After I Left the Industry, They Became Fans of My Aliases [BL]

Part 1

The hospital room was filled with the faint scent of disinfectant. After waking up, I kept looking at my phone, but for a long time, no one called to ask how I was.

Not until my manager's call came through. As soon as I answered, he began scolding me:

"Jiang Cheng, have you lost your mind? Falling off the horse on purpose just for the hype? Now Director Sun is replacing you, what am I supposed to do?"

Startled, I responded, "You think I fell on purpose?"

The horse had lost control unexpectedly.

"What else? Aren't you just upset that Jiang Yi Ming took your leading role?" His voice still angry, "Don't you see, even though you both share the surname Jiang, he is the Jiang family's eldest young master. Where do you stand?"

I remained silent, listening to the manager continue on the other end: "You've offended the Jiang family, the company doesn't plan to keep you, you're on your own."

This was their plan to freeze me out.

The Jiang family, what an irony.

I lowered my gaze, and after a long pause said, "Fine, let's terminate the contract."

The manager scoffed, "Terminate? Can you afford the penalty?"

"That's not your concern."

After saying about the contract termination, I felt as though I had regained my footing, and hung up the phone on my manager.

Then I stared blankly at my phone.

The incident of my fall had indeed become a trending topic, but it was flooded with negative comments about me.

I wonder if this was the drama crew's doing, wanting to avoid responsibility. Regardless, no one believes it was an accidental fall.

Jiang Yi Ming's fans had slaughtered me on Weibo, and now, looking at their words, I felt nothing.

They kept asking "Why hasn't Jiang Cheng left the industry yet?"

My parents finally called.

Before picking up, I still harbored a sliver of hope.

But as soon as I heard my mother's first words, "Little Cheng, did you fall off the horse on purpose today?"

Though hope was fading, I still felt chilled.

"Mom, aren't you going to ask if I'm badly hurt?" I asked.

Before she could answer, a middle-aged man's voice came through:

"If it was on purpose, how bad could it be? Were you trying to pressure the crew by faking an accident, hoping they'd give back the leading role to you?"

I laughed, realizing my dad also knew the term "give back."

I didn't respond, but he continued to lecture me:

"Why do you have to compete with Little Ming for roles that your family can't give you? Don't you know how important this role is to him?"

It seems I've reached a point of such disappointment that I no longer have the strength to argue.

They don't understand that this role was also my last chance to turn things around.

"Mom, Dad," I tried to keep my tone even, "take good care of yourselves."

After that, I hung up.

They probably didn't realize that this call was a farewell; they didn't call back.

I remember the year I was twelve when I returned to the Jiang family.

Jiang Yi Ming was dressed like a little prince, and I was dark-skinned, stepping into a mansion for the first time, feeling inferior.

When Jiang Yi Ming used to sweetly call me 'brother', I would instinctively protect him.

It was no big deal for me to take the blame for his troubles.

But later, I realized that my parents had already branded me as a liar, jealous, and morally corrupt.

And my friends also became Jiang Yi Ming's friends.

Even Xu Zhen, my fiancé, became friends with Jiang Yi Ming.

I wasn't some true young master switched at birth; I've always been a young master of the Jiang family, but not long after I was born, a friend introduced my dad to a master who divined that my horoscope was detrimental to the Jiang family, speaking convincingly.

Just then, the Jiang family's business encountered some issues, and my dad believed him.

They took the master's advice to send me away to the countryside and adopted a child from an orphanage whose horoscope was favorable to the Jiang family—Jiang Yi Ming.

Strangely, from the time I was sent away and Jiang Yi Ming was adopted, the Jiang family's business started to improve.

Perhaps my mom initially couldn't bear to part with the child she carried for ten months, as I remember several times seeing a woman watching me from the entrance of the village since I had memory.

But Jiang Yi Ming was adopted as a baby, raised personally by my parents. The fortune-teller claimed he was lucky, and the Jiang family prospered, so my mom poured more and more affection into him.

I used to think the same way.

Until Jiang Yi Ming, with his innocent face, made things worse with our parents, I couldn't consider him a brother anymore, and I didn't like him.

Later, I entered the entertainment industry, wanting to be a singer, but the company said I had the looks for an actor and could sing later if I wanted.

I acted in a few roles and made some waves.

Not long after, Jiang Yi Ming also entered the entertainment industry.

He marketed himself with the identity of the Jiang family's eldest son. My parents said his fate was tied to the Jiang family, so I couldn't reveal my own identity or disclose the fact that Jiang Yi Ming wasn't their biological child.

I didn't care, but soon after, many scandals about me surfaced, including having a sugar daddy, poor acting skills, and disrespect for others.

The company said any publicity is good publicity, and they didn't arrange for any clarification.

With scandals abounding, whether they are true or false, people only chose to believe what they wanted to see.

I'm not sure if I was still jealous or resentful, but I was tired. In the endless emotional turmoil, I saw a psychologist many times, searching for my purpose in this world.

If you don't love me, why did you give birth to me?

If I'm not important, why did you bring me back?

The doctor repeatedly emphasized that I should change my environment.

Before leaving, I still had some things to sort out and wanted to see someone one last time.

My injuries weren't too serious, but I indeed couldn't continue shooting, so it was normal for the crew to replace me.

Since being hospitalized, no one had come to see me.

Xu Zhen contacted me two days later, calling me, and now he probably feels weary even looking at me.

Xu Zhen's indifferent voice came through: "Little Cheng, how are you feeling?"

I paused, bracing myself before speaking: "Brother Xu Zhen, can we meet sometime soon?"

"Sorry, Little Cheng, I'm quite busy lately, maybe..."

He hadn't finished speaking when I heard Jiang Yi Ming's voice on the other end: "Brother Xu Zhen, why are you visiting the set?"

I don't know why, but at that moment, I suddenly felt like laughing.

No time to meet with me, but time to visit Jiang Yi Ming on set.

I said, "Brother Xu Zhen, let's end our engagement here. If the Jiang and Xu families must be united through marriage, Jiang Yi Ming is also an option."

"Little Cheng, what are you talking about?" His tone contained displeasure. "We'll talk after I'm done with my work."

I didn't want to listen anymore and hung up.

Afterward, I hired a caretaker who looked after me for a few days. My leg was fine for walking as long as I didn't exert myself too much.

I went to the company to discuss the termination and took out most of my savings to pay the penalty.

Probably seeing me as worthless, the company happily let me go, and I left feeling unburdened.

After arguing with my family, my parents cut off all my cards.

That was actually fine.

I threw away the SIM card I had used for over a decade, removed all social media accounts registered under the identity of Jiang Cheng, and left the city alone.

I don't know the day I became a trending topic, they puzzled over the whereabouts of "Jiang Cheng."

After years of cursing me, now that I've removed my accounts, there's nowhere left to curse.

The next time I went online was several months later.