Out on the internet, everything was happening so suddenly.
By the time people managed to process what was going on, the situation had already taken a dramatic turn.
Staring at the trending topic about Liu Kai’s case, which had shot up the charts at breakneck speed, netizens were completely dumbfounded.
Wait, what on earth is going on here?
Weren’t we just talking about Jiang Nian a moment ago? And now, in the blink of an eye, it’s all about Liu Kai?
Is the world changing this fast now?
People were utterly bewildered, but they didn’t dwell on it for too long.
Because very quickly, their focus shifted entirely onto Liu Kai.
It wasn’t that they lacked self-control.
It was simply that this scandal was way too big and way too juicy.
Celebrity hires a hitman, Jiang Nian, arrest, first trial.
Any one of these four words alone would be enough to grab everyone’s attention.
Let alone the fact that they were all bundled together right now.
If you had to describe it, only one word comes to mind—explosive!
Absolutely freaking explosive!
“New here, just asking—has the entertainment industry not been liberated yet? How did hiring a hitman even become a thing?”
“Holy crap, that’s brutal. What kind of grudge does Liu Kai have against Jiang Nian to go this far?”
“You don’t know? A few months back, Liu Kai and Yang Mi broke up because he cheated. He tried to reconcile with her, but he went to the wrong place and ended up at Jiang Nian’s house instead. Jiang Nian beat the hell out of him in front of a bunch of reporters. It was all over the trending charts back then.”
“But still, that’s not enough reason to hire someone to kill him, right? How deep could the hatred possibly be? And I remember Liu Kai saying that matter was already settled.”
“If it were really settled, do you think Liu Kai would’ve done something like this? I’m starting to feel like the entertainment industry is terrifying. Holy shit, you hire someone to hurt another person over a disagreement? That’s insane.”
“So, the person Jiang Nian killed a while back was actually sent by Liu Kai?”
“Probably. And chances are, those guys weren’t ordinary thugs either. Otherwise, Jiang Nian wouldn’t have come out of it not only unscathed but also praised by the police.”
“Damn, this circle is messy. I was trashing Jiang Nian not long ago, but now it looks like he was completely innocent all along.”
“Exactly. We all misunderstood him.”
“So, are we still watching Dragon Gate Flying Aces?”
“Of course we are! We can’t see how Jiang Nian fought back in real life, but at least we can watch it on the big screen!”
“Whoa, that’s a brilliant way to think about it. Now I have to watch it!”
“…”
Online, discussions about Liu Kai’s case were going wild.
Not only did people piece together a rough timeline of events by connecting the two incidents, but Jiang Nian’s public image also took a massive, unexpected turn for the better. As a result, Dragon Gate Flying Aces shot straight to the top of the trending lists, generating an explosion of buzz!
Seeing all this, Xu Ke, who had just finished his film promotion, was practically giddy with excitement, almost blowing a snot bubble.
He thought his movie was dead in the water.
But not only did it survive, it bounced back even stronger than before.
A saying came to Xu Ke’s mind: “When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first test his resolve, weary his muscles and bones, starve his body, and exhaust him…”
Applied to his film, it wasn’t just a perfect fit—it was spot on!
Xu Ke looked excitedly at Jiang Nian, who was removing his makeup, and was about to walk over and share the joy with him.
But before he could get a word out—
Ring, ring, ring—
Xu Ke’s phone buzzed restlessly.
He pulled it out and saw that the caller was none other than Wanda Cinema, the very chain that had pulled Dragon Gate Flying Aces from theaters just a few days ago!
Xu Ke couldn’t help but laugh: “Oh ho, you’ve got a sharp nose, don’t you? I didn’t come looking for you, but you’re coming to me, huh!”
He then stepped aside with the phone to take the call.
After Xu Ke left, Yang Mi made her way over to Jiang Nian. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said with a grin, “Jiang Nian, I’ve got a piece of good news and an even better piece of news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
Without turning his head, Jiang Nian replied, “Let’s start with the good news.”
“The good news is, Liu Kai is in police custody, and the authorities have already posted about it online. Now everyone’s scrambling to distance themselves from him. Your blacklisting is officially over.”
Hearing this, Jiang Nian wasn’t surprised. He just let out a small sigh, thinking it was a bit of a shame.
Honestly, he’d been hoping to find some free time to have a nice, heart-to-heart chat with Liu Kai in private.
But clearly, that wasn’t going to happen anymore.
There were too many cops at the station. If he tried to have that kind of “heart-to-heart” there, he’d probably end up in a cell himself.
“So what’s the even better news?” Jiang Nian asked.
Yang Mi leaned down, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered softly, “The even better news is that now that he’s inside, the marriage between him and me can finally come to an end. And when that happens… well, you’re in for a treat.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Jiang Nian shuddered violently.
He hastily put down what he was holding, turned around, and looked at Yang Mi with an expression of sheer terror—the first time he’d ever shown such fear. “How is that better news?! That’s even worse!”
“???”
Yang Mi was completely stunned.
Then, as realization dawned, she exploded. “Jiang Nian, what the hell do you mean by that? Are you saying you don’t want me?!”
Jiang Nian didn’t say a word, but the look in his eyes said everything.
Yang Mi: “…”
As the old saying goes:
Talk smack for a moment, pay for it for a lifetime.
Because Jiang Nian had turned down Yang Mi’s “treat,” he had seriously wounded her pride.
As a result, for five whole days after that, Yang Mi didn’t speak to him.
She was hoping that through this cold-shoulder treatment, he would realize his mistake and come crawling back to apologize.
Unfortunately for her, Jiang Nian happened to be extremely busy during those days.
After finishing the film promotion in Chuncheng, he returned to the capital.
And the very first thing he did upon returning was get called in by Bai Yongxu. First, they discussed the case, and Bai made it clear that there would be no public statements, and he hoped Jiang Nian wouldn’t use the incident to generate hype or promote himself.
Second, they talked about registering Jiang Nian’s combat abilities due to the level of force he had displayed.
Jiang Nian agreed to that, though he asked to push the date back a little.
After wrapping up all that, the next thing on his plate was the new project.
While the incident in Chuncheng had blown over without any real harm done to him, it had made him realize just how limited his options were.
He couldn’t keep relying on pure internal energy and brute force to launch stones or branches with no technique whatsoever.
Sure, raw power could get the job done, but it wasn’t a sustainable long-term solution.
Not to mention, it drained his internal energy like crazy.
So, to make up for this shortcoming, he absolutely needed to learn a long-range attack method.
He started reaching out to contacts, asking around for acting gigs.
But unexpectedly, thanks to his current popularity and his image as a positive figure endorsed by the authorities—something rare in the entertainment industry—coupled with Liu Kai’s failed attempt to blacklist him, quite a few directors actually reached out to Jiang Nian, hoping to collaborate on a film.
“Director Wang, it’s not that I don’t want to come, but I really can’t pull off this role of Ma Zouri you’ve assigned me. What? Old Ge is in it too? Even if Old Ge is there, I’m still not coming. This role just isn’t right for me.”
“Hello~ Director Jia? You want me to play Dahai? Sure, I’ve got the build and the vibe for it, but the character’s image doesn’t fit. Let’s talk later, okay? We’ll talk later.”
Hanging up on two big-name directors who had thrown him offers, Jiang Nian rubbed his temples, feeling utterly speechless.
He was indeed in need of a project right now, but that didn’t mean he’d just take anything.
Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin was one thing, but what the hell was Jiang Buwu thinking, asking him to play Ma Zouri in Gone with the Bullets?
There’s no way he could act in that kind of movie!
Just as Jiang Nian was lamenting his situation—
“I heard you’ve been looking for a new project?”
Pushing open the door to Jiang Nian’s rental apartment, Yang Mi walked in with a cold expression.
Hearing her voice, Jiang Nian put down his phone, picked up the bowl of instant noodles that had gone all bloated from sitting too long while he was on the phone, took a slurp, and nodded. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“What do you mean, what’s up? You’ve got a massive resource like me right here, and you don’t even bother to ask. But whatever, I can’t be bothered to argue with you. These are some scripts I’ve gathered over the past few days—they’re all looking for you. Take a look and see if any interest you.”
With that, Yang Mi casually tossed her handbag in front of Jiang Nian.
Inside were over a dozen scripts, packed tightly together.
Without standing on ceremony, Jiang Nian picked them up and started flipping through them.
The Grandmaster, The Final Master, SPL 2…
He furrowed his brows and silently set them all back down.
Seeing this, Yang Mi let out a puzzled hum. “What’s wrong? Not interested?”
Jiang Nian shook his head. “No, I actually like them. They’re all great scripts—just not what I’m looking for right now.”
“What do you mean by that?” Yang Mi frowned.
Instead of answering, Jiang Nian pulled out his phone, logged into his verified Weibo account—the one he hadn’t touched in ages—and stared at his empty homepage for a moment. After a brief pause, he opened the compose window and typed out his very first post:
[Hello, fellow producers! I’m personal trainee Jiang Nian, who has been practicing for two and a half years. I enjoy singing, dancing, rap, and basketball.]
[I am currently in urgent need of a eunuch role. Interested parties, please DM me.]
With that, he hit post without hesitation.
Watching all this unfold, Yang Mi was left utterly bewildered: “???”
