Lin Yan refused without hesitation, "I'm at the peak of my career right now. Making our relationship public without my consent has already had a very negative impact. What marriage? Have you ever seen a popular young actor get married? When are you going to start thinking about me?"
Liu Jie felt resentful. In her past life, Lin Yan and Qiao Zixin clearly got married at the end of this year. Back then, Lin Yan won the Best Supporting Actor award for his film and proposed to Qiao Zixin in public. After their marriage, he frequently posted photos of himself and Qiao Zixin together, and Qiao Zixin retired from the entertainment industry to focus on being a wife and mother. Why was Lin Yan's attitude so different when it came to her?
Liu Jie took a deep breath and said in a somewhat disappointed voice, "You always misunderstand me. I'm being criticized so badly by your fans. If I marry you now, I'll definitely be criticized even more. What good will that do me? I'm only saying this because I'm thinking of you. Now many people online are criticizing you for being irresponsible. You have to stand up and make a statement. But a half-hearted clarification won't do any good. Those photos will definitely become our dark history."
Lin Yan nodded thoughtfully. "So what do you mean? Marrying to show true love?"
"Yes, and young idols can't rely on fame alone for long. You're currently filming 'Double Agent,' so you have some work to show for it. Isn't this the perfect time to cultivate an image of a good man who takes responsibility and protects his own? Everyone will see that you're different from other young idols, and you might be able to successfully transition your image. As long as we remain a loving couple, your image as a good man will definitely be very appealing over time." Liu Jie wiped away her tears, sat down on the single sofa next to her, and whispered, "Do you also think, like your agent, that I'm just trying to ride on your coattails? I can take on fewer jobs after we get married, prioritize my family, and even leave the entertainment industry."
Lin Yan was deeply moved, his expression softened, and he pulled Liu Jie to his side, hugged her, kissed her forehead, and smiled, "Silly girl, why would I miss you so much? I've just been too upset these past few days, don't be angry. Actually, you're right, everyone likes unwavering love. As long as we love each other, everyone will think those photos are fake, because our first love since freshman year can be considered a love fairy tale, and many people are willing to believe in fairy tales."
Most of their fans are girls, so of course they like devoted and loyal husbands who are fiercely protective of their wives. As long as they establish this image, their fans will automatically filter out information they don't want to believe and trust them completely. This is indeed the best method right now; otherwise, no matter what they do, it will be ineffective.
After making his decision, Lin Yan called his agent to tell him his plans. His agent thought he was blind, ignoring someone as good as Qiao Zixin and insisting on dating Liu Jie, that scheming green tea bitch. However, after a few words of advice, the agent heard Lin Yan's impatient voice and silently swallowed his words, instead going to communicate with the company as he had suggested.
Lin Yan is an artist under Star Entertainment and also Star's new cash cow. Now that things have escalated to this point, the public relations department has no good solutions, so they simply gave in to their wishes and let him get married to build up his image as a good man and a good father, so that he can last longer.
Soon, Liu Jie happily became Mrs. Lin. Both were busy with work and didn't hold a wedding, but they posted their marriage certificate on Weibo. Fans on both sides immediately erupted in anger! They were fiercely debating when their two idols suddenly got married? Wasn't this a slap in the face? Fans were furious and extremely disgusted; some couldn't stand it and immediately unfollowed and became haters.
But after Lin Yan posted a long Weibo post recounting their beautiful romance, many people were moved by their relationship, and new fans who appreciated their seriousness about love joined the ranks. Overall, their fanbase didn't shrink at all, and they even gave them a beautiful nickname—the First Love Couple.
[Yan is so manly and responsible, he's got amazing boyfriend potential! I love him so much!]
[It turns out Yan Yan is already a reliable and strong man. His doting on his wife is truly a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry. Not everyone can do something like this – it's undeniable true love. I hope this couple's love lasts a long and happy life together.]
[Looking at it this way, all those negative rumors are fake, right? The two of them have a great relationship. If those rumors were true, and they had both been with other people before, how could they still be so lovingly married? It's impossible, so someone must have been trying to frame them.]
[I believe in love again. They got together at 18, were each other's first love, and even after entering the entertainment industry, they weren't blinded by the glitz and glamour. They're still so loving, sticking together through thick and thin. Oh my god, I want to fall in love now! This first love couple must stay together forever!]
[Liu Liu's perseverance has finally paid off. Our rising starlet may not have much status and is easily bullied, but she has a popular and protective husband. Those who dislike Liu Liu and want to smear her must be furious!]
[You guys actually believe that? The photos are right there. I wouldn't believe you even if you said there was nothing between you. You're both people who've been used up by other people, but you're actually a perfect match.]
[Get lost, you upstairs! You've clarified this eight hundred times already, and you're still bringing it up again? You're just a paid troll, aren't you? Are you enjoying making five cents?]
[I'm neither a fan nor a hater. After all this commotion, I hope things will finally calm down. Regardless of what happened before, now that they're married, I hope they cherish what they have.]
When Lin Yan and Liu Jie got married, the heated online arguments came to an abrupt end. Some fans unfollowed them, some questioned them, and some simply saw through it and remained silent. In short, all other voices disappeared, and people lost interest in them. What remained were the voices of blessings from their fans, which put them on the trending topics list again, this time as a married couple, establishing a positive image for them.
Qiao Zixin is now able to calmly view online comments, so she occasionally checks Weibo to keep up with the latest news. When she saw Lin Yan and Liu Jie's marriage certificate, she was genuinely stunned, remaining frozen for a while. Xu Zifan, seeing this, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"
"Still can't let go?"
Qiao Zixin shook her head. "No, I just think the difference between people is really huge. When I was with Lin Yan, he always said we wouldn't go public, and we wouldn't even take photos together. Now that it's Liu Jie, they've not only gone public but also gotten married. Since they're such a loving couple, why did he even pursue me in the first place?"
"What else could he be doing? He just wanted to use you to become famous. Now that he's famous and can establish himself, his first love has come back to him to satisfy his vanity. Of course, he doesn't like you anymore. There's no point in thinking about this kind of person."
"Yeah, at least I know it's true that he was kept by a sugar daddy for two years. It's kind of disgusting to think about." Qiao Zixin shrugged, turned off Weibo, and smiled at Xu Zifan. "Thank you. I'm very happy to see them get married. They're a perfect match and won't hurt anyone else anymore."
Xu Zifan looked at her helplessly, "Don't thank me anymore. I'm your manager now, this is what I should do, no need to be so polite. Here, take a look at this script, this is the preliminary choice. If you think it's okay, we can prepare to start filming."
They'd been looking at a lot of scripts these past few days, but none of them seemed particularly outstanding. Moreover, with their current connections, they couldn't reach well-known screenwriters or big IPs, significantly narrowing their options. This time, Xu Zifan found a novel on Jinjiang Literature City. While its sales weren't great, he felt the story was very complete and the characters were excellent. He thought that with some adaptation, it would be perfect as Qiao Zixin's comeback project.
The novel tells the story of finding an abducted child. The protagonist is initially timid and frequently subjected to domestic violence. One day, her husband, drunk, breaks her head. Her four-year-old son witnesses this, becomes terrified, and runs away crying, disappearing from sight. Devastated by the loss of her son, the protagonist, after searching in vain, breaks down in a fight with her husband, divorces him, and begins her solo search for her son.
She had no money, no education, and worked three odd jobs a day. She printed flyers and distributed them everywhere, contacting every magazine and television station she could find, begging them to help find her child. At first, people sympathized with her and did help her, but as there was still no news of her child, gradually no one paid any attention to her anymore. Some even tried to scam her with false information, but she saved money diligently, even if she was deceived, she would still believe it next time, unwilling to miss any possibility of finding her child.
Until one day, several men not only swindled her out of money but also attempted to gang rape her. She desperately slashed them with a knife and fled in a sorry state, collapsing and weeping again. Suddenly, she rebounded from despair, becoming increasingly resilient. She joined a child-finding organization, searching for her own son while also helping others find theirs. She worked odd jobs during the day and attended night school, diligently learning skills to support herself. She frequently performed good deeds, hoping the good fortune would benefit her son, thus building many positive connections. Many people were willing to help her keep an eye out for her son and spread the word.
Finally, she rescued a little girl from a mountain village who had almost been drugged and abducted. The girl told her that there was a boy from out of town in their village who looked remarkably like her son in a photograph. Five years could have passed, and a child could change drastically. Besides, the little girl wasn't familiar with the boy and wasn't entirely sure. But the protagonist dared not take it lightly and immediately took a long leave of absence to visit the village. Her workplace fired her for taking such a long leave, but by this time, she was no longer fragile and believed she could overcome any difficulty. The strength of a mother is truly embodied in her.
Later, she indeed found her son in the mountain village. Her son was nine years old, but he looked malnourished. She learned from the little girl that this family had bought her son from human traffickers because they couldn't have children. The following year, they had their own son, and they treated her son badly. They made him do all kinds of hard and tiring work, and didn't even let him eat his fill. They planned to enslave this child to be their son's slave for the rest of his life so that their own son could enjoy a life of luxury.
The female protagonist tried to negotiate with them, offering money to get her son back, but failed and was driven out of the village. When she called the police, she found that the police couldn't handle the impoverished and dangerous situation. She then began to expose the village's crimes through various methods, sneaking back into the village to protect her son. After six months of hardship, she finally attracted the attention of higher authorities, who dispatched two teams of armed police to the village to rescue all the trafficked women and children, reuniting her with her son.
Afterwards, the female protagonist did not stop what she had been doing for many years. She dedicated her life to fighting criminals who trafficked women and children, founded a non-governmental organization to help women and children, raised her son to be an outstanding person, and gave back to society with kindness, becoming a legendary figure.
After finishing the novel, Qiao Zixin remained silent for a long time, unable to shake off her depressed mood. The novel reflected a real-world problem, a problem that left everyone feeling powerless. She had never acted in this type of script before, let alone one where the female lead's early character wasn't glamorous at all—impoverished, miserable, insane, and on the verge of collapse… all things she had never encountered before. Moreover, this type of script places great emphasis on psychological drama, requiring the actor to create dramatic tension, move the audience, bring tears to their eyes, evoke feelings, and prompt reflection; it's very difficult to act well in such a role.
But after suppressing the feeling of distress in her heart, Qiao Zixin raised her head and looked at Xu Zifan firmly, "I will act in this script. No matter how the box office is, I want to act in this script, and I must act it well."