Actor: Thank you.

"Zhang Yuan, I just want an answer."

"Tell me the truth."

"Did you do this?"

Please answer me honestly.

On the phone, Kun Kun's tone was unusually serious.

This left Zhang Yuan, who was already completely bewildered, even more confused.

"what happened to you?"

"What happened?"

"It's the New Year, don't make it so scary, okay?" Zhang Yuan got up, put on his pants, and sat on the single sofa opposite the bed, settling into a comfortable position.

"It really wasn't you?" Kun Kun asked after a few seconds of silence.

"What is all this nonsense?"

"Tell me what happened."

"I don't know anything. Where are you putting on a one-man show, or a pantomime?"

"Are you really into acting lately?"

Zhang Yuan could vaguely hear a rustling sound of someone scratching their head through the receiver.

The other party was clearly annoyed.

It seems like the Lunar New Year is going to be quite a bummer.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"It's nothing, as long as it's not you." With that, he hung up the phone.

"Ugh... This is ridiculous." Zhang Yuan tossed his phone aside.

"Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan, did you see that?"

At this moment, Changchang ran out of the bathroom.

My running posture was a bit awkward, and I burned incense a little too intensely last night.

Shu Chang was holding a pure white iPhone 3G.

Zhang Yuan glanced at the N95 mask in his hand; it was time to replace it.

I'll wait until the 3GS comes out in the middle of the year before I switch.

At this time, Apple, Blackberry, and Samsung were engaged in fierce competition, and Nokia and Motorola had not yet completely declined. Mobile phone designs were diverse, with all sorts of design concepts emerging.

Unlike later generations, they were all cut from the same mold.

At this time, HTC also began to rise, a name that people born after 10 may not have heard of.

This brand was later destroyed by Apple and the political and business alliance behind it.

Because HTC is backed by HTC, which is just a Taiwanese company, they have no psychological burden when they mess with you, and they are not afraid of your retaliation.

However, during the later ZTE and Huawei eras, Apple was no longer able to handle it.

They weren't playing the same game as HTC; instead, they were playing the same game GE used, leveraging American hegemony to dismantle and acquire Alstom.

Without strong government support, profitable businesses are just easy prey in the eyes of barbarians.

"Why is it that everyone's conversations become so disjointed during the New Year?"

What did I see?

Changchang handed him her phone, which displayed today's headlines.

"Famous actor Chen Kun has been exposed for having a child out of wedlock!"

Zhang Yuan: …

No wonder Kunkun looked like that just now!
So that’s what happened.

It's normal to get angry.

But if you doubt me, I'll be wronged... no, that's not right.

Zhang Yuan patted the sofa armrest, gesturing for Changchang to sit down.

Then he recounted what had just happened.

"It definitely wasn't you who did it," Shu Chang replied firmly after hearing the answer.

"Oh, how do you know?"

"Don't let your family suffer the consequences; you don't know how to handle children."

"You trust me quite a bit," Zhang Yuan said, stroking her long hair.

"It was definitely not me who did it."

“Although it seems like I’m in competition with him lately.” Zhang Yuan thought of all the things Pang Hong had done to force him to submit.

"Get your account ready so you can receive the funds," he said after a few seconds of thought.

"What funds?"

"The box office revenue share for 'Painted Skin' should be arriving soon," Zhang Yuan said confidently.

Although he didn't do it.

But before that, Pang Hong had made Kun Kun so popular. Before the Lunar New Year, Kun Ge was quite popular on the internet because of the casting news and online polls for "Painted Skin 2".

He felt like things were going really well for him lately...

Zhang Yuan knew that he needed to cleanse himself of the debuffs after communicating with Xu Qing.

When it turns so red it's almost purple, it's not far from turning black!

Now, suddenly, just like Master Hua in later generations... yes, I have a child.

That's why it collapsed!
Even if it doesn't collapse completely, it will collapse for a while.

Would Pang Hong dare to use him?

Even if I would have dared to use it in the first place, I wouldn't now do so to avoid the risks!

"Painted Skin 2" is not "Painted Skin 1". It is a sequel, a popular sequel that has gained momentum.

This is the difference between a startup and a large corporation.

Startups can take a gamble and try some high-risk tricks.

Maintaining stability is the most important thing for large companies.

Pang Hong dared not gamble.

Therefore, his only way out was to come and find himself.

He had already lost their match.

To be utterly defeated without warning.

This is why Zhang Yuan asked Shu Chang to prepare to receive the money.

"Ouch!" Zhang Yuan suddenly clapped his hands.

"What's wrong?" Changchang was startled.

"No wonder Chen Kun is so lucky, it turns out the effect was delayed!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered that a few months ago he had given the Prada endorsement to Kun Kun.

This brand is doomed to fail no matter who takes it over; it has an unparalleled ability to provide buffs.

Unfortunately, it's a debuff.

Zhang Yuan pondered for a long time, thinking to himself, "Did Brother Kun manage to dodge it?"

Is he alright?
Kucha!
The fact that it broke out during the Lunar New Year was worse than if it had collapsed earlier; at least we could have had a worry-free holiday.

New Year?

Zhang Yuan suddenly noticed this point in time.

It didn't collapse earlier or later, but it collapsed during the New Year.

Zhang Yuan himself had just had a house collapse during the Chinese New Year.

Lee Byung-hun is probably scratching his head at home right now, just like Kun Kun from earlier, very irritable.

"Something's not right." Zhang Yuan suddenly stood up from the sofa.

"Brother Yuan," Shu Chang said with a gossipy expression, "who do you think gave birth to this child?"

"Well... how about I ask?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Changchang nodded frantically, equally curious.

Zhang Yuan then called Chen Kun back.

I called several times and got a busy signal. I guess this guy is so busy he's about to take off.

"Hello." It took a while to answer, and the person's voice was noticeably hoarseer than before.

"It's me, I saw what happened."

"Oh, you saw it." Kun replied casually.

"I won't say much more. Next time you come to my house, bring your kids along."

“You don’t treat me like one of your own, you never mention this.”

Hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Kun Kun fell silent for a while.

"It's really not you?"

"I didn't know anything about this, and why would I want to harm you?"

"Uh, well..."

Zhang Yuan: …

Are you still hesitating?

"If you're thinking about the sequel to 'Painted Skin,' then I can tell you very clearly that you are no match for me, and you have no chance of getting that role."

"I warned you before, don't let others use you as a pawn, but you didn't listen."

Chen Kun's lips twitched when he heard his incredibly confident statement.

He didn't take me seriously at all... Well, he's right, I really can't beat him.

It didn't work out in the first movie, so it's even less likely to work out in the second.

I was just overthinking things.

On the contrary, Zhang Yuan's domineering remarks dispelled his last remaining doubts.

"Okay, I'll bring one to play with next time."

"now it's right."

"Well, I can't come on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. I plan to stay home and keep a low profile for now."

"I understand." He was also invited to the gathering on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

"Whose child is this?" Zhang Yuan asked tentatively.

"Mine." "I know it's yours. I'm asking whose other bloodline it is?"

"Secret."

"Tell me about it."

"I won't tell you, don't ask anymore, I haven't told anyone," Kun replied firmly, and then hung up the phone shortly after.

"Not giving me any face at all..." Zhang Yuan scoffed.

But it makes sense, considering who Chen Kun is surrounded by.

Besides Zhao Wei, his closest friends were Zhou Xun and Li Xiaoran.

These two aren't exactly underdeveloped, they just seem to have frequent lapses in judgment.

If I really told them, they might be exposed in front of the media one day.

These two girls, like Kun, are the type who can suddenly become "self-centered".

Li Xiaoran could also say that the nutrients were concentrated in her chest without going through her brain, and she enjoyed them quite a bit.

But where did Zhou Xun's nutrition go?

Anyway, the three of them can become friends because they are similar in mind and personality.

Back when "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws" was airing, the role of Jiang Yuyan was initially offered to Da Bai. Everything was settled, and a contract was signed.

However, she suddenly ran away before filming began, losing money to play Nalan Minghui in the Ciwen version of "Seven Swordsmen".

The popularity of these two films and characters differs by an order of magnitude!

Moreover, this role was clearly very suitable for her. Just look at the Eldest Princess she played in "Joy of Life" later on; it was a similar crazy female lead role.

But I don't know what she was thinking, she insisted on playing a naive and innocent girl who sacrifices herself for love.

There's still some issue with self-awareness.

They all have thought processes that are different from ordinary people, and they are capable of doing anything.

But just before hanging up the phone, Zhang Yuan gave a reminder.

"Whoever benefits from it is the one who did it."

He didn't know if Kunkun could understand, but he believed that Li Xiaowan behind him could.

After sending Changchang home, he rested quietly at home by himself.

Because I receive so many phone calls every day, I've even turned off my cell phone.

These calls aren't for greetings, they're all for gossip!
A couple of industry insiders called to inquire whether Chen Kun had someone leak the fact that he has a son.

It's now widely accepted in the industry that Zhang Yuan "got rid of" Chen Kun in order to secure the lead role in "Painted Skin 2".

He was too lazy to explain to each of them.

There have even been numerous reports online about his conflict with Chen Kun.

But not many people are paying attention.

The hottest topic right now is still who the child's mother is!

During the Lunar New Year, besides "Not Short of Money" and Xiao Shenyang, this topic was the most popular.

It really piqued the curiosity of the onlookers.

Current popular candidates include Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, Xu Jinglei, Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Zhao Wei, Dong Jie...

Everyone has to guess.

Who is close to Chen Kun?

Who has ever had a big belly?

Say anything.

This child was born in 02. Kun Kun had just finished filming "Like Fog, Like Rain, Like Wind" two years ago, and given her good relationship with Zhou Xun, she is the most likely guess.

Whether Xun Ge is good-looking or not is uncertain, because everyone has their own taste.

But its appearance is still quite distinctive, at least it has big eyes and a high nose.

But that child looks like the child born from the pairing of Chen Kun and Xie Mengwei... that's Ga Zi.

The facial features are completely unrelated.

Let alone Zhou Xun, among the remaining few, Shuangbing is even less likely.

If Chen Kun were to be paired with any of them, they would at least be ordinary handsome men and beautiful women, if not surpassing their parents.

Zhang Ziyi and Dong Jie both have children, and neither of them are ugly or deformed.

Moreover, Chen Kun has a nephew who looks eight-tenths like him when he was a child, which is the true lineage of his.

A few days later, another media outlet broke the news.

They said the child was He Lin, a classmate of Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming.

Teacher He Lin was quite striking in her youth.

Small and exquisite, like a doll, how could it give birth to this thing?

The next day, Tianya Forum was back.

Someone claimed to be Chen Kun's neighbor in Chongqing and said they had seen his mother taking the children out for a walk before.

It is said that this child was born to a nanny.

They even posted a photo of the nanny.

This description is exceptionally well-written and vividly realistic, making the reader feel as if they are actually there.

Zhang Yuan said it was good after reading it.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the largest online storytelling platform in China before the advent of Zhihu.

Actually, he secretly called Da Bai to ask about this.

As expected, Chen Kun didn't even tell Li Xiaoran, his "buddy".

“There was no process; it just happened one day, and he brought his son to see us,” Da Bai replied.

“There are also those who say you gave birth to him,” Zhang Yuan joked.

"How could that be? Can't you tell whether I've given birth or not?"

"By the way, when are you free? We can rehearse the process before giving birth..."

Da Bai also said that the child was ugly and looked like Sun Wukong, as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Huang Yiqing, the ex-husband of Huang Yi who was involved in the drug use scandal, later claimed that the child was conceived through surrogacy.

Some say it was an abandoned child left at his doorstep.

Anyway, he's very tight-lipped and won't tell anyone, no matter what.

On the other side, at Rongxinda...

Li Xiaowan has been extremely busy these past few days.

With such a big incident involving the company's top employee, how could she not be busy?

Let's skip the New Year celebrations and get right to work.

Did Li Xiaowan know about this?

Of course she knows, otherwise her role as agent would be meaningless.

It's fine to do whatever you want in private, but it'll be troublesome if it gets exposed.

Not only will Chen Kun's image be damaged, but public opinion will also need to be quelled.

Actually, this is not a problem, because Chen Kun is a man.

Gender inequality still exists.

If a man has an illegitimate child, the public won't have as much of an opinion.

But if a woman has an illegitimate child, then there's a lot to talk about.

Various theories about being kept by a sugar daddy or sugar mommy have emerged.

"Time heals all wounds. Keep a low profile lately."

"Just don't say anything, just keep your attitude."

Li Xiaowan knew Chen Kun's intelligence well; it was best for him to keep quiet, as letting him talk would only make things worse.

But now the problem isn't just public opinion, it's also the endorsements!

As for the new endorsements, there's no need to mention the ones that are currently in talks; they're all likely to fail.

At worst, people will observe for a while, and most will give up and look for someone else.

But what's even more troublesome is that the people who already endorsed him are now suing him!

Your problems are damaging our brand image!
Moreover, Chen Kun's situation does not fall under the category of force majeure in the contract, because the fact that you have a son did not suddenly appear today; you have had him for many years but have kept it a secret.

Prada's "revenue generation team" also came knocking on their door.

The higher the endorsement fee, the more aggressive the claims will be!

Kun calculated that he would probably have to give back all the money he had earned over the years.

"Who did this?!" Li Shaohong lost his temper as always.

"Zhang Yuan is such a jerk. We agreed to keep quiet and coexist peacefully."

"They're deliberately messing with us during the Chinese New Year!" That was Director Li's first reaction.

This is called "one thing finds its master," and crayfish emerge from saline-alkali land.

The boss, Li Shaohong, and the employee, Chen Kun, have the same ideas.

“I contacted Zhang Yuan, but he didn’t know I had a child.”

"It shouldn't have been him," Kun shook his head.

“He’s definitely lying to you!” Li Shaohong retorted, “You’re so naive to believe him.”

“No, I also think it’s not Zhang Yuan.” Li Xiaowan agreed with Kunkun’s statement.

"Because if he did it so obviously, he was deliberately trying to let us know, so we wouldn't deny it."

"If they didn't want us to know, we wouldn't have guessed it was him."

"His skill level isn't that bad."

Li Xiaowan meant that unless Zhang Yuan deliberately provoked them, they wouldn't know.

This can be seen as a recognition of his abilities.

Enemies often know you better than your friends.

"And I want to say that Zhang Yuan is a man of his word in our industry."

"Why are you siding with outsiders now!" Li Shaohong scolded his old friend.

"Oh right, Zhang Yuan told me that," Kun Kun suddenly remembered, "whoever benefits from this is the one who did it."

"Oh?" Li Xiaowan squinted and pondered.

"So who really benefited?" (End of Chapter)