ABSML Chapter 49: The Truth
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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Although people usually watched his expressions to gauge his mood, Yin Ronglan wasn’t entirely oblivious to social cues.
"Wait… you didn’t know the notebook fell into the water?"
Chen Zhan frowned and reached into the pocket of his soaked coat, pulling out a voice recorder. He tried turning it on.
After a moment, his brows relaxed, and he chuckled. “It still works.” Turning it slightly to show Yin Ronglan, he added, “The latest model really is impressive—practically high-tech.”
Yin Ronglan began to suspect that the thing truly affected by water damage was his own brain—otherwise, why had he ever bought such a durable voice recorder in the first place?
"Don’t worry about the notebook," Chen Zhan said, using a hairdryer to dry the metal casing.
Yin Ronglan smiled. “I thought it was important to you.”
"I can always gather more material. As long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters."
He revealed a rare, warm smile, making Yin Ronglan’s heartbeat slightly irregular.
[System: I wonder if my reading comprehension is correct—does this sentence imply that as long as someone is alive, there's always material to write about?]
Ignoring the system’s confusion, Chen Zhan took a small metal box from the fridge and opened it in front of Yin Ronglan.
The sight of the stacked notebooks was overwhelming.
Yin Ronglan hesitated. "This is...?"
"You can think of it as a family kingdom," Chen Zhan explained in a rather warm and gentle manner. "It may have lost a citizen, but the city still stands."
Upon hearing this, Yin Ronglan’s expression became slightly unnatural.
Chen Zhan, unaware of the change in his demeanor, continued in a soothing voice, "So, you don’t have to dwell on it."
Yin Ronglan smiled slightly but said nothing more.
The silence between the two men did not make the atmosphere awkward.
Chen Zhan lowered his head to skim through the diary once again. Apart from punctuation, he couldn’t find much to criticize.
"Quite humorous," he commented.
Then, without warning, he leaned forward slightly, raising an eyebrow. "How much do you think I love you?"
A simple joke took on an ambiguous undertone as his warm breath brushed against Yin Ronglan’s ear.
Yin Ronglan’s ears turned slightly red. A bit flustered, he pushed Chen Zhan away.
Chen Zhan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Some people were deeply uncomfortable with physical closeness between men, but Yin Ronglan’s eyes held no aversion. From the tips of his ears to half of his face, a deep blush gradually spread.
How pure-hearted must he be?
After a brief pause, Chen Zhan couldn’t help but ask, "Have you never been this close to someone before?"
Yin Ronglan shook his head.
For Chen Zhan, being single made sense—before transmigrating, he had just been about to enter university and had rigorously followed school rules during his teenage years.
"Plenty of people have been interested in you," Chen Zhan observed, looking at him with confusion. "Surely you must’ve had a few mutual attractions?"
Yin Ronglan: "I never considered settling down."
"Why?"
Yin Ronglan: "I’ve never had that kind of longing."
This was likely related to his family background. Chen Zhan chose not to probe further.
"What about you?" Yin Ronglan asked, slightly uneasy.
Chen Zhan’s expression instantly turned cold. "I remember you browsing Weibo."
"..."
Right. He almost forgot—this man had been forcibly single by public demand.
Apart from his professional role, Xiao Zhao was practically Yin Ronglan’s personal assistant. He brought over the suit his boss had left at the office, waited for him to change, and was responsible for driving him back.
The entire ride to the company, Yin Ronglan didn’t say a single word, making Xiao Zhao somewhat anxious.
Just as they arrived, Yin Ronglan suddenly asked, "Is it normal for one’s heart to race when someone gets too close?"
Without thinking, Xiao Zhao blurted, "Of course, it’s normal." Then, realizing he needed to clarify, he explained, "Humans naturally experience chemical reactions when in close proximity. For example—"
To demonstrate, he took two quick steps forward, abruptly standing right in front of Yin Ronglan.
In an instant, he was met with an expression of sheer indifference and was promptly pushed away.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Zhao winced. "I take back what I just said. This clearly doesn’t apply to you."
For a brief moment, the disdain on his boss’s face was impossible to hide.
Yin Ronglan parted his lips, about to say something.
But Xiao Zhao, clutching his metaphorical shattered heart, sighed in defeat. "For someone like you, there’s only one explanation… That’s right—it’s love!"
A long silence followed. Under Yin Ronglan’s death glare, Xiao Zhao lowered his head. "I was wrong."
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a roadside flower vendor and suddenly realized that Valentine’s Day was only two weeks away.
Though self-deprecating posts about being single always got the most likes every year, the reality was that plenty of couples celebrated the occasion.
Whether it was China’s Lantern Festival, Shangsi Festival, Qixi Festival, or Western Valentine’s Day—several holidays each year served as reminders that one should be in a relationship.
In a way, Chen Zhan was fortunate. With everyone focused on the upcoming holiday, the lingering buzz around him finally started to fade.
While waiting for his instant noodles, he noticed several Weibo users asking why he had once fallen for Jiang Ying.
Referring to the original host’s memories, Chen Zhan carefully immersed himself in the past and decided to do a rare second post update as a Lantern Festival gift—
..........
Unattainable love.
People had lamented about this kind of pain for thousands of years.
I heard the goddess was hiring a personal assistant. So, I disguised myself as a woman and tried to sneak in.
As long as my skirt was big enough, she wouldn’t realize I was a man.
But during the interview, she asked me to remove the silk scarf around my neck.
I nearly forgot—she was an actress. The same disguise that fooled that rich playboy meant nothing to her.
My identity was exposed. The two girls nearby looked at me as if I were a pervert. Only she remained expressionless.
"Why?" She sat with her legs crossed, careful to keep her skirt in place to avoid exposure.
Wearing a red dress and bold red lipstick, even the most ordinary gestures looked elegant on her.
I looked at her with infatuation. "Obviously because I like you and want to be close to—"
She cut me off. "I meant, why do you like me?"
I knew what she was really asking.
By the time I had fallen for her, she had been nothing more than an unknown actress struggling to get a break.
She looked straight at me, her gaze sharp as if it could pierce through my soul.
"That exact look," I said with a bitter smile. "Cold and aloof, as if nothing in the world is worthy of your attention."
She was momentarily stunned, as if she hadn’t expected that answer.
"At the airport, when we first met, you looked at me the same way."
As she passed by me, we had been so close—yet she hadn’t spared me a single glance.
...........
After posting the update, Chen Zhan quickly published it online.
Lately, he had been trying to steer clear of trending topics. Even in his writing, he was careful to tone down dramatic elements to avoid unnecessary attention.
The comment section was noticeably calmer than usual:
["She really is the epitome of cold and elegant. No one else could pull it off quite like her."]
["I remember watching an old behind-the-scenes clip—when she first debuted, she never showed the slightest fear, even in front of big industry figures."]
["No wonder she's a goddess!"]
Some netizens found an interview clip from two years ago where Lin Chiang rarely responded to the media, making this brief clip especially precious.
In the video, Lin Chiang, dressed in a suit, is asked the same question.
"I was the one who started the pursuit," Lin Chiang clarified bluntly, "Before that, even if we bumped into each other in public, she would completely ignore me."
Similarly, Jiang Ying can also reach the "beauty as a weapon" level, but she is never seen as a mere decorative figure. She gives off an air of aloofness and coldness. So when she displays rich emotional changes in a film, viewers are struck by the contrast.
This was a special time. By then, Jiang Ying had already won her first Best Supporting Actress award. When her relationship with Lin Chiang was revealed, it was still mocked as just attaching herself to a wealthy family.
Upon reading a particular comment, Chen Zhan couldn't help but laugh.
[Korgi: Whether it's Lin Chi'ang, a high-performing stock, or Chen Zhan, a dark horse, they both seem to enjoy being ignored. What does this say? The essence of humanity is being an M!]
"Xiao Chen."
The voice from the hallway made Chen Zhan pause. He closed his laptop and walked out.
The old man winked at him: "Come have a drink with me."
Before Chen Zhan could lecture him, the old man immediately added, "Low alcohol content drinks don't count."
Once they started drinking, the conversation flowed freely.
The old man rambled on about life's trivial matters, while Chen Zhan quietly listened. After some time, the old man suddenly asked, "Do you have any plans for the new year?"
Chen Zhan set a small goal: "To stay off the trending topics for a month."
Because of a recent interview with reporters, the old man now understood what trending topics were, but he was puzzled: "I heard some people even pay to get on them. Why aren't you like them?"
Chen Zhan had a half-glass of wine and shook his head: "Times have changed."
As time passed, with the old man continuing his chatter, he suddenly said: "Last time Ronglan came by, I asked him to help me get a Weibo account, but now I don’t even know how to use it."
"Very simple," Chen Zhan patiently took out his phone and showed him: "Like this, first click here, then..."
He suddenly stopped, squinting his eyes, sure that he hadn't misread. His own name had appeared once again on the trending topics.
Even after rubbing his temples, the furrowed brows wouldn’t disappear. Chen Zhan's expression showed he was at a loss, not understanding what had happened in these few hours to cause this uproar.
It all started with Jiang Ying.
After the movie was released and the box office soared, her management team wanted to maintain the buzz, so Jiang Ying was forced into a series of promotional activities.
For several consecutive days, her work followed the same pattern—shooting promotional photos for different brands.
She actually preferred studying scripts, and found the work a bit boring. So, out of curiosity, she started reading Chen Zhan’s new book to pass the time.
After reading the latest chapter and the comments, she found it both amusing and absurd. From the past until now, she had never intentionally treated anyone coldly.
After a brief moment of thought, she posted a Weibo with just a few words: [It’s not about my personality, just my nearsightedness.]
At the time, she couldn’t wear contact lenses due to conjunctivitis, and regular glasses would cover up her beauty. Thinking her prescription wasn’t too bad, she insisted on not wearing them.
At first, fans didn’t understand why she posted such a strange Weibo. But when they saw Chen Zhan's latest update, they immediately went wild:
【star: Case solved!】
【Saka: If I’m nearsighted enough, I won’t see you all! I dug up some old videos of the Best Actress, and indeed, there was a time her gaze seemed a bit unfocused.】
【Crystal Pikachu: So it wasn’t that Jiang Ying ignored Chen Zhan back then, but maybe she just didn’t notice due to her nearsightedness?】
【King of Stray Dogs: Lin Chiang also mentioned in an interview that the goddess didn’t greet him in public—could it be the same reason?!】
【Layered Tower: @Chen Zhan; @Lin Chiang; All these years of wild obsession, ultimately misplaced!】
____
The author has a message:
Chen Zhan: Please, let me be.
T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page for the effort, thank you.
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