True Star Chapter 63

Tang Feng felt rather curious when he heard about the Internet Water Army, but Xiao Yu had banned him from reading any articles or discussions about himself online. However, Tang Feng had a strong mind, plus he was stubborn, so he shrugged off Xiao Yu’s words. Br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity, he opened up a page on a well-known discussion board. Quite a number of people were talking about him, though there were significantly more insults than anything else.

As Tang Feng read through some of the comments, he burst into laughter.

“I’d thought you would be angry after seeing those comments. In the past, if anyone ever insulted you, you’d argue with them without stop.” It was a beautiful morning. Lu Tian Chen was flipping through the newspaper dressed in a casual outfit of neutral tones. Glancing at the headline on the page, Lu Tian Chen’s lips curled up briefly in a cold smile.

“Then you must’ve found me incredibly annoying in the past.” Tang Feng put the tablet aside and lowered his head to take a  sip of milk.

When Lu Tian Chen put down the newspaper to look at Tang Feng, the other man’s lips had a ring of white around it. Tang Feng licked his lips delicately, but feeling that there was still some milk left , he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

“What’s past is past. You’re fine the way you are right now. Anyways, what do you think of the insults you’ve read online?” Dragging his gaze away from Tang Feng’s lips, Lu Tian Chen casually asked as he looked down again at the newspaper.

“I find them interesting. Some of these people act like they know me personally. Some describe in detail how I had bullied Ge Chen as if they had witnessed it themselves. And then there are the people who praise me excessively. All of these people envision their own version of ‘Tang Feng’ based on their a.s.sumptions.” Ever since he had been living under the same roof as Lu Tian Chen, they’d eaten breakfast together. Rather than sitting together in awkward silence, Tang Feng had decided that he’d rather make an effort to communicate with his boss a bit.

Tang Feng didn’t have a good first impression of Lu Tian Chen, but he wouldn’t judge someone just from that. To understand someone, he would have to spend time and talk with them.

Summing it up, Lu Tian Chen’s flaws were also the keys to his success. He was decisive, ruthless, and indifferent. Whether he liked or hated someone, he would not bother hiding his feelings.

“Are the opinions of strangers important to you?” Lu Tian Chen looked at Tang Feng. “People misunderstand and insult you. They don’t understand the reasons for your actions and even deliberately seek to hurt you. How can you stay as calm as you are now?”

Tang Feng shook his head and responded, “I’m not a saint, so of course I would feel unhappy. I found a good saying online the other day, ‘If you’re not calm, then your b.a.l.l.s will hurt.’ It’s cra.s.s, but straight to the point. Also, I simply don’t believe that I don’t have anyone on my side in this world. There will always be at least one person who will understand me, believe in me, worry for me, and stand by me. What kind of person I am, what I have or have not done will all be revealed with the pa.s.sing of time.

“As for these statements that could be true or false, they may fool some people, but they’re underestimating the public’s intelligence if they think they can fool everyone.” Tang Feng expressed his views honestly. He had never been afraid of what other people thought of him. The only thing he was worried about was whether his performances would live up to his own standards.

People who treated the audience like monkeys to play tricks on would one day be laughed at in the same way.

“It’s good that you think this way. The press conference for True Star Training Cla.s.s is tomorrow. It’d be best for you to stay at home today. I’ll have the PR department deal with all the articles on the web and in the newspapers.”

Tang Feng was fine with that. He didn’t mind staying at home for a day, but there were still some things he had to say.

“I trust that the company will do its best to promote the interests of its employees. I also trust that you are a good president. While I don’t mind the public judging me, I do mind being attacked for no good reason.” Tang Feng stood up and beamed a charming smile at Lu Tian Chen. “President Lu, can I trust you?”

“In terms of work, you can trust me.”

♦

Having been ordered to stay at home, Tang Feng sat in Lu Tian Chen’s beautiful garden sipping on a cup of afternoon tea. While doing so, he read through some international news on the tablet. Some time had already pa.s.sed since he had “died,” and news about him was gradually diminishing.

He didn’t mind what strangers thought of him, as those people never made an effort to understand him. However, he was very concerned about his friends. His sudden departure had deeply hurt some of them. Reading through their remembrances and words of grief seemed to take Tang Feng back to when he still had heart disease. The ache in his heart was as strong and vivid as before.

“Michael Gino?” Among the many articles, Tang Feng suddenly found that the people who were grieving over his death also included the guy who was so at odds with him before.

The world lost a talented artist, and I lost an important friend.

―Michael Gino

Tang Feng sighed as he suddenly had an indescribable feeling in his heart. He didn’t know what kind of mentality Gino was in when he had written this, but Tang Feng’s impression of him changed after reading that line.

Even though they were rivals who couldn’t stand each other, most of the time rivals were also the ones who understood each other best. From this point of view, they probably could be considered friends.

Gino appeared dejected in the article’s photo, and it didn’t seem like an act. As an actor, Tang Feng could tell when someone was sincere or just pretending to express their true feelings. Gino was not pretending to be grieving. The sadness that was reflected in his eyes made others hurt for him.

“Gino…” Tang Feng shook his head and closed the page.

♦

The press conference for True Star Training Cla.s.s took place at 3p.m. sharp the next day. All three presidents of the partic.i.p.ating companies were present along with the cla.s.s’ students. Before today, no one knew who would be attending the cla.s.s or who would be teaching. When they arrived at the venue and saw the partic.i.p.ants of the show, the reporters finally understood why this training cla.s.s had been named “True Star.” They were also surprised at the incredible cast of coaches the show had managed to gather.

The coaches were not present at the conference, but just their names on the backboard were enough to shock the press. Even Tang Feng was surprised upon seeing the names.

The coaches the show had gathered for vocal, fitness, dance, etiquette, and acting lessons were all influential members of their respective fields. Tang Feng had heard of some of these people before, but had not had the chance to meet them. Some he had already cooperated with in movies and commercials while others had been some of the most influential people in his past life.

The acting coach Leary was an international actor who had won awards at almost every major film festival.

Tang Feng hadn’t taken this training cla.s.s too seriously before, but his att.i.tude completely changed after seeing the names of the coaches. He had the opportunity to see some of the most important people from his past life again. Even though his status and appearance were completely different from before, he couldn’t quell the excitement rising in his heart.

Lu Tian Chen, Charles, and Su Qi Cheng were all in attendance. Ge Chen had also appeared as a special guest. Aside from asking questions about the training cla.s.s, the reporters didn’t forget to ask about the conflict between Tang Feng and Ge Chen.

However, Lu Tian Chen didn’t give either of them an opportunity to respond.

“The information in the articles yesterday was distorted. The legal department of Tian Chen Entertainment will investigate the newspapers and magazines that have started these rumors without verifying their information and will hold them accountable for their actions. I’ll also take advantage of everyone’s presence here today and declare something. Tang Feng is not only an employee at the Tian Chen Group, he also played a major part in establishing Tian Chen Entertainment. The people who know him understand what kind of person he is. Ge Chen and Tang Feng both falling into the ocean was just an accident. a.s.suming that Tang Feng had deliberately plotted against Ge Chen is ridiculous. Tang Feng himself had to stay in the hospital for a month due to his injuries and was just discharged last month.”

Lu Tian Chen smiled at the reporters and enunciated clearly, “As for the truth of the accident, you can direct your questions at Ge Chen.”

With a flick of his hand, Lu Tian Chen threw the ball into Ge Chen’s court.

Tang Feng was glad that Lu Tian Chen had spoken up for him and felt an urge to laugh when he saw the man pa.s.sing the problem to Ge Chen. How was Ge Chen going to keep up his image of being innocent, kind, and beautiful now? Lu Tian Chen had already spoken and the media was also present in force. Unless Ge Chen wanted to destroy his own image, he wouldn’t dare point fingers at Tang Feng.

Was Ge Chen someone who would willingly sacrifice the image he had built through painstaking effort? If he were, then he would have never hired people to beat up Tang Feng and post lies on websites, nor sent false tips to newspapers.

Lu Tian Chen loves Ge Chen?

Up until now, Tang Feng hadn’t seen anything to support that idea.

Faced with the media, Ge Chen clarified that everything on Tang Feng in the articles had been falsified. The two of them then gave each other a hug to demonstrate their good relationship. Tang Feng suddenly found the whole matter ironic and hilarious.

Scandals came and went. So what if this one was resolved quickly?

In the future, scandals and slanders would wash over him like a flood. This was only one of the twists and turns a celebrity had to face. The only thing that would protect one from such gossip was the quality of one’s work.

Tang Feng understood that it was time he found a few movies to act in.