Chapter 103: Twenty

This big-budget production Above the Throne, with over 100 million invested, had positioned itself from the early promotional phase to vie for this summer’s box office championship. As a result, nearly half the entertainment industry’s media showed up for today’s premiere ceremony.

As the box office draws, Meng Zhiqiu and Feng Ming naturally drew the most attention that evening. When the leads entered hand in hand, every flashbulb in the venue zeroed in on them, snapping away relentlessly.

Under the blinding lights, the premiere hall’s atmosphere instantly boiled over. When Ye Can led Lin Zixi into the hall, Director Hou Ming and the screenwriter had only just gone in moments earlier.

The media, having snapped plenty of shots of the middle-aged big shots, reacted swiftly upon spotting Ye Can’s fresh, handsome face. They raised their cameras and unleashed a barrage of flashes at her.

Ye Can lightly furrowed her brow, annoyed by the flickering lights. She held Lin Zixi’s hand and strode down the red carpet without a backward glance. Lin Zixi followed behind her, offering the enthusiastic media a somewhat helpless smile.

But Ye Can paid no mind to the media’s feelings, dragging Lin Zixi straight inside at a pace as if a horde of demons were chasing her from behind.

Lin Zixi had to quicken her steps, whispering to Ye Can as they walked, “Ye Can, slow down a bit. Give them time to take photos.”

Ye Can kept a cold face, saying impatiently, “Let’s go, let’s go. What’s there to shoot?”

As she spoke, she tugged Lin Zixi’s hand a little harder, pulling her close to her side.

Lin Zixi stumbled from the pull, nearly tumbling into Ye Can’s arms. Ye Can reacted quickly, catching her in an embrace and glancing down at her. “You okay? Thrown off already?”

This moment was faithfully captured by the cameras.

At that point, someone in the outer media crowd who recognized Ye Can shouted through their camera, “Ye Can, over here!”

Hearing the voice, Ye Can looked up while holding Lin Zixi, casting a faint glance toward the source.

In that instant, the noble girl in the black shirt, cradling the exquisitely made-up beauty in her arms, resembled a lofty sovereign glancing arrogantly at the mortal world upon hearing the pleas of her subjects.

The eyes hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses gleamed brilliantly, reflecting the photographer’s lights.

In the lens, that arrogant sovereign lightly hummed, her arm around the beauty’s waist as she turned and walked away.

Far from being offended by Ye Can’s dismissive attitude, the media grew even more excited. They snapped nonstop at her retreating back, capturing every detail of her interaction with Lin Zixi.

Once inside the hall, Ye Can and Lin Zixi signed the signature wall at the staff’s direction. Lin Zixi found a corner away from the big shots to sign her name, and Ye Can deliberately signed her own bold name right above it.

She wasn’t used to this world’s writing style, so her signature came out crooked and uneven compared to Lin Zixi’s carefully designed one.

After signing, Ye Can eyed her own messy handwriting, then glanced at Lin Zixi’s elegant signature, her brow furrowing slightly. She bumped Lin Zixi’s arm and leaned in close to her ear. “Why does yours look so good?”

Lin Zixi turned toward her and whispered back, “I’ll design one for you next time.”

Once they finished signing, the interviews with Hou Ming wrapped up, and some reporters split off to question Ye Can and Lin Zixi.

Small and large outlets thrust microphones right in Ye Can’s face. A sweet-looking girl held up her mic with a smile. “I heard Ye Can has a role in Above the Throne this time. What kind of character is it?”

Ye Can glanced at her, brow twitching. “Are we close?”

The girl with the mic froze for a second, then followed up, “Well…”

Ye Can let out a cold snort. “If we’re not close, don’t call me so intimately. I have a proper name: Ye Can.”

As she spoke, Ye Can eyed the girl’s name tag, paused, and added, “Miss Cai Mingjing, how about we respect each other?”

Every celebrity seemed to have an intimate nickname for familiar media. But Ye Can, facing so many reporters for the first time, disliked the forced familiarity from strangers and voiced her displeasure directly.

Lin Zixi hadn’t even had a chance to stop her before Ye Can fired back.

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment, and Lin Zixi felt a headache coming on. She took Ye Can’s hand, grabbed the mic from Cai Mingjing, and spoke for her. “Ye Can thinks it’s more appropriate to use full names in a work setting. Sorry about that, Miss Cai Mingjing.”

Ye Can glanced at Lin Zixi but said nothing, letting her handle it. Lin Zixi rarely appeared on camera, but in recent years, she’d penned several hit dramas and was a favorite among media insiders, so they gave her some leeway.

Taking the mic, Lin Zixi addressed the press. “Ye Can feels honored to be part of Above the Throne. Her role doesn’t have much screen time, but she gained valuable experience from it.”

“This is Ye Can’s big-screen debut. We hope the performance satisfies the audience and that everyone supports her future works.”

It was an impeccably official response.

Seeing Lin Zixi take control of Ye Can’s words, the reporters directed their questions her way.

The mood improved, and some outlets probed Ye Can again.

“This must be Ye Can’s first big-screen role. How do you think your performance here stacks up against Calamity of the Nation?”

Ye Can replied casually, “What else? Playing an extra means taking the money and doing the job. You perform however the director says.”

The sharp entertainment reporters latched onto it. “Taking the money and doing the job? So you didn’t put much thought into the role?”

Ye Can shot them a how dare you look. “Taking the money means doing it right. If you don’t take your work seriously, how do you expect to get paid?”

The reporter was left speechless. Those who’d pegged her as a spoiled brat now sensed she might be more like a diligent, thrifty old-school cadre during the interview.

On the topic of roles, Ye Can never uttered words like “love” or “passion”—she treated it straightforwardly as work.

Such a young person was a breath of fresh air in the industry.

Thus, Ye Can’s unique stance and serious work ethic barely salvaged her crumbling reputation among industry media.

Lin Zixi saw her handling the latter part well and stopped speaking for her. After the few minutes of interviews, she led Ye Can to their seats in the audience.

As they left, flashes erupted outside again, causing another commotion.

Lin Zixi instinctively turned toward the lights and saw Jiang Yue, in a black backless gown and fiery red lipstick, arm-in-arm with Ye Shen in a crisp white mini suit, emerging from the crowd to the signature board.

Lin Zixi froze.

She quickly realized Ye Shen’s main reason for attending was to support Ye Can.

As for showing up with Jiang Yue, it was probably just to hype up Above the Throne.

As one of the nation’s top tycoons, Ye Shen rarely appeared at such events. But with Above the Throne‘s production and distribution tied closely to Ye Corporation, the big boss showing support for her company’s project made sense.

Still, Ye Shen and Jiang Yue together was intriguing.

Everyone knew Jiang Yue had a deep history with Guangcan under Ye Corporation, including a high-stakes bet. But being close enough to attend a movie premiere together sparked gossip.

Media sensing headlines after the premiere bombarded Ye Shen with questions. She smiled, echoing Jiang Yue’s line: “Here to show support for a friend.”

In this crew, the only one close to Jiang Yue was probably Ye Can.

Sure enough, after dodging the media frenzy, Ye Shen and Jiang Yue took seats right next to Ye Can.

Ye Can, holding Lin Zixi’s hand, looked at Ye Shen. “What are you doing here?”

In front of her sister, Ye Shen turned gentle, like a different person. “It’s your big-screen debut, after all. I have to watch your performance properly.”

Ye Can said oh. “Fine, watch away. I’ll probably have to go on stage soon.”

Once everyone arrived, the main creatives would take the stage for introductions. As a newbie whom the director favored and with Lin Zixi pulling strings, Ye Can got a spot to appear at the premiere press conference.

Soon, all the guests were seated, and the host took the stage to introduce the team.

Lin Zixi patted Ye Can’s shoulder. “Follow behind Miss Meng when you go up. Speak less, answer properly, and don’t snap at anyone, got it?”

Her nagging tone was like a mom sending her kid off to an exam. Ye Can stood, turned back to her with a blink, and said nothing.

Lin Zixi recalled her earlier arrogant media clapback and grew uneasy. She grabbed Ye Can’s hand. “Did you hear me?”

Ye Can leaned down, gently flicking her nose with a finger, coaxing, “Okay, I got it. I won’t make you worry.”

The gesture was so intimate that nearby people all looked over. Under the stares, Lin Zixi felt mortified. If she let Ye Can keep going like this, her closet door was about to burst open.

She sighed, feigning sternness. “You little rascal, if you could just give me less to worry about, I’d thank the heavens.”

“Go on, be careful.”

Ye Can shrugged. “Yes, Mom.”

With that, Ye Can turned and strode off coolly.

Lin Zixi stared at her back, thrown by the “Mom.” Jiang Yue nudged her arm. When Lin Zixi turned, Jiang Yue leaned in and whispered, “You two still haven’t wrapped up this mother-son play?”