"You're kidding me, saying you're not familiar with her. With all those rumors going around, if you go tell people you're not familiar with her, you'll definitely get called a scumbag."
Old Tian didn't even know how to roast this guy anymore.
"Who am I rumored with recently?"
Qi Hao sighed. He hadn't seen Fan Xuexue for at least three months now.
Rumors, my ass!
"Gao Yuanyuan and An Feng." Old Tian chuckled.
"Gao Yuanyuan or An Feng?" Qi Hao was puzzled.
"Don't you go online? Can't you check for yourself? Both! Both are your rumored partners, satisfied?"
Old Tian didn't necessarily want to argue with his boss, mainly because these rumors were too absurd.
No manager in the entire entertainment industry worked harder than him.
Zhanqi Laiden had just taken over, and he dumped these troublesome matters onto him.
Zhanqi Laiden couldn't handle it either.
"These media and netizens are outrageous, especially the male netizens. They're jealous of my good looks; they're pretty much the ones fueling those rumors."
Qi Hao said bitterly.
He had a lot of female fans, spanning a wide age range, but male fans were very scarce.
He had almost become the public enemy of male netizens.
Because no matter which female celebrity these male netizens were fans of, it seemed like there was always some ambiguous connection with Qi Hao.
"Actually..." Old Tian wiped his mouth with a tissue and said in a weird tone, "Actually, your online reputation has slightly improved recently, I mean, among male netizens."
"Why?" Qi Hao was confused.
"Well, first, it's because of 'Heavenly Dog' and 'Oath of Allegiance,' you acted quite manly. Secondly, you're seen as loyal for singing at a bar for a friend. Also, quite a few people joke that you gained sympathy points for getting hit by Deng Zhao's car... Did you plan this all to start redeeming yourself?"
Old Tian's eyes were filled with suspicion.
It turned out that his guess had some basis, but knowing Qi Hao, he doubted Qi Hao could come up with such a plan.
"So, you're saying, these 'strategies' of mine have been quite effective?"
Qi Hao's eyes lit up immediately.
He thought completing the system tasks would ruin his image, but he was surprised with the unexpected benefits.
First, Ziwen took the blame for him, making his female fans feel sorry for him.
Then, because of his misfortunes and manly image, he connected better with male netizens.
"Come on, you're just as lucky as a blind cat catching a dead mouse!" Old Tian looked at Qi Hao's expression, certain it couldn't be a strategy, and said disdainfully, "If you really want to participate in the Beijing Satellite TV Annual Film and TV Gala, shouldn't you stay away from Fan Xuexue?"
"She contacted me before. If I don't go, fine, but if I do go, wouldn't it be heartless not to say hello to her?"
Qi Hao figured since he was going anyway, walking the red carpet with Fan Xuexue wouldn't be bad.
He vowed not to pull Fan Xuexue's dress when he stumbled.
"Haozi, I'm not kidding this time, if you keep having no boundaries like this with women, when you really meet the woman you love, she'll definitely get hurt because of this flaw..." Old Tian said seriously.
"But... I don't have a girlfriend!" Qi Hao understood.
As an idol star attending events, the organizers would surely arrange a red carpet partner for him.
Rather than finding a stranger and starting a new rumor, it's better to use the previous one. At least people aren't as enthusiastic about old rumors as new ones.
Did they really think he was that dumb?
"Alright then, enjoy yourself." Old Tian was too lazy to deal with him.
Only when Qi Hao truly experienced it and faced reality would he probably understand this sincere advice.
The first Beijing Satellite TV Annual Film and TV Gala was held at the National Grand Theater.
Part of the red carpet was arranged outdoors, and part extended indoors.
The outdoor section was cordoned off with safety lines, with fans and media outside the lines, while the indoor section was primarily for autographs, photos, and interviews.
Beijing in January was so cold it made people question life, but the female celebrities seemed completely unfazed by the cold, competing to show off more of their fair skin.
Without the makeup, their skin would probably look a bit pale.
Qi Hao and Fan Xuexue sat together in the business car waiting in front of the red carpet.
Both were shivering a little.
Fan Xuexue was cold, while Qi Hao was excited.
Soon, he would become a major shareholder of Penguin—at least a minor one, worth billions in assets.
"Xue'xue, Hao, there's a problem with the red carpet up ahead; you'll have to wait a bit longer!"
Fan Xuexue's assistant ran over to inform the two inside the car.
"Aren't you cold like that? Didn't apply heating patches?" Qi Hao had no choice but to chat to calm his anxiety.
"Heating patches?" Fan Xuexue's voice was trembling.
Though there was air conditioning in the car, it couldn't be set too high, or going outside might cause cramps, making it hard to stand steadily later on.
A male celebrity and a female celebrity sitting in a car.
If the female celebrity couldn't stand steady after getting out, needing to lean on a wall to walk properly, what would people think?
It wouldn't seem pure at all.
"Heat pads, hand warmers." Qi Hao then realized he'd used the wrong term.
Heating patches couldn't really be stuck on the body after all.
"You're so funny~" Fan Xuexue giggled, chatting did indeed take some focus off the cold.
"Haha~" Qi Hao felt unjustly treated.
He really didn't mean to show off his humorous side to Fan Xuexue, what's wrong with just saying the wrong name?
"You haven't been very active lately, have you?" Fan Xuexue, realizing she couldn't get on the red carpet for a while, decided to chat with Qi Hao.
She originally planned to invite Qi Hao for coffee after the event today.
Since there's time now, they can chat a bit.
Having coffee late at night isn't great, it implies too much.
Qi Hao is a suitable guy, but being suitable doesn't mean they should really be together.
After all, Qi Hao is just a young actor.
His career is not even as developed as hers, the big star.
In terms of capital, he couldn't offer her what she wants and being in a relationship would make it difficult for her to maneuver freely in terms of capital like she does now.
It's very realistic, yet there's no helping it.
Otherwise, how could a girl like her stand in the entertainment industry?
"I've been busy setting up my studio recently, and hit a brief downtime, but will be joining a crew next month."
Qi Hao intended to steer the topic towards managing the studio and thus seek advice from Fan Xuexue who established hers at the beginning of last year.
"And what about follow-up resources, haven't you been in touch?" Fan Xuexue wasn't interested in discussing studios with Qi Hao.
The backing for her studio is something Qi Hao couldn't replicate even if she told him.
"I'm already in touch, I might be working with Producer Ye on 'October Wei City'…"
Qi Hao indeed experienced a resource gap recently, partly due to starting his studio and partly due to the upcoming Olympics reducing projects compared to last year.
"Ah, you also took 'October Wei City'? I did too!"
Fan Xuexue was a bit pleasantly surprised.
She had some liking for Qi Hao, saying this on the show might be somewhat promotional, but at least internally she didn't resist it.
"Well, that's great, looking forward to collaborating."
Qi Hao gently shook her extended hand, her small hand cold, uncertain if it was due to internal cold.
"I often have resources on my end, I'll show them to you later, if you're interested, I can introduce you."
Fan Xuexue wouldn't date Qi Hao, but collaborating was completely fine.
Having won the Golden Rooster Best Actor, Qi Hao had both looks and acting skills, making him a great collaboration partner.
"Thank you so much then."
Whether needed or not, saying thank you wouldn't be wrong at this time, yet the woman's gaze was a bit intense.
Making Qi Hao… quite embarrassed.
Luckily, Fan Xuexue's assistant opened the car door, carefully checking if her makeup, especially her lip color, was smudged, while discussing the situation and helping to lift her dress as she got out.
Unexpectedly snow started falling, growing thicker, causing the organizer to pause the red carpet and set up a makeshift canopy over it.
Qi Hao got out first, and after Fan Xuexue popped her head out, he held her hand to aid her getting out.
Holding hands doesn't mean much, it's a gentlemanly behavior common among male celebrities.
Qi Hao glanced at the ground, feeling quite regretful.
Why set up a canopy?
If there weren't one, he could pretend the snowy ground was too slippery and accidentally fall, even if he tore off Fan Xuexue's dress no one would say it was intentional.
Now beneath the canopy lies a thin layer of snowflakes.
Hardly enough to make someone slip.
If proceeding with the original plan, Capital Satellite TV might follow in Ziwen's footsteps, being blamed for Qi Hao's fall.
Such a tease!
No grudges, they invited you to the event after all.
This is akin to deliberately stirring things up.
Fan Xuexue beside him shivered slightly but soon straightened up.
Female celebrities embarking on a journey!
Qi Hao, having debuted for ten years, knew well where to look and where not to, or else easily captured at angles leading to social embarrassment.
They walked a few steps and stopped.
Fans shouting from both sides amidst the snow asked them to stop for photos.
There were fans of Fan Xuexue, as well as Qi Hao's fans, but fans these days possessed some sort of madness, especially staying put under heavy snow seemed more maddening.
Fan Xuexue glanced at Qi Hao, and both halted.
Slightly standing apart for fans and media to snap photos, following a burst of clicks, they continued walking.
Fan Xuexue extended her hand again to Qi Hao, allowing him to continue holding it.
A female celebrity being this proactive, if Qi Hao ignored, today's media would have tomorrow's material.
Yet holding hands made it harder to fall.
If Fan Xuexue pulled him up, Penguin's stock might plummet.
A failed attempt to fall once, retrying would appear overly suspicious.
Capital Satellite TV would hate him.
Moreover, as a twenty-something man, often exercising with decent physical fitness, intentionally falling was quite brain-draining.
Nearing halfway through the red carpet, soon entering the indoor hallway, Qi Hao decided to go all in.
It's about time.
Maybe he should fall right here!