SABA Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Killing with a Heart, Thinking of This Wave of Traffic…

Chapter 50: Killing with a Heart, Thinking of This Wave of Traffic…

Jiang Tiao found the world quite marvelous at times – people you dislike seemed to naturally possess a magnetic field that drew them together. Otherwise, why would those you dislike always congregate and form their own cliques?

If he wasn’t mistaken, after Chu Xu got out of the car, he reached out to Ye Qinghan, and Ye Qinghan naturally placed his hand in Chu Xu’s, letting him help him out of the car. It was just… well… do men need help getting out of cars? He thought that was a courtesy extended only to women.

Ye Qinghan looked towards Jiang Tiao from afar, a triumphant smile on his face, as if showing off.

As if struck by inspiration, Jiang Tiao felt he suddenly understood something else. But didn’t Chu Xu like Luo Xingwen? And if you added the onscreen couple who liked Chu Xu during the variety show filming, how many points were in this love polygon? You’d need a relationship chart to figure it out! Good heavens, it’s so messy, this industry is truly chaotic!

Chu Xu extended his hand naturally, but Ye Qinghan’s gesture of helping was rather deliberate. He hadn’t planned on helping until he saw Jiang Tiao standing by the roadside from inside the car. Everyone knew Jiang Tiao liked Chu Xu, and for that, he had even specifically helped Chu Xu secure an audition opportunity for a role. Although he had never considered Jiang Tiao a rival and fundamentally believed Jiang Tiao had no chance of winning the audition, his purpose was to affect Jiang Tiao’s mindset – he didn’t just want him to not get the role, he wanted him to lose face in front of all the directors and producers! To become a laughingstock!

Ye Qinghan maintained a gentle and humble smile, and under the gaze of reporters holding long lenses and cannons all around, he walked with Chu Xu towards Jiang Tiao.

Nie Jin’s eyelid twitched. Most of the embarrassing incidents Jiang Tiao had caused in public were due to Chu Xu’s presence. Now with Ye Qinghan added, the debuffs were stacked. She didn’t know how Jiang Tiao’s intelligence would be further compromised. She stepped forward, subtly blocking Jiang Tiao. She no longer expected Jiang Tiao to handle things perfectly, only hoping he wouldn’t speak while she mediated.

The recent uproar online regarding the cover shoot for the “ELEGANT” quarterly issue, where Yang Min, in a desperate move, exposed Ye Qinghan’s deliberate lateness to the shoot was to force ELEGANT to replace Jiang Tiao, had caused quite an impact, even without conclusive evidence. Ye Qinghan’s approach was to clarify things.

Imagine, he approached with a suave and friendly demeanor to say hello, but Jiang Tiao responded with hostility, showing him a grimace in public. How would the media report it afterward?

After getting out of the car, Chu Xu also noticed Jiang Tiao. He saw Jiang Tiao looking at them, and for a long time. Although he couldn’t see clearly due to forgetting to wear his contact lenses, he knew that Jiang Tiao’s eyes must be filled with the usual sadness and resentment.

He put on a confident smile and deliberately, yet naturally, put his arm on Ye Qinghan’s shoulder. Jiang Tiao, this is the punishment you deserve for throwing a tantrum during the variety show recording last time! This is what you deserve!

Jiang Tiao watched the two of them approach him with their arms around each other, and he sighed leisurely, “Sometimes it’s not a good thing to be too strong, too competitive.”

Nie Jin: “?”

Jiang Tiao: “In shonen manga, only protagonists who are awesome have the qualification to be taunted by the villain before the competition.”

Nie Jin closed her eyes in despair. Ahead, a rival movie star with ulterior motives; behind, her own artist who might have gone crazy and started talking nonsense. Nie Jin felt the road ahead was dim.

Jiang Tiao: “If the dignified movie star and top idol were to beg me to be merciful, how should I reply without losing face for them?”

If it weren’t for all these people watching, Nie Jin really wanted to grab Jiang Tiao by the ear and yell at him – “Please go see a doctor!”

Tsk, Jiang Tiao thought Nie Jin was great in every way, except for her lack of a sense of humor.

Ye Qinghan stopped in front of Jiang Tiao, his face displaying the humility and gentleness he always presented to the public. “Long time no see. I didn’t expect to run into you here. Are you here for an audition too?”

His tone carried a natural familiarity and surprise. If he hadn’t known about all the things Ye Qinghan had done behind the scenes, Jiang Tiao might have wondered if Ye Qinghan was a friend he had made during his amnesia years.

Nie Jin was astonished by Ye Qinghan’s shamelessness. Could he not know they would be here? It was thanks to his and Zhang Xuelan’s shameless efforts that he was here himself.

Just as Nie Jin was about to speak, she heard Jiang Tiao’s voice from behind.

“It hasn’t been that long, has it?” Jiang Tiao’s smile was even more cordial than Ye Qinghan’s. “Didn’t we shoot for ELEGANT magazine on the same day not long ago?”

You should stab where it hurts the most. Ye Qinghan’s expression froze for a moment. Even Nie Jin was stunned; disbelief and pleasant surprise flashed in her eyes. Jiang Tiao hadn’t lost his mind because of Chu Xu. She had been prepared to fight alone!

Chu Xu felt Jiang Tiao was still the same, unable to read people and bad at speaking. He glanced at Ye Qinghan’s expression, furrowed his brow, and was about to interrupt.

“Oh!” Jiang Tiao seemed to realize something. “I forgot, you seemed to be delayed by something that day!”

Ye Qinghan’s smile stiffened. The reporters were all at a distance, only able to see their expressions and actions, unable to hear what they were saying at all. He suppressed his clenched teeth and put on a very gentlemanly smile, already planning how to gradually infuriate Jiang Tiao.

“There’s no need to say more,” Jiang Tiao cut him off before he could speak. “Last time you shot yourself in the foot, I should thank you for sending me such a huge wave of traffic.”

Jiang Tiao’s face was full of a sincere smile, as if he were a humble and earnest junior being guided by a senior he had admired for a long time. Anyone looking from afar could find no fault.

“Oh, you don’t know, the scripts and endorsements I’ve been getting recently are like snowflakes, I can barely choose! This is all thanks to your behind-the-scenes strategizing!”

Ye Qinghan’s smile slightly distorted. He was well aware of Jiang Tiao’s recent explosive popularity. Killing with a heart, the thought that this wave of traffic was actually given to Jiang Tiao by him almost made him lose his composure.

Seeing that Ye Qinghan’s smile was about to falter, Jiang Tiao’s smile grew even brighter. He deliberately exclaimed “Oh!” and reminded him, “The reporters are watching, remember to keep smiling~”

After saying this, Jiang Tiao left without waiting for Ye Qinghan’s reaction. The timing was perfect. To outsiders, it looked like they had just completed a brief, friendly, and enthusiastic greeting, all harmonious and cheerful.

Ye Qinghan’s meticulously planned strategy was stillborn, and he couldn’t chase after Jiang Tiao. He was so stifled that his heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys were all upset.

Chu Xu looked at Jiang Tiao’s retreating figure, knowing that Jiang Tiao didn’t want to face the scene of him and Ye Qinghan together. The old Jiang Tiao was unforgiving, and his resentment and anger were clearly displayed. The current Jiang Tiao, however, began to use forced strength and indifference to conceal his inner sadness and bitterness – even if the disguise wasn’t perfect, making him feel like he was covered in thorns.

Was it because he had previously said he disliked his unreasonable behavior?

When Chu Xu thought about how Jiang Tiao would ponder his preferences, change for him, and shyly display aspects that didn’t belong to his original personality to attract him, he no longer felt so angry about Jiang Tiao’s deliberate tantrums on the variety show.

It was all to attract his attention.

Just as Ye Qinghan was about to speak, he looked up and saw Chu Xu, who always focused only on him, gazing in the direction Jiang Tiao had left, his eyes clouded, with a hint of joy. Ye Qinghan’s heart skipped a beat, and he was suddenly filled with the panic that his possession was about to be taken by someone else. His strong possessiveness gave him a sense of crisis. His eyes seemed to be laced with poison, but it was only for a moment before it was concealed. He slightly lowered his eyelids, displaying a hint of hurt.

“Did Jiang Tiao misunderstand something about me?”

Chu Xu’s attention immediately shifted. He saw Ye Qinghan’s flustered expression and his heart softened immensely. His low voice carried a hint of mockery, “Why do you care what he says? He can’t even compare to a single strand of your hair. He’s just jealous of you.”

Ye Qinghan appropriately showed a bit of shyness, his eyes conveying a hint of disapproval with “Don’t talk nonsense.” Only after Chu Xu’s gaze shifted away from him did the corners of his lips curl into a smug smile.

…

The audition venue chosen by Guan Qing was a professional film and television park. Although there were many people and it was bustling, the overall process was relatively smooth and not too chaotic.

“Under the Axiom” was a group-oriented drama with five main characters. If ranked by screen time, Zhao Heng’s role was likely third or fourth. Jiang Tiao’s original audition time was in the morning, but due to the numerous judges and questions, the audition time for the previous candidates extended, and it wasn’t Jiang Tiao’s turn even by lunchtime.

The film and television park had a dedicated canteen. Jiang Tiao chose the latter between ordering food and trying something new – as it turned out, people’s intuition was often normal; things that looked unappetizing tasted even worse!

Just as Jiang Tiao was about to pack up his barely touched meal and take it to the dish return area, Guan Qing, holding a tray, sat opposite him.

Guan Qing was accompanied by two people. One was around fifty years old, dressed impeccably, looking very serious and unsmiling. The other had a messy bird’s nest of hair, droopy eyelids, and huge dark circles under his eyes, his entire being screaming “I’m so sleepy, I can’t go on” – coupled with Guan Qing in the middle, looking perpetually impoverished and exceptionally poor – Jiang Tiao couldn’t help but think of “the same rice feeds different people.”

The difference between behind-the-scenes workers was truly vast.

Guan Qing’s smile remained a light, faint one, as if shrouded in an unshakeable sadness. He glanced at Jiang Tiao’s tray and said with a smile, “Not to your taste?”

Jiang Tiao wasn’t so tactless as to criticize the host’s provisions in front of them. Nie Jin, who was by his side, with her heart in her throat, replied politely with a smile, “No, I’m a bit nervous and don’t have much of an appetite.”

Nie Jin’s heart relaxed a little. Jiang Tiao didn’t recognize anyone, but she did. To Guan Qing’s right was Director Yu Hanchang. If Guan Qing was the most talented director of the younger generation, then this person was truly a cultural icon of Chinese cinema and a representative figure of Chinese directors. Several of his films had been nominated for Oscars, making him an internationally recognized master director.

Guan Qing smiled. He couldn’t see any nervousness from Jiang Tiao’s expression at all.

Jiang Tiao felt that Guan Qing had lost a lot of weight compared to their last meeting – he was already very thin, and now he was so emaciated that he looked almost gaunt, as if he were merely holding himself up with sheer willpower. Recalling what Huo Shen had told him earlier, Jiang Tiao couldn’t help but say half-persuadingly and half-jokingly, “Director Guan, please take care of your health. It’s never too late to film, but if your body collapses, you won’t have the capital for revolution.”

Guan Qing was slightly taken aback. Everyone involved with the project was urging him to start shooting quickly and launch the project as soon as possible. He hadn’t expected Jiang Tiao to be the first person to tell him to rest.

He didn’t respond, but a hint of gentleness appeared in his eyes. “I forgot to introduce them. This is Ji Nian, the chief screenwriter for ‘Under the Axiom.’ The role of Zhao Heng came from him.”

Ji Nian, with his bird’s nest hair, was so sleepy he was almost slumping into his food. He picked at his rice with his chopsticks in one hand and raised his other hand. The entire greeting process involved him not even lifting his head. He probably hadn’t even noticed whether the person opposite him was male or female. Jiang Tiao couldn’t help but laugh and cry, finally understanding why Guan Qing hadn’t added “If you have any questions about the character, you can ask him” at the end of his introduction.

“This is Director Yu Hanchang, who is half my teacher. I specifically invited him this time to screen and assess the candidates for me.”

Jiang Tiao was somewhat surprised. He certainly knew Yu Hanchang. But did casting really require such a big-name director to oversee it? It seemed like a waste of talent. Guan Qing inviting Yu Hanchang could only mean that he didn’t have 100% say in the selection process, so he had to invite a more authoritative outsider to help him avoid unprofessional interference.

But the result of this was that the main decision-maker for the audition and casting had shifted from Guan Qing to Yu Hanchang. To pass the audition, Yu Hanchang’s vote was crucial. And if Jiang Tiao remembered correctly, Yu Hanchang was the director of the film that won Ye Qinghan the movie star award.

Yu Hanchang remained silent, merely giving a slight nod. His attitude was polite but detached, as if he didn’t want to be drawn into any personal connection.

Jiang Tiao saw a clear disdain in his eyes, not directed at Jiang Tiao personally, but at the group of traffic stars he represented – those who rose to fame through hype and lacked acting skills, disrupting the ecological balance of the entertainment industry.

Oh, it’s a hassle. It’s just one role, why does it feel like a journey to the West?

On one side was someone he had collaborated with, and on the other was someone with a long-standing prejudice. If it weren’t for the others present, Jiang Tiao really wanted to ask Guan Qing if he had offended him in some way, forcing him to create so many difficulties for him artificially.

…