Chapter Ninety-Six: One Must Not Tarnish One's Own Name

An Tinghan had never thought about any of this.

She simply felt, in the most uncomplicated way, that she liked Chen Fang and wanted to be a little closer to him.

But she had never considered the consequences at all.

After all, in more than twenty years of living, she had never known what a price was.

"It’s only dating. It’s not as if we have to get married."

An Tinghan tried to comfort herself.

To meet a man she had taken a liking to, to begin the kind of romance she had always longed for—this was something she had never experienced in all her years.

Tong Qin shook her head.

Dating?

With the An family’s standing, the person An Tinghan dated would still have to pass strict scrutiny.

The more prominent and powerful a family was, the more they cared about appearances.

If someone like Chen Fang were to date An Tinghan, they would not be able to bear the humiliation of it.

What a pity.

An Tinghan did not understand.

A faint glimmer passed through Tong Qin’s eyes. Truthfully, she quite approved of Chen Fang; it was just that he was still too immature now. "You need to give Chen Fang time to grow. Don’t be in such a hurry."

At that, An Tinghan bit her lip.

Chen Fang did have time to grow.

But she did not.

She was already in her twenties now, and from the An family’s perspective, at her age she should have long since been married off through a family match. The reason she could still be in the entertainment industry, doing what she wanted, was entirely because her mother doted on her and did not wish to force her too hard.

Tong Qin did not object to An Tinghan being with Chen Fang.

After all, they were a handsome man and a beautiful woman—an excellent match.

But Tong Qin hoped An Tinghan would think more about Chen Fang. With the power of the An family, a single word from them could make him unable to survive in the entertainment industry.

In the past, An Tinghan never had to worry about such things.

Because before this, she had never liked anyone.

So the An family had always indulged her as she pleased.

But now things were different.

"Even if you don’t think about yourself, think a little more about Chen Fang."

That was Tong Qin’s final reminder.

She could not say any more.

After all, Tong Qin was only An Tinghan’s manager and had no great authority to interfere with her.

An Tinghan looked dispirited, and the excitement she had felt while watching the program had faded quite a bit. She hugged her knees and buried her head in them, no one knew what she was thinking.

Seeing this, Tong Qin let out a sigh.

To be honest, if An Tinghan’s family background were similar to Xi Yuanyuan’s, Tong Qin would have long since thrown her full support behind her and told her to go after Chen Fang without hesitation. With Chen Fang’s abilities, he had every hope of one day standing on equal footing with the Xi family—more than enough to count as a fitting match.

But the An family...

Even if Chen Fang exhausted himself to the bone, he would still have little chance.

Sometimes, being born into too good a family was its own kind of restraint.

Tong Qin shifted her gaze back to the television and looked at the carefree, unruly smile on Chen Fang’s face.

Suddenly, an absurd thought flashed through her mind.

What if... Chen Fang did not like An Tinghan?

...

On the sixth day of filming.

That day, a rather dramatic incident occurred during the shoot.

Cheng Jie announced that he was withdrawing from the program midway through filming.

That’s right.

The man had run off early.

The reason the production team gave on the subtitles was that Cheng Jie had suddenly felt unwell and needed to leave Dream Mist Island at once for examination at a large hospital.

But in reality, Chen Fang knew exactly what had happened.

That fellow had had a huge argument with the female guest he was paired with, and the two had fallen out completely. In a fit of anger, Cheng Jie simply chose to go on strike.

And since Cheng Jie’s early departure was definitely against the program’s rules, Creative Vision Entertainment paid the production team a hefty sum in compensation, and Cheng Jie left Dream Mist Island ahead of schedule.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Chen Fang.

Strictly speaking, during the filming, Chen Fang had never specifically targeted Cheng Jie. Who would have thought Cheng Jie was so pathetic that he did not even last until Chen Fang had started trying? He was just too weak.

This episode was nearing its end, and the production team simply stopped pretending and laid everything on the table.

By the latter half, almost every shot was of Chen Fang and An Tinghan.

Especially when An Tinghan’s fans saw their idol, day after day, trailing after Chen Fang like a little shadow, acting every bit like a clingy little wife, they were heartbroken beyond words.

Filming entered its seventh day.

Today was the last day.

As the wrap-up day for the shoot, the production team gathered the couples together again and, through interviews, asked each guest about their seven-day experience.

The one suffering most, without question, was the female guest paired with Cheng Jie.

Cheng Jie had run away.

But she could not.

Creative Vision Entertainment was willing to pay a massive penalty on Cheng Jie’s behalf, but the company this female guest belonged to was not. So she could only grit her teeth and finish the episode alone.

What made it worse was that, in front of the camera, no matter how hurt or furious she felt inside, she still had to keep smiling.

At that moment, this female guest hated Cheng Jie to the core.

"That idiot Cheng Jie. Just wait until I get back."

Inside, she was cursing him from head to toe; on the outside, she wore a bright smile.

The interviews were somewhat dull.

After all, every guest was an old hand at this. Dealing with an interview segment like this was all technique and no feeling.

Except for one person.

An Tinghan.

Facing the interview, An Tinghan actually seemed to be showing genuine emotion.

As for Chen Fang, he was acting as usual.

That evening, all the guests sat together outdoors around a bonfire for dinner.

The production team generously served a lavish spread. The male and female celebrities sat together, chatting and laughing, the atmosphere especially harmonious.

As they talked, one of the female guests suggested singing.

They were all entertainers.

Singing was second nature to them.

The others naturally would not refuse. After all, this was their last appearance before the program ended; they would certainly want to perform well and win more presence in the audience’s eyes.

"Then I’ll start," one of the male guests said with a smile.

Lit by the bonfire, he slowly began to sing his debut song.

It had to be said that the guests present were all somewhat well-known figures in the entertainment world, so their singing skills were solid across the board. There was no possibility of anyone sounding bad.

In the flickering firelight, the music drifted far away.

Before long, the song ended.

Then, one after another, their signature hits rang in the audience’s ears.

Those songs also stirred the memories of all the viewers, who eagerly began cheering for their idols.

"My youth is back."

"Forever supporting Snow Snow."

"The last time I heard these familiar songs was... well, the last time."

"My ears are pregnant."

"You’re pregnant? My ears have already had a second child."

"An Tinghan is the best, my wife is the best!!"

Message after message of scrolling comments conveyed satisfaction and delight.

Whether it had been arranged by the production team or not, Chen Fang was surprisingly the last person to sing. The others shifted their gazes toward him.

"Chen Fang, I heard you’ve always relied on original songs. How about improvising one on the spot?" one of the female guests said with a smile.

Of course, it was a tease.

Among the guests here, only Cheng Jie and Chen Fang had any real friction, and Cheng Jie had already withdrawn from filming early, so the atmosphere between everyone else was still pretty good.

"Improvising on the spot is too hard on you. I’d rather hear Wish Fulfilled. I’ve been looping the Heavenly Queen An version every day, and I want to hear what it feels like when the creator himself sings it," another female guest said, kindly giving Chen Fang an out.

The others all looked at him with anticipation.

What would Chen Fang’s version of Wish Fulfilled sound like?

But Chen Fang only smiled and shook his head. He asked the production team for a guitar. "Since I debuted by writing original songs, I can’t go around ruining my own reputation. I’d better sing an original I’ve never sung before."

...