“Cheng-ge, wake up. We’ve arrived.”
Cheng Ran’s eyelashes trembled as he slowly opened his eyes, still filled with a strong sense of fatigue.
He reached out to rub his forehead and said to his assistant and the driver in the front seat, “Thank you, you can go back and rest now.”
Seeing his exhausted appearance, the assistant couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and said, “Cheng-ge, you just finished shooting late last night. Why don’t you go back to rest today? Come back after a couple of days of rest. It’s okay.”
Cheng Ran smiled and shook his head, “It’s okay. This matter is very important to me. He will be anxious if he doesn’t see me.”
Upon hearing his words, the assistant’s face showed a hint of displeasure, “He has treated you like that already. Why are you still being so good to him? Every time you come, you end up with new wounds on your body…”
“Xiao Ru.” Cheng Ran’s gentle expression instantly froze, the softness in his eyes faded, replaced by a dignified aura.
The current Cheng Ran was no longer as humble as he was at the beginning. Since Ye Zhou invited him to play the male lead in his movie and won awards for that role, Cheng Ran seemed to have become a superstar in the entertainment industry.
His talent in acting was almost entirely discovered by Ye Zhou. In the eyes of the industry insiders, Cheng Ran was like a piece of unpolished jade. Although his acting skills still had some immaturity, with a little polishing, he would shine immediately.
Cheng Ran had acting skills, but what was most important was that he not only had acting skills but also had an outstanding appearance and a charming temperament that easily won over people’s hearts.
In the industry’s words, this was a natural audience appeal. This point was evident from the frenzy of millions of fans he attracted overnight after the release of “Rewind.”
Good-looking people were abundant in the circle, and although talented actors were rare, they were not impossible to find. However, finding someone with both great acting skills and good looks, plus audience appeal, was something that only happened once every few years or even decades.
Cheng Ran had a high starting point; he won awards for his debut performance, and he was nurtured by the genius director Ye Zhou. The number of companies extending olive branches to him was countless.
At first, several emerging media companies’ bosses personally invited him, and later, even established companies put down their pride and offered generous terms to invite him.
Those who went to Ye Zhou indulged in wining and dining, and showered him with gifts, all in pursuit of having Ye Zhou speak on Cheng Ran’s behalf.
Of course, Ye Zhou never went.
However, although he did not go looking for Cheng Ran, Cheng Ran took the initiative to visit him twice to seek Ye Zhou’s opinion.
At that time, Ye Zhou only said one sentence to him: do what you want to do. As long as you don’t regret it, it is the correct decision.
Because of this sentence, the dilemma that had troubled Cheng Ran for the past few months miraculously unraveled effortlessly.
Cheng Ran turned down all the companies offering him olive branches and started his own small studio. At that time, many people laughed at him, saying he hadn’t even learned to walk properly before trying to run. Opening a studio was not that easy. Money, connections, and fame were all necessities.
Why do celebrities sign with companies? Of course, it is for the resources and connections that the company brings. Therefore, even though some contracts may not be fair, many celebrities still embrace them.
Only those who have been in the industry for many years, have established fame, and have accumulated enough capital would venture out on their own. Either that, or they come from a strong background and have a powerful supporter behind them. Very few artists dare to start a studio immediately after gaining fame.
Leaving aside other factors, as soon as Cheng Ran’s studio was established, rumors circulated within the industry that previous entertainment companies that had invited him had hinted that Cheng Ran’s studio wouldn’t last a year before closing down.
This was just on the surface; behind the scenes, manipulation was rampant.
It’s not easy to boost someone’s popularity in this circle, but it’s all too easy to ruin someone, especially for those veteran players who are well-versed in the industry’s rules.
In such a harsh environment, many people in the industry were waiting for Cheng Ran to fail, and there were even rumors that a few entertainment company bosses were joking and betting at the dining table on how long Cheng Ran could survive.
However, no one expected that under such immense pressure, Cheng Ran actually held his ground.
Not only did he hold on for a whole year, but in the following years, his performance continued to shine brightly, just like his presence in the entertainment industry. His crisis management was exceptional in several public relations incidents.
However, the most eye-catching person in Cheng Ran’s studio was his agent.
Meng Yan, Cheng Ran’s manager, was a well-known veteran agent in the industry some years ago. Many of the artists he brought up are now indispensable pillars in the industry, including four award-winning actors and actresses.
However, Meng Yan had retired from the industry for seven or eight years due to personal reasons. Many agencies and artists had approached him during this time, hoping to coax him out of retirement, but he had consistently declined.
No one expected that Cheng Ran, who had just risen to fame at the time, would be able to recruit Meng Yan. It should be noted that even though Meng Yan had not brought up new talents in recent years, his connections and resources remained intact.
The network he had built did not disappear when he retired from the industry; on the contrary, distancing himself from the entertainment circle removed any conflicts of interest, enhancing his reputation further.
Having such an agent who could provide assistance to artists was quite formidable, which was why, despite his retirement, Meng Yan was frequently sought after to return to the scene.
Even the staff in Cheng Ran’s studio were unsure of how their boss managed to recruit such a big figure. Only Cheng Ran himself knew that Meng Yan was not brought in by him.
At that time, Cheng Ran had just established his studio, the team was newly formed and not yet fully coordinated, and he didn’t even have someone handy by his side. Cheng Ran had to rely on himself for everything, and the pressure was immense. He participated in an audition for a new film by a top director, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the stress caused him to lose hair in handfuls every day.
Just when Cheng Ran was at his wits’ end, Ye Zhou introduced him to Meng Yan. With Meng Yan on board, his studio finally set off on the right track.
Sometimes Cheng Ran would wonder, what kind of person is Ye Zhou? It seemed like he had completely forgotten all the malicious acts he had done to Cheng Ran before. Is he truly trying to help him now?
This question puzzled him for a long time, but eventually, Cheng Ran decided to stop dwelling on it.
It was no longer important what kind of person Ye Zhou was. Cheng Ran only needed to remember that Ye Zhou was his benefactor, and that was enough.
“Cheng-ge, we’ve arrived.” Just as the car came to a halt, the assistant quietly woke up Cheng Ran who had been resting with his eyes closed. As Cheng Ran stepped out of the car, the assistant couldn’t hide her concern in her eyes.
Watching Cheng Ran get out of the car, the assistant hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “Cheng-ge!”
Cheng Ran turned to look at her.
The assistant hesitated for a while, then carefully said, “Shouldn’t you bring a bodyguard in with you just in case? There’s an event to attend tomorrow morning. If he gets crazy again and causes harm to you, the media will surely spin the story…”
“No need, he hasn’t been feeling well lately, and I don’t want to stress him out more,” Cheng Ran shook his head gently and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.”
As Cheng Ran’s figure gradually disappeared from sight, the assistant rubbed her tired eyes and murmured softly, “I really don’t understand why someone as kind as Cheng-ge would encounter such things.”
“Yeah, that Jiang Yu is really despicable, causing so much trouble!” The driver in front turned his head and engaged in rare conversation with the assistant.
“That’s right,” the assistant nodded, sounding indignant, “Cheng-ge is so good to Jiang Yu, even if he’s busy every month, he still comes to the hospital to visit him. But that person doesn’t appreciate it at all, always leaving Cheng-ge with bruises and scars. It’s disgusting!”
Completely unaware of the situation in the car, Cheng Ran was briskly walking down the hospital corridor, clearly in a good mood, even humming a cheerful nursery rhyme under his breath.
Arriving at the ward, Cheng Ran politely knocked on the door. Suddenly, the previously quiet room erupted with a piercing roar, followed by the loud clatter of heavy objects hitting the floor.
Unfazed, Cheng Ran calmly pressed his fingerprint on the biometric lock, and with a few soft clicks, the door opened.
The once comfortable and spacious room was now in chaos. Clothes hangers strewn on the floor, wooden cups and pitchers scattered on the table, even the potted plants on the balcony couldn’t escape, leaving a mess of shattered pieces mixed with soil on the previously clean floor.
The only relatively clean spot was the bed, where a person huddled under the covers, trembling all over, as if trying to shrink themselves as much as possible.
Cheng Ran seemed unsurprised by it all. He gently closed the door, gave a slight smile to the person on the bed, and said, “Ah Yu, I’m here to see you. How are you feeling today?”
It would have been better if he didn’t speak. But once he spoke, the already shaking person on the bed trembled even more violently, causing the sturdy bed frame to slightly sway with his intense shaking.
With each step Cheng Ran took toward the bed, the tension in the room escalated. When he reached the bedside, a foul stench wafted from the bed.
Cheng Ran continued to smile as if unfazed. “Ah Yu, you haven’t been good, haven’t you? We agreed you wouldn’t wet the bed.”
The person on the bed stopped shaking, and then the covers were abruptly thrown aside. A figure rolled off the bed at lightning speed, scrambling and crawling towards the door.
He frantically pounded on the door, but it remained unmoved.
Cheng Ran approached him slowly, using a seemingly gentle but actually firm grip to hold Jiang Yu’s chin, rendering him unable to resist.
With bloodshot eyes and uncontrollable trembling, Jiang Yu curled up in a ball, crouching along the wall, his voice hoarse to the extreme. “Cheng Ran, I was wrong, I was wrong. Please spare me, please, spare me, spare me…”
Following his movements, Cheng Ran also half-squatted down, gently smoothing out Jiang Yu’s messy hair, and softly said, “Why are you saying this to me? Have I not been good to you? You never used to speak to me like this before.”
Under immense mental pressure, Jiang Yu couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into tears.
Watching him sob uncontrollably, Cheng Ran finally spoke slowly, “The money Uncle Jiang left for you, and that memory card—”
“I’ll tell you everything, please spare me!” Jiang Yu, tormented by Cheng Ran for the past two years, was completely broken down. Ambitions, pride, none of it mattered in comparison to the mental torment Cheng Ran inflicted on him.
Half an hour later, Cheng Ran finally obtained what he wanted.
Before leaving, he turned on the video recording function on his phone, making Jiang Yu admit with his own mouth that he had been pretending to be insane. After that, Cheng Ran took him to prestigious hospitals both domestically and internationally for examinations, eventually concluding that Jiang Yu had indeed been feigning his insanity all along.
Their final meeting took place at the police station.
With the evidence in the USB drive, in addition to exposing the heinous deeds Jiang Yu and his father had committed in the past, it also led to both of them receiving a 20-year prison sentence.
One might say these two truly lived up to being father and son, as there were three homicide cases between them alone.
Whether Jiang Changsong would walk out of prison alive remained uncertain, but it was highly unlikely that Jiang Yu would ever turn his life around.
As for the substantial sum of money Jiang Changsong had left for Jiang Yu, Cheng Ran only took the portion agreed upon in the initial contract with Jiang Yu and donated the rest to charity.
After completing all of this, Cheng Ran lounged on the sofa in his studio and dialed Ye Zhou’s phone number.
Ye Zhou raised an eyebrow and jokingly teased, “Oh, Movie Emperor Cheng, what made you think of calling me?”
Cheng Ran chuckled softly and cleared his throat, “It’s nothing much, just wanted to check in… How have you been lately?”
Ye Zhou sprawled on the bed without a care, propping his legs on Mr. Jiang’s abdomen, and replied, “Since we’re so familiar, skip the pleasantries and get to the point. I have an audition later!”
That’s just his style.
Cheng Ran skipped the small talk and sounded a bit resigned, “I heard you’re filming a new movie. I happen to have some spare cash lately. How about it, Director Ye, allow me to be an investor this time?”
“Oh, my left eyelid has been twitching all day. Turns out the God of Wealth has arrived! Good things, good things!” Ye Zhou happily agreed.
Even though, as a director at his level, he didn’t need to worry about investments, Cheng Ran rarely asked for favors. Considering his significant progress over the past two years and not looking like he needed money, Ye Zhou gladly accepted his offer.
After finalizing the deal, Cheng Ran hung up the phone and took out an old bank card from his pocket, clearly showing signs of wear and tear. It had been around for quite a few years, with numerous scratches on it.
It was his first bank card from when he was in college.
It was also the card used to transfer funds to him after signing the sponsorship agreement with Jiang Yu.
Running his finger over the scratched number on the card’s surface, Cheng Ran smiled lightly.
He thought, perhaps he could finally find closure for that dark memory…
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