Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 365 Unspoken Rules (5.5k)
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"Gu Qing, do you think you're the most popular among the four top celebrities?"

Jin Jie's first question was like a bucket of ice water precisely thrown into boiling oil, instantly creating invisible ripples on the recording set.

This question is clearly pointed at something, directly addressing the most sensitive issue in the fan community: the struggle for status.

Not answering would be tantamount to lowering one's own worth and showing weakness to the enemy;
However, if they give a direct answer, no matter what they say, the fans of the other three groups might seize on it and launch a collective attack.

If it were any other celebrity who usually practices Tai Chi,
At this moment, they are probably already racking their brains, thinking about how to cleverly change the subject, or to throw out some ambiguous, non-offending remarks.

Gu Qing, however, seemed completely unaware of the danger involved, or perhaps he simply didn't care.

Without even a second thought, he nodded calmly, his voice clear and steady: "Of course, I'm the most popular."

Gu Qing was perfectly clear-headed—did he think that if he didn't admit it, the fans of the other three groups would let him off the hook and stop criticizing him?
Since the result is the same, why bother to cover it up?

"Ahhhh!!!"

as predicted,

Upon hearing this rather arrogant declaration, the audience in the recording studio fell silent.
This was immediately followed by even more enthusiastic gasps and cheers, filled with a sense of anticipation and excitement, instantly igniting the atmosphere.

"Oh? You really think so?"

Even the battle-hardened Sister Jin showed a hint of genuine surprise. She leaned back slightly and took a second look at the seemingly well-behaved and pretty little one in front of her.
I never expected him to act so unpredictably. "Aren't you afraid that the three of them... will be dissatisfied?"

"Dissatisfied?"

Gu Qing chuckled lightly, her laughter carrying a matter-of-fact certainty, "You have to accept it whether you like it or not."

He slightly adjusted his posture, his tone remaining calm, yet each word resonating: "Regardless of the number of plays for a single song on music platforms..."

Or it's the TV drama's ratings and online viewership;

Then there's the film's box office performance and the recognition it has received from major awards to date...

Every single performance metric is currently my highest.

He paused briefly, his clear, bright eyes looking at Sister Jin with a hint of questioning, yet also with absolute confidence. He tilted his head slightly and smiled, "So, Sister Jin, you tell me, if I don't take this number one spot, who would dare to?"

The youthful vigor was on full display at this moment; it wasn't blind arrogance, but a dazzling brilliance built upon absolute achievements.
Like the midday sun, its brilliance is so dazzling that it is impossible to look directly at it.

The fans in the audience were so excited by these words that they let out almost uncontrollable screams.

"Well said! In the entertainment industry, what matters most is real talent!"

Sister Jin clearly appreciated his genuine and frank nature.

She clapped her right palm a few times with her left hand holding the prompt card, her face beaming with a smile. "I love how straightforward and honest you are!"

However, she changed the subject, her smile becoming somewhat "malicious": "But this isn't over yet."

"Ah...there's more?"

Gu Qing, who had just been standing tall and exuding confidence, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, his handsome face scrunched up as he pleaded, "Sister Jin, please, have mercy on me and let me go."

His sudden change of attitude and pleading for forgiveness instantly broke the tension and tension created by the previous question, eliciting a burst of good-natured laughter from the audience.

"How could we let you off so easily?"

Sister Jin gave him a very feminine, reproachful look. "We finally managed to invite such a popular person like you to our show. There are so many rumors about you online."

My sister came here on a mission today; she absolutely has to verify this in person.

"What deeds?"

Gu Qing's eyes widened slightly, revealing just the right amount of curiosity and innocence.

"There are tons!"

As Sister Jin counted on her fingers, the audience's breathing quickened and their eyes became more excited with each item she listed. "Like... diva behavior, unspoken rules, and all those true and false scandals..."

Each word uttered was met with a low gasp and whispers from the audience.

"My goodness, Sister Jin is truly amazing! This is so exciting!!"

"Oh my god, can we just ask that directly? Won't a fight break out on the spot?"

"I think the smile on Gu Qing's face almost froze..."

"Let's talk about this big brand first."

Sister Jin rested her arm on the table, leaned forward as if preparing for a deep conversation, and asked with a smile, "Gu Qing, tell me the truth, have you ever acted like a diva?"

"Sister Jin, you need to tell me first which big name you're referring to."

Gu Qing's smile returned to its previous naturalness, and he responded calmly, "If you mean being arrogant and rude to staff, frequently arriving late or leaving early during filming, or being absent from signed business events without a valid reason..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, then shook his head with absolute certainty: "I haven't done any of these things."

The atmosphere at the scene seemed to ease slightly after his denial.

"Hey, so where did you put on your big show?"

Jin Jie's tone carried a hint of sarcasm, as if she had been disappointed.

"I've dated celebrities before."

Gu Qing casually uttered a sentence, instantly piquing the curiosity of everyone present.

"Wow! That's so fierce?!"

"Has Gu Qing's younger brother ever acted like a diva towards other celebrities?"

"Who are you talking to? But my little brother is so well-behaved, if he really acts like a diva, then it's definitely the other party who's at fault first!"

Fans always stand unconditionally on the side of their idols.

"Acting like a diva towards celebrities? Why? I'm so curious about that!"

Jin Jie's eyes lit up instantly, and she leaned forward even more, exuding a strong "gossip" vibe.

She hadn't expected that inviting Gu Qing today would bring one surprise after another. The sheer explosiveness of those two questions alone was enough to guarantee that the show's ratings would skyrocket after it aired.

"I'm generally very easy to talk to,"

Gu Qing blinked, and even deliberately hummed a couple of times, with a touch of youthful indignation.

"But unless an artist acts like a diva in front of me first..."

He paused deliberately before continuing, his tone slightly raised, "Then I'll have to have a good competition with him to see who has the bigger 'card'."

Gu Qing already had a vague guess in her heart, and knew whose team the negative news about "Gu Qing acting like a diva" originally came from.

In the past two years in the industry, the only time he almost had a falling out with a colleague was when he was filming Running Man.

I never expected that even after so much time has passed, the other party would still be doing these underhanded things behind my back.

"Wow! A celebrity is actually acting like a diva in front of Gu Qing?"

"Who is this? So stubborn? Trying to show off in front of a top celebrity?"

"Haha, the way the little brother hums is so cute! Are the post-95 generation's workplace reforms extending to the entertainment industry?"

"Just to correct you, my brother was born in 96!"

The audience was buzzing with discussion, their curiosity piqued to its peak.

"Who is so capable? Tell me quickly, let me hear it too!"

Not only were the audience eagerly awaiting the answer, but even Sister Jin couldn't wait to listen, wishing she could grab a melon seed to crack open.

"It's confidential; I can't reveal who it is specifically."

Gu Qing knew when to stop and cleverly returned the favor in Jin Jie's own style. He smiled and spread his hands, "Jin Jie, you usually only reveal the truth and then stop, right? How could I dare to reveal my real name here? That would just be asking for trouble."

"That's...ok."

Jin Jie was speechless at his words and could only laugh and shake her head. What he said was indeed correct, and she herself often did the same.

Although her comments were brief and indirect, which was no different from pointing fingers at the celebrity and insulting them, she didn't actually reveal their real name.

"Then let's move on to the next question."

Sister Jin quickly composed herself; she even extended a hand, virtually cupping Gu Qing's chin in a slightly teasing gesture.

The question posed was even more pointed: "As we all know, in the entertainment industry, many artists cannot avoid a problem, which is—the unspoken rules."

She emphasized the pronunciation of those three words, looking at Gu Qing with a playful gaze: "Especially a male idol as good-looking as you... must have encountered plenty of hints or explicit suggestions about unspoken rules, right?"

“Male actor, Sister Jin, today I’m here as an actor to promote the movie.”

Gu Qing tried to laugh it off and shift the focus slightly.

"Don't try to change the subject,"

Sister Jin smiled and waved her hand, not giving him a chance to escape, "Hurry up and tell the truth, have you encountered it or not?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing's face flashed with an extremely unnatural expression, and the corner of her mouth twitched, as if she found it difficult to speak.

He glanced at the audience below, who were holding their breath, then looked at the camera. Finally, he took a deep breath, nodded, and said in a lower voice, "I've encountered it before."

"Wow--!"

A collective gasp erupted from the audience, many covering their mouths, their eyes filled with shock, heartache, and even greater curiosity.

"Male and female?"

Sister Jin asked very direct questions, which showed that she was very experienced.

"...all of them."

Gu Qing remained silent for a moment before uttering those two words. As the conversation deepened, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, his expression calmed down, and even carried a hint of imperceptible fatigue and indifference.

"I'm so sad, my brother actually experienced this!"

"I'm going to cry! How could this happen!"

"Actually, when you think about it, this is the reality... The better you are, the more fat you are in some people's eyes."

"I just don't know if my brother has been..."

Whispers rippled through the audience, their emotions a complex mix.

"So...have you ever been sexually assaulted?"

Jin Jie continued her efforts, voicing the ultimate question in everyone's mind.

"Of course not!"

Gu Qing quickly waved her hand, denying it firmly, then gave a helpless bitter smile, "If I had really been taken advantage of, how could I dare to sit here and say it in front of you?"

"Then why didn't you agree?"

Sister Jin cut to the chase: "Is the offer not high enough? Or are the conditions not tempting enough?"

"It's not about the compensation."

Gu Qing shook her head. "This is my bottom line. No matter how high it is, I will not agree. Some things, if they can't be done, simply can't be done."

A few scattered claps broke out in the room, clearly indicating that most people did not believe it.

"So, what exactly are these so-called unspoken rules you've encountered?"

Sister Jin nodded, then changed to a more specific angle and continued to ask questions.

"It's... the kind of way that people usually imagine."

Gu Qing's expression calmed down somewhat, and she listed the incidents in as even a tone as possible, "For example, when attending some events or dinners, there will be people... who secretly touch your legs, or who use excuses to rub against you..."

They'll try to get you drunk at the drop of a hat, or secretly give you expensive gifts or slip you their contact information, clearly indicating they want to invite you to 'discuss business alone' or 'go out and have some fun'...

He let out a soft sigh, as if trying to dispel these unpleasant memories: "Anyway, there are all sorts of messy ways, it's impossible to guard against them all."

At this point, a warm and sincere smile returned to his face, like sunlight piercing through the gloom: "But I was very lucky. I met many wonderful older brothers and sisters along the way. They helped me a lot and protected me a lot."

He began to list them off: "Like the brothers from the Running Man cast, and Sister Liying and Sister Jiang Xin, whom I met while filming..."

Especially Sister Jiang Xin, she's incredibly charismatic, and I admire her greatly.

Once at a dinner party, someone kept urging me to drink, their intentions quite obvious. Sister Jiang Xin simply picked up her glass and verbally rebuked them. I thought she was amazing!

"Jiang Xin, that girl, has a pretty fierce personality, like a female knight-errant."

Sister Jin nodded in agreement, and without any hesitation, added a curse, "As for those with ulterior motives, they are the cancer of the industry! Scoundrels!"

"Then why did you so readily reject these people?"

Sister Jin then asked another practical question, "Aren't you afraid of being threatened or retaliated against?"

You need to understand that many artists with no connections are genuinely blacklisted or even completely eliminated from the industry for resisting unspoken rules.

"I'm different."

Upon hearing this question, Gu Qing suddenly laughed, "They can't hide me."

"Because... I have someone backing me."

"what?!"

"My god! Gu Qing really has a powerful backer? I always thought it was just fake news made up by haters."

"How could it be fake? In the entertainment industry, who can become as popular as him without someone supporting them or having a sugar daddy?"

"So Gu Qing wasn't a rags-to-riches story after all... As expected, it was all a scheme orchestrated by capital long ago..."

The chatter in the recording studio instantly grew louder, almost filling the entire room, with everyone's face beaming with excitement at the "just as I thought" and "this is a bombshell!"

Even Sister Jin, who is known for her fearlessness,
Upon hearing Gu Qing's earth-shattering statement, "I have someone behind me," they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a rare hesitation and surprise flashing across their faces.

If she continued to ask... who is the person behind Gu Qing?
Could it really involve some "big shot" that she has to think twice about and is not comfortable investigating further?

In the bizarre and unpredictable entertainment industry, this is not a strange thing at all.

But Jin Jie was ultimately constrained by her "sharp-tongued and outspoken" persona and the audience's expectations, considering her consistent style and personality.
She took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure, and asked in a low voice with a tentative caution, "The person behind you... is very big?"

“Very big.”

Gu Qing nodded affirmatively.

"Would...would you mind revealing just a little bit?"

Jin Jie felt that her curiosity and pursuit of the show's effect ultimately outweighed that slight caution.

"Of course you can, what's inconvenient about that?"

Gu Qing smiled innocently and said very readily.

With everyone's ears perked up and breaths held, he gave the answer clearly and loudly:
"The people behind me are my fans."

Sister Jin: "..."

audience:"???"

An eerie silence fell over the entire room for a moment.

"Fans...fans?!"

Jin Jie's brows furrowed completely. She looked at Gu Qing in disbelief, as if trying to confirm whether he was joking or teasing her. "You...you little brat, are you playing word games with me here?"

"Sister Jin, I'm telling you the absolute truth."

Gu Qing's joking expression faded, and her tone became sincere and serious, "In your opinion, what is the most important thing for an artist in the entertainment industry?"

Before Jin Jie could answer, he asked himself, "Is it background? Is it status? Or is it so-called top-tier resources?"

"None of them are correct."

He shook his head and said decisively, "It's just one very simple word: making money!"

"As long as you can make money, and make money continuously and in large quantities, then you have the confidence and the right to say 'no' to those unreasonable unspoken rules."

Gu Qing's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout every corner of the studio, "Unless the other party is crazy, why would they turn down a role that could earn them tens or hundreds of millions of yuan?"

Just to force me to have a meal with him, or to satisfy some of his selfish desires.

"Even if there really is such a fool who wants to blacklist me because of this,"

Gu Qing shrugged. "Naturally, there will be other smart companies that want to make money who are willing to give me opportunities because I can bring them greater benefits."

Therefore, commercial value is an artist's most important and powerful "status" in the entertainment industry, and also their most reliable "protective shield."

"What you... said does make sense."

Sister Jin was stunned for a moment, then had to slowly nod in agreement.

The pursuit of profit is an eternal nature of capital. As long as you can create enough value, many rules will indeed make way for you.

Even if you have a house collapse or a minor violation of laws and regulations, they can help you turn black into white.

"Yes, that's why I say my fans are my biggest support and my strongest backer."

Gu Qing turned his head and looked at the camera. His smile was sincere and warm. "I'm not putting on an act, nor am I faking it. I genuinely believe it."

His voice softened, "Your likes, support, every time you watch a TV series, every time you buy a movie ticket, all contribute to my commercial value."
This is my strongest courage and confidence in fighting against injustice and darkness.

"If I'm not famous, no one will watch my shows, my movies won't sell, no one will listen to my songs... I simply have no leverage to say 'no' to those unspoken rules."
I probably would have faded out of the entertainment industry long ago.

It is because of you all that I am able to be 'willful' today, and have the right to refuse some rules that I don't like.

These words,

Not to mention the fans who haven't seen the show yet, many audience members were deeply moved.

"You yourself must be excellent and hardworking enough to attract so many fans who genuinely support you."

Sister Jin's tone softened, and she added with a hint of appreciation.

“Sister Jin is right, so my fans and I are mutually supportive.” Gu Qing nodded with a smile.

This time, the applause was more enthusiastic, sincere, and lasting than ever before.

"Thank you, thank you everyone."

Gu Qing clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to the audience in all directions, and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

"However, don't get too excited yet."

After the applause subsided, Sister Jin's face once again displayed her signature smile, as if she was about to "stir things up."

He raised an eyebrow at Gu Qing, "The final 'main event' is about to begin."

She picked up the last clue card, her gaze fixed intently on Gu Qing, like a hunter eyeing its most prized prey:

"Come on, tell me all about all the real and fake rumors that have circulated about you since your debut..."

Of all the actresses you've worked with, was there any... one you truly fell for?

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(End of this chapter)