Chapter 31: Weary from Coping

"Hello? I'm in Kyoto right now."
"I've seen it. It's all nonsense!"
"Impossible. It's just a misunderstanding—I don't know how it got filmed!"
"Okay, okay, I understand..."

She ended the call and, weary, walked from the balcony to the living room.

Her agent, Zhou Hong, handed her a glass of milk.
"Drink this first—you’re exhausted."

Jiang Yan took the milk, and the two women sat down on the sofa in the living room. After taking a sip and setting the glass aside, Jiang Yan spoke listlessly:
"There were so many calls today, all asking the same thing."
"My mouth is sore from explaining."
"But these people—some are relatives from home, some are old friends."
"You can't ignore them or refuse to answer. Who knows what kind of rumor would be born from that?"

Zhou Hong squeezed her hand in understanding, comforting her:
"Give it a few more days. Once the excitement settles, they’ll stop asking."

Yet she nervously pressed, "You’re certain there’s nothing between you and Su Chen?"

Jiang Yan almost laughed, though she felt like crying. Since the news broke online, Zhou Hong had immediately sought her out to get the full story—from the identity of the man in the video, to whether anything had happened, how they met, and what really transpired that night. Jiang Yan had explained everything. But Zhou Hong couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

After all these years, Jiang Yan had never been embroiled in any scandal, nor had she grown particularly close to any male celebrities. Why, then, had she suddenly run off alone to River City, only to be embroiled in rumors?

Worst of all, according to Jiang Yan’s account, the man in question was just a recent graduate—five years her junior. Every time Zhou Hong thought of this, her gaze toward Jiang Yan grew more and more peculiar.

"Luckily the media didn’t capture Su Chen’s face. Otherwise, things would get really complicated."

Jiang Yan drained her glass, feeling a mixture of relief and lingering anxiety.
"When will we clarify the situation?"
"Just thinking about people spreading rumors that I’m involved with some old man makes me furious."

Zhou Hong was exasperated too. Some people online could truly fabricate anything.

Despite her own frustration, she analyzed the situation professionally.
"Wait a bit longer. Now isn’t the time."

Jiang Yan frowned in confusion.
"Wouldn’t clarifying things now be better?"
"If we wait, who knows what else they’ll invent about me?"

"And with all these calls lately, a clarification would surely make things easier."

Zhou Hong shook her head.
"No."
"Given what’s been exposed so far, clarifying immediately isn’t the best option."
"Some parts of the rumors are true—like the video of you and Su Chen."
"Other parts are fabricated—such as the story about you getting a marriage certificate with an old man."
"If we deny everything, I worry they might be holding back more videos. If there’s irrefutable evidence in those, we’re finished."
"No one would believe our clarification, and it would indirectly confirm the marriage story, which would be terribly unfair."
"If we issue a vague statement, netizens will pick at any holes, accusing us of being defensive or playing word games."
"Either way, it could backfire."
"So let’s wait."
"See if any solid evidence surfaces. Usually, to keep the hype going, they’ll release whatever they have bit by bit."
"If nothing else shows up, it means they’ve run out of material."
"Then we can act."

Hearing Zhou Hong mention her involvement with Su Chen, Jiang Yan’s cheeks flushed unintentionally.

Though she always acted bold and uninhibited around Su Chen, Zhou Hong knew she was, at heart, an adult untouched by experience—someone who understood everything in theory, but had never put it into practice.

A theorist!

Jiang Yan opened her messaging app, staring in dismay at the long string of red notifications. After countless phone calls, the messages were piling up as well. She was exhausted and instinctively reluctant to respond.

Inside, motives were mixed: some genuinely concerned, others merely fishing for information. She selectively opened a few messages.

Wen Yan: Jiang Yan, are you alright?
Wen Yan: Is there anything I can help with?

This thoughtful woman brought a smile to Jiang Yan’s face.

Jiang Yan: I’m fine, it’s just the media making things up!
Jiang Yan: The company wants to wait a few days before clarifying.

Wen Yan: That’s good, that’s good. These reporters are outrageous!
Wen Yan: The video looked so real when I first saw it—it startled me!
Wen Yan: The man’s clothes in the video looked exactly like what Su Chen wore. By the way, do you remember what Su Chen wore the last time we had dinner together?

Jiang Yan was mortified, as though someone had pierced through her defenses.

She thought silently: that man is Su Chen. But she couldn’t say it aloud.

Jiang Yan: How would I remember what he wore?

Wen Yan: Are you still angry with Su Chen? He’s actually a good guy!

Jiang Yan: ...

After chatting for a while, Wen Yan was finally convinced Jiang Yan was alright and stopped asking.

The celebrity chat group had been showing 999+ messages for days, and she hadn’t opened it yet.

Once she did, she saw Ji Xiangyang and Luo Zhe making jokes about her.

These shameless guys!

She tapped out a message in the group:

[Jiang Yan: @Ji Xiangyang @Luo Zhe, could you two act like decent people? I’m already in this mess and you’re still making fun of me.]
[Jiang Yan: @Jiang Jing, Sister Jing, no need for now—the company already has a plan. If I need help, I’ll ask you then.]

Not long after, replies flooded in.

[Ji Xiangyang: The leading lady finally emerges! How does your first taste of scandal feel?]
[Luo Zhe: We’re not laughing at you, we’re just concerned.]
[Jiang Yan: Bah! Scoundrels!]
[Ji Xiangyang: ...]
[Luo Zhe: ...]

Jiang Jing, however, hadn’t replied—perhaps she was busy.

Others in the group joined in, offering comfort or teasing. The chat was lively and warm.

After closing the group and replying to other friends, Jiang Yan realized an hour had slipped by.

She rubbed her brow.

Dealing with all this was far more exhausting than singing.

Thinking of singing only made her head ache more.

She had planned to release a new album in October, but so far only seven out of ten songs were ready.

And their quality was merely average—neither outstanding nor poor, but only enough to fill out the album.

The pressure was immense.

Though she was currently a rising star, the next generation eyed her position hungrily.

Second-tier singer Xi Siyuan was just a step away from breaking into the top tier, and she seemed to treat Jiang Yan as her goal—or, more aptly, her imagined rival.

The competition was both overt and covert.

When Jiang Yan announced her new album for October, Xi Siyuan immediately did the same.

Clearly, she intended to step over Jiang Yan to ascend.

But Xi Siyuan’s company, Dynasty Entertainment, had always been the archrival of Jiang Yan’s own, Glory Entertainment.

Such rivalry was no surprise. Still, being targeted by an ambitious junior left Jiang Yan uneasy.