I Rely on My Versatility to Reach the Top of the Entertainment Industry [Ancient Times to Modern] - Chapter 39

Looking down at the long image had taken up some time. When they looked back at the screen, Jing Yi had already finished performing the drunken fist.

He pushed the sofa and table back to their original positions, sat down on the sofa, and looked at Yang Xin. His expression seemed to ask, “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

After sitting down, Yang Xin smiled at the camera. Perhaps she had thought of something, as her eyes suddenly softened with warmth. “Mr. Jing, that set of fist techniques was truly executed with vigor and power. I wonder where you learned it?”

Jing Yi: “My master taught me.”

Yang Xin: “Then where is your master? Such a martial arts expert should be quite famous.”

Jing Yi: “My master is in the mountains. He said learning martial arts isn’t for fame or fortune.”

“Which mountain?” Yang Xin pressed on, “Was it in the mountains of your hometown when you were a child?”

This kind of rapid-fire questioning was one of Yang Xin’s common tactics. Asking quickly would inevitably cause the guest to react with some delay, allowing Yang Xin to find weaknesses.

Fans stared at the screen, paying close attention to Jing Yi’s responses.

Their beloved Yi didn’t disappoint them. Each of his answers came without hesitation. Moreover, when he mentioned that his master said it couldn’t be disclosed, he looked utterly serious, as if he were truly carrying out a task assigned by his master.

“Mr. Jing, your martial arts attainments are so high, and nowadays there are countless institutions like martial arts schools, taekwondo, and sanda emerging everywhere. Do you ever feel like offering them some guidance, with the idea of returning martial arts to its orthodox roots?”

Here it comes—another question designed to make the guest’s answer subject to criticism.

Fans clenched their fists, waiting for Jing Yi’s response, hoping he wouldn’t fall into Yang Xin’s verbal trap and offend the institutions she had named.

However, Jing Yi didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Yang Xin with a strange expression.

Yang Xin’s hand, resting on the side of the sofa, twitched slightly, clearly feeling uncomfortable under his gaze again. But she didn’t concede defeat and immediately followed up, “Is this question difficult to answer? Why have you been silent for so long?”

“Not difficult to answer.” Jing Yi finally spoke, his brow slightly furrowed as he countered, “Have you actually researched martial arts for your son’s sake?”

“Ah?” Yang Xin was taken aback, her mouth hanging open—this was the first time she had been questioned back.

Jing Yi continued, “If you had researched it, you should know that any martial art that allows practitioners to strengthen their bodies and benefits their health is orthodox. Those that shorten lifespans or require harming others to master are the deviant paths.”

As he spoke, Jing Yi’s pretty little face was stern and serious, wearing an expression as if he were educating Yang Xin on knowledge she ought to know.

Fans desperately wanted to laugh.

“If you really want to send your son to learn martial arts, I suggest you let him look into and try each one. Also, ask for his opinion more often, so you can find a style that suits him and that he enjoys.”

Fans could no longer hold back their laughter.

Because Yang Xin’s meticulously made-up face showed a look of bewilderment, as if she were wondering why this had turned into parenting advice.

“Hahaha, Mr. Jing is quite right.” Yang Xin took a long moment to find her voice again, wearing an expression of trying hard to steer the conversation back. “Since Mr. Jing performs drunken fist so well, you must really like it to have chosen it, right?”

When this question was posed, Jing Yi immediately lowered his head and fell silent.

Yang Xin smiled at the camera at this moment, seemingly having found her confidence in asking questions.

Fans watching the screen speculated why Jing Yi looked so aggrieved, then heard him say: “It wasn’t me who chose the drunken fist, it was the drunken fist that chose me… My master never gave me a choice…”

“Why?”

“My master said I have extraordinary bone structure… It would be a shame not to learn everything.” Jing Yi sighed, “It left me no time to study Buddhist teachings.”

Damn!

Fans covered their mouths.

This statement contained so much information! Although they had long suspected Jing Yi had a reclusive master, they never expected this master would be a monk! And what did “learn everything” mean? Did it mean Jing Yi could do anything?

Yang Xin then helpfully asked the question fans were concerned about: “Does ‘learn everything’ mean you know many other things besides drunken fist?”

“Yes.”

Fans thought Yang Xin would definitely ask Jing Yi to demonstrate after getting this confirmation, but instead she said: “So is this why your academic performance is so terrible? These zero-mark test papers look really pitiful.”

“I’m studying now.” Jing Yi looked at the test papers with a calm expression, “I haven’t done well in this aspect, but I’ll work hard.”

“I heard during the previous ‘I Can Survive in the Wild’ special training, Mr. Jing solved a math problem posed by the audience on the spot.” The big screen showed a screenshot of that moment from Weibo, “We also have a question here, could Mr. Jing please solve it?”

A quantum mechanics problem appeared on the big screen.

Jing Yi glanced at it and shook his head: “I can’t solve this one, I haven’t studied this yet.”

Yang Xin immediately countered: “The previous math problem was about the same level as this quantum mechanics question, why can’t you solve it now? Actually, Mr. Jing seems to have a very good relationship with Mr. Lu Yuzhi, who has won multiple Best Actor awards in the industry?”

“Mr. Lu Yuzhi has great influence in the industry. He said he would take a break from the screen a couple years ago, but it seems after meeting you, he frequently takes on roles and appears on screen. I heard you were selected for Xie Qiyun’s role mainly because of his strong recommendation… Is there anything you can share with us about this? Actually, we’re also quite concerned about the relationship between you and Mr. Lu.”

Yang Xin delivered this long speech without pausing for breath, clearly having memorized the questions beforehand. Moreover, it carried the implication that Jing Yi only stood out because of backdoor connections.

Fans were speechless.

Jing Yi had proven acting skills and had demonstrated his abilities in live reality shows. Was it really appropriate to ask like this? They never realized before how annoying this program team could be. Also, Film Emperor Lu had specifically asked to keep this confidential, yet Yang Xin had to bring it up.

“We’re very good friends.” Jing Yi’s response showed no abnormality whatsoever, “There’s nothing to reveal because what everyone sees is all there is.”

“So, Mr. Jing, are you saying you rejected Mr. Lu?”

“Rejected?” Jing Yi’s eyes showed confusion, “What did I reject Yuzhi about?”

“Oh, sorry. Mr. Lu said we should keep it confidential.” Yang Xin wore an apologetic smile. “I thought since so much time has passed since that Weibo post, Mr. Lu would have made more progress. Apparently not.”

“What progress?” Jing Yi looked confused.

“His progress in pursuing you.” Yang Xin smiled suggestively.

In front of the television screen, Lu Yuzhi clenched his fists, suddenly finding the program “Yang Xin Speaks” even more displeasing.

He rarely held biased opinions about things, but now he really wanted this low-quality interview program to disappear on the spot.

Since the program was pre-recorded, this meant Jing Yi should have already returned to his apartment.

I wonder what Jing Yi is thinking…

Lu Yuzhi nervously awaited Jing Yi’s response.

“Are you misunderstanding something?” Jing Yi looked puzzled. “Yuzhi isn’t pursuing me.”

“Really? Then how do you two usually interact?” Yang Xin pressed further.

Jing Yi answered without hesitation: “During filming, Yuzhi guides me. I’m very grateful for his help in getting the role of Xie Qiyun, so I gave him a Buddha statue in return. Like me, he’s interested in Buddhism, and we’ve even stayed up all night discussing Buddhist philosophy.”

Yang Xin seemed quite surprised.

Fans facepalmed, feeling helpless for Lu Yuzhi.

Lu Yuzhi indeed felt helpless at this moment.

Leaning back on the sofa, he supported his forehead with his hand, gazing at Jing Yi’s face—which seemed to glow as he spoke about Buddhist matters—and sighed.

“I see, I understand.” Yang Xin in the television nodded and changed the subject. “I noticed you mentioned wanting new work on Weibo before. Are you facing any difficulties in life?”

“No difficulties. I’ve joined the National Wildlife Protection Association and decided to contribute my part, so I want to take on as much work as possible.”

After hearing this, Yang Xin offered some words of praise before saying: “It’s been a pleasure talking with you for half an hour today. I hope we can collaborate again in the future.”

“If we do collaborate again,” Jing Yi tilted his head slightly, “I hope the program team learns about Jing Yi directly from me, not from others.”

Yang Xin’s smile became awkward again.

After shaking hands, Jing Yi left first.

Yang Xin delivered a concluding statement before leaving her chair.

This interview episode had ended.

Lu Yuzhi watched the television screen now showing commercials, his amber eyes slightly narrowed.

Fans turned off their TVs, took out their phones, and swarmed to the official Weibo account of “Yang Xin Speaks.” As expected, right after the broadcast ended, the original video was immediately released. Apparently feeling pressured this time, they released two versions from different recording angles.

Fans watched at accelerated speed and confirmed it was unedited, feeling relieved.

Then they saw the program team tag Jing Yi to apologize, stating they would visit the deceased’s grave to express remorse and asking the public to supervise.

Jing Yi replied to this tagged message.

Fans quickly rushed to Jing Yi’s Weibo to ask what he was doing.

Just as Jing Yi closed his book, preparing to meditate for an hour before sleep, he typed to his fans: “I’m doing evening practice. Tomorrow is a workday, everyone should rest early.”

This reply was no different from usual, leaving fans with no further gossip to extract from Jing Yi.

But perhaps having grown accustomed to chatting with Jing Yi, some bold fans actually went to Lu Yuzhi’s Weibo page, commenting to ask: “Has Emperor Lu seen today’s interview? Any thoughts?”

Lu Yuzhi actually replied instantly!

“Many thoughts.”

Fans became exhilarated and followed up: “Such as? Will you continue pursuing Yi Zai in ways even he himself doesn’t know about?”

This question was brilliant!

Fans copied the comment below: “Emperor Lu really has it rough, hahaha!”

Lu Yuzhi: “…”

What kind of image did he have in fans’ minds?

But perhaps he really should let Jing Yi know a bit? Otherwise… there didn’t seem to be any progress.

Lu Yuzhi closed Weibo and opened a saved photo of Jing Yi on his phone, his thumb stroking the astonishingly beautiful face that needed no makeup.

Just as he was lost in thought, a name suddenly popped up in the notification bar at the top of his phone.

Jing Yi!

Lu Yuzhi frantically tapped to open it.

The screen instantly changed, automatically locating Jing Yi’s comment from the long thread of fan messages.

“So, this pursuit is something all of you know about, while I remain unaware?”

Lu Yuzhi nearly dropped his phone.