gotten his admission ticket to the Zhang family ahead of time when she casually glanced at the old photos on Zhang Chaohe's phone and almost had a heart attack: Why did he post this?!
He hung up on his nephew.
Ji Boyang was crouching in the bathroom, hiding from the cunning Ma Gaozhu, eagerly awaiting his second uncle's rescue, when he suddenly heard a cold busy tone on the other end of the phone: ?
He was on the verge of tears: "Uncle, why did you hang up on me?"
Cheng Jixue felt that right now, it was more important to preserve his image as a gentle yet alluring, alluring yet dignified figure in Xiao Zhang's heart. He tried to snatch Zhang Chaohe's phone, but Zhang Chaohe not only dodged it but even stood on tiptoe to hold up the phone and continued scrolling: "Hey, you were quite handsome when you were young."
On the screen is Cheng Jixue in his teens. He no longer wears that eye-catching fluorescent green training uniform, but instead wears a clean and refreshing white T-shirt and black trousers. Paired with his handsome and refined face, he is simply the perfect substitute for the handsome senior in various novels and comics.
Cheng Jixue's fragile nerve was snapped by Zhang Chaohe: How could anyone use the word "young" to describe a teenager?!
Zhang Chaohe was delighted: "I never expected you to be so good-looking when you were little. Should I thank that troublemaking idiot?"
Cheng Jixue quickly composed himself and used Zhang Chaohe's phone to browse through the documents. The other evidence released by the Peking Opera Association to prove that he was "definitely not just a pretty face" was basically a bunch of messy certificates and documents.
When he looked down, he realized that because of the playful phone-grabbing incident, Zhang Chaohe was inexplicably snuggling against him, their hands clasped together, looking at the same phone.
They looked as if they were leaning on each other, deeply in love.
Cheng Jixue's heart skipped a beat, and she whispered in his ear, "If Mr. Zhang likes my childhood photos... you can come to my house to see them, I have a whole album of them."
Zhang Chaohe was already a model member of the gossip club, and upon hearing this, he became even more eager to participate. He happily made a promise with Cheng Jixue that they would go to his house to watch the show after leaving the film set. However, Director Chen suddenly appeared out of nowhere and passed by: "Why haven't you gone to remove your makeup yet?"
Zhang Chaohe instantly sprang out of Cheng Jixue's arms like a middle school student caught having a crush by the headmaster, nodding righteously: "I'm going right now!"
Cheng Jixue: Why are you everywhere?
Chen Xingting: Preventing actors from making serious mistakes due to momentary lapses in attention is the responsibility and obligation of every thoughtful and good director!
The two went to different dressing rooms to change clothes, and Zhang Chaohe scrolled down to the comments section to watch the drama unfold... Perhaps the Peking Opera Association was too unfamiliar to ordinary people who didn't know about the relevant issues, and although Cheng Xuelan sent a lot of online trolls to revive the association's official Weibo account, it remained as flat as a rock.
Fortunately, Gain Capital's response to the rumors and questions was swift and effective, allowing many people who had just arrived to catch up on the story to get the full details, prompting them to exclaim that Gain Capital was "a force to be reckoned with."
Wow, so this guy thought he'd found some social injustice and started fighting, but it turns out the other guy is actually a hidden master?
[This is hilarious! Qian Lao's disciple is a fellow disciple of masters like XX, and the actress you nominated to plead for justice is his nephew? I'm dying of laughter!]
[I don't really understand why someone with such a good background would choose to perform in a small, independent troupe. Wouldn't it be better to just apply for a provincial troupe by mentioning Qian Xuesen's name?]
[Ladies upstairs, please read the question carefully! It's already stated that Xiao Cheng wanted to become an apprentice of the retired opera master Jia, thus mastering two arts! It's perfectly normal that he didn't go to the provincial opera troupe, right?]
Zhang Chaohe smugly remarked: "You all know less than I do. I know why he didn't go in!"
The makeup artist was applying makeup remover to his face when she suddenly sensed through the cotton pad that Mr. Zhang seemed to be laughing. Since she had been with the team for a while and they were quite familiar with each other, she jokingly pinched Mr. Zhang's cheek: "Don't laugh, or you'll eat the makeup remover!"
Zhang Chaohe shut up immediately and continued scrolling through Weibo. He was incredibly grateful that he had recruited Cheng Xuelan—this troublemaker hadn't even had a chance to make a splash before Cheng Xuelan crushed him with a single stroke of her oar!
Furthermore, they also created a persona for Cheng Jixue as a "low-key, humble, unassuming, and hardworking master who diligently hones his skills."
Seeing Cheng Xuelan's ugly capitalist statement in her summary report that Cheng Jixue's endorsement price must have increased again, Xiao Zhang sent her a "praying" emoji.
Cheng Xuelan simply couldn't accept that the aloof and cool CEO Zhang actually used emojis: "?"
Zhang Chaohe quickly typed the rest of the text: "Thank you to the industry's living bodhisattva. By the way, don't forget to urge our friends in the legal department to send a lawyer's letter to the account spreading rumors."
Cheng Xuelan: The familiar recipe, the familiar taste, the boss is still the same boss.
Zhang Chaohe thought that now that the rumors had been successfully refuted, the matter was over. However, he discovered that Bai Chen's fans were still jumping out to verbally attack Cheng Jixue, with the same content presented in slightly different ways:
[Can a child from an ordinary family really get to study under a top expert in the field at such a young age? The Cheng family must have some connections, right? Is that why they're trying to blacklist Chenbao to pave the way for their own future?]
[Laughs, this self-deprecating whitewashing tactic is so clumsy. Even state media is bowing down to promote an 18th-tier nobody. I really admire them (smile)]