novelraw Chapter 691 - 492: Intimate Lovers (Part 2)
Chapter 691 - 492: Intimate Lovers (Part 2)
Chapter 691: Chapter 492: Intimate Lovers (Part 2)
Liu Zhikun’s expression changed instantly.
"I said the same to Meng Ran, if your love for each other is so intense that you can’t control yourselves, you need to be smarter and more cautious. In this era, cameras are ubiquitous, and everyone’s phone has a camera that can capture anything at any time. Whatever you’re planning to do, you should go somewhere private and safe."
Liu Zhikun sighed, saying, "It’s not that easy. Both of us are constantly surrounded by a huge team."
Zhou Yun replied, "No matter how big the team, they can’t be with you 24 hours a day, can they? Besides, when it comes to relationships, the company forbids them. Once you’re exposed, the only option is to break up. Are you willing to accept such a breakup? If you don’t want to break up, shouldn’t you endure loneliness a bit more? I know opportunities are rare, but you can’t just recklessly dash towards destruction, right?"
Liu Zhikun stopped speaking. Zhou Yun’s words hammered at his heart, one word at a time.
Zhou Yun sighed.
"I’m sorry, I actually have no right to lecture you," Zhou Yun said. "I know your situation is much tougher than mine was."
"No, you’re right," Liu Zhikun said with a bitter smile, "but often, we just can’t do it."
"I have friends who are artists, but due to the company’s obstruction, they eventually had to break up. Of course, because they hadn’t been together long and didn’t have a deep emotional foundation, maybe they were just sad for a while and then it was over. However, I still hope that such regrets can be minimized. You and Meng Ran both have so many fans, and there are plenty of paparazzi around. Everyone’s watching you. Trying to maintain a relationship under such scrutiny is very difficult, to be honest, I even think it’s impossible."
Liu Zhikun kept a bitter smile on his face and said nothing.
The company always admonished them to be obedient. Only by being obedient would the company be willing to give you good resources. If you’re disobedient, in the company’s eyes, you lose a certain value—a kind of stable value.
Liu Zhikun had also seriously thought about talking to the company to ask for some freedom. The company wasn’t nasty in their attitude; in fact, they often seemed very well-meaning, giving him the feeling of "strong support." However, later on, Liu Zhikun sadly realized that the company treated him more like a pet, cajoling and pampering, saying lots of nice things but never truly valuing his opinions.
—Your opinion is unimportant. You’d better be someone without opinions and follow the company’s arrangements.
Liu Zhikun originally thought that he was different from those other idol celebrities; he had proven himself with facts. He could act; he had the potential to go further and reach higher as an actor. But none of that mattered. Even as an actor, you’re just a pet with slightly more noble blood in the company, able to be sold at a higher price, but with no change in status. Even as an actor, you’d best be someone without your own opinions.
Of course, he didn’t want to be an obedient artist. There were many such artists in the industry. They were popular, treating the company like their nanny team, causing trouble everywhere and leaving the company to clean up their messes. Liu Zhikun had the ability to do the same because he was popular, and his future was promising. As long as he didn’t cross any lines, the company wouldn’t abandon him. But he couldn’t give up his image that way. He knew that if he wanted to go further and not just be an idol living off fan adoration, he had to protect his image, not be seen frequently at nightclubs, not spout outrageous talk, not be flanked by a different partner from each side, and so on.
And because of his fans—those crazy fans—he couldn’t have a girlfriend. If his fans weren’t so insane, in reality, if he had a girlfriend, the company wouldn’t mind. Regrettably, among his fans, some—not a large number, but already enough—were sharp and extreme. As soon as a female artist got a little affectionate with him on a show, they would madly attack that female artist, and at the same time attack the company, blaming the company for not protecting him well, as if he were a pure angel who didn’t know how to protect himself and needed to be looked after.