Chapter Seventeen: Christmas

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Entertainment Is All Around—No Pop-up Ads. Watched the Olympic opening ceremony today, sorry for being late.

Time of the story: December 2004

Recommended song: Eason Chan—"Otherwise, What Do You Want Me to Do?"

Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional; please do not take it personally. Any resemblance is purely coincidental!

The day after the show was recorded, Jiang Yihan went to the company as usual to continue recording. After all, half a month wasn’t much time, especially since after recording the album, there was still practice to be done. Now, not only did Jiang Yihan doubt whether debuting around New Year's was feasible, but the company probably did too. Even if it could be done, what about the quality of a live performance? Maybe lip-syncing would be a good method.

As soon as Jiang Yihan entered the company, he was notified to go to Li Tong’s office. He glanced at Li Ran beside him, who looked equally perplexed. Jiang Yihan gave up on guessing what it was about and headed straight to Li Tong’s office.

“Oh, Yihan, you’re here.” Li Tong had just hung up the phone and, upon seeing his promising protégé—his hope—walking in, immediately smiled, though he couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes.

“Uncle Li, what’s the matter?” Jiang Yihan and Li Ran sat down. “Is it because I’m recording too slowly and won’t make the deadline?” That was the first and only reason Jiang Yihan could think of—not making the debut in time was his biggest concern.

“The album isn’t the problem,” Li Tong reassured him. “Your teachers have all praised your work. The recording is a bit slow, but the quality is guaranteed, so they won’t rush you. Your progress in dance is also good—Jin Yiyun says you absorb things quickly, and with your solid foundation, your dancing is looking great.”

Li Tong’s praise made Jiang Yihan a bit embarrassed, but it also put his mind at ease. After all, he’d only been in the industry for less than a month and had so much to learn—he was just afraid he wouldn’t catch on. “So, Uncle Li, why did you ask us here today?”

“It’s like this,” Li Tong got straight to the point. “Do you remember the representative from MS Company who came with me the first time I met you?”

“Yes, the young man named Cheng Shi,” Li Ran answered. There was no use expecting lazy Jiang Yihan to remember such details; he had a good memory but was too lazy to remember names unless he was sure he’d meet the person again. Most people were just fleeting acquaintances; memorizing names seemed unnecessary. Well, lazy people always have their excuses, don’t they? Ha.

Jiang Yihan looked at Li Tong in confusion, wondering why he’d brought up that person. Li Ran, however, seemed to have guessed something and his expression grew serious, though he was always serious.

“So, Cheng Shi didn’t manage to sign you that day, which wasn’t a big deal. Not everyone wants to join this industry,” Li Tong said, rubbing his forehead. “But later, when it became known in the industry that you’d signed with me, MS Company called in Cheng Shi to ask about it. To shirk responsibility, he put all the blame on you, claiming you insulted MS Company and spoke arrogantly, so you chose us instead.”

Jiang Yihan didn’t get angry, just looked helpless. That’s just how society is, made up of all sorts of people—good and bad, those forced into wrongdoing and those who are simply despicable. Whatever Cheng Shi’s motives, the result was the same: MS Company was now highly displeased with Jiang Yihan and would likely take action.

“So, what’s MS Company’s decision?” Li Ran didn’t bother to comment on Cheng Shi, instead cutting straight to the result, which was what Jiang Yihan wanted to know.

“They learned about our company’s plans and have put out word to temporarily blacklist you and stop you from debuting,” Li Tong said, clearly troubled. It was hard enough to find a treasure, only to be forbidden from mining it—how could he not be frustrated?

“Blacklist?” Jiang Yihan heard a word of grave consequence. “Does that mean I’ll never have a chance to appear on camera again? In other words, I can’t debut?” There was no panic or urgency in his tone; Jiang Yihan, having learned the result, was unexpectedly calm. The entertainment industry was even more difficult than he’d imagined.

“Not exactly,” Li Tong explained. “In Korea, blacklisting someone is nearly impossible. Here, it’s not the entertainment companies that run the programs, but the three major TV stations. No matter how wide our connections are outside, nothing beats having someone influential inside those TV stations. If the three major stations say you can appear, you can; our entertainment companies only have some influence, but the final say is theirs.” After this long explanation, Jiang Yihan and Li Ran, both foreigners, still didn’t quite get it. Li Tong laughed and clarified, “To put it simply, MS Company saying you can’t appear on shows is useless; it only counts if the TV stations say so. The president of MS Company, Lee Soo-man, has built great connections with the three TV stations over the years, so his artists never lack for publicity or exposure. What I’m worried about is how many people in those stations will think it proper to help him ‘enforce’ this blacklist.”

“So now we just have to see how much influence MS Company’s words carry with the three major stations, right?” Li Ran, having studied the industry, quickly grasped the point.

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“Yes, but I don’t think it’ll have much effect. Blacklisting a newcomer for no good reason just doesn’t make sense—it’s only for artists who commit serious offenses,” Li Tong pointed out, seeing a possible advantage. “I just called my father; he’s probably calling the TV stations right now to check the situation.”

“Your father?” Jiang Yihan and Li Ran were both surprised at the mention.

“Haha, you didn’t know?” Li Tong grinned slyly. “This company was founded by my father almost twenty years ago; I only took over a few years back. My father’s connections with the three stations are much better than mine. Many of the current higher-ups give me face because of him. But this time, Lee Soo-man himself made the threat, so a lot of people are just waiting to see what happens. I had no choice but to ask my father to step in. I hope his words will have a decisive effect.”

All they could do now was wait. Jiang Yihan thought it over and decided to focus on recording the album for now—situations like this can’t be resolved in a moment, after all. Li Tong and Li Ran agreed; no matter how tough things were, it wasn’t yet out of control, so recording needed to continue.

No one knew how things would turn out.

December 24th, Christmas Eve, Friday.

Jiang Yihan and Li Ran rode their bikes to Central University Affiliated High School to pick up Jiang Ziyi after school and go out together. PD Han was there too, but she had a driver and rode a motorcycle—Jiang Yihan joked that she was like a personal bodyguard, an apt and vivid metaphor.

Jiang Yihan and Li Ran found Jiang Ziyi’s classroom and waited for her to finish class. Soon, at half-past four, the bell rang. Once the teacher left, Jiang Yihan stood at the door and called out loudly, “Jiang Ziyi, someone’s here to see you!”

Hearing his voice, Jiang Ziyi looked up from her bag, a bright expression appearing instantly. “Brother, you’re here so early! I thought you’d be late.”

“Haha, today, to accompany our little princess, Li Ran and I both took time off to come pick you up!” Jiang Yihan walked into the classroom to help his sister pack her bag.

With his sunny smile and handsome appearance, the girls in the class started whispering. Finally, one girl asked the question on everyone’s mind, “Jiang Ziyi, who is this?” The question came from Jiang Ziyi’s desk mate, a doll-faced girl with a touch of baby fat and two dimples when she smiled—very cute.

“See, brother, you always cause a stir when you show up at my class,” Jiang Ziyi teased her brother, then grabbed his arm. “This is my brother, Jiang Yihan, the one I’ve told you all about.”

“Wow, so this is the handsome and doting brother you’ve mentioned!” Clearly, the desk mate had heard a lot about Jiang Yihan—Ziyi must have bragged plenty in class.

“Haha, does he live up to the hype? Did I exaggerate?” Jiang Ziyi asked proudly. Her brother had always been her pride and the envy of everyone else. What girl wouldn’t want to have a talented, caring, and exceptionally good-looking brother?

“Not at all! If anything, you understated it,” the girl said, her exaggerated expression making Jiang Yihan laugh. “Hello, Jiang Ziyi’s brother, I’m Jiang Ziyi’s desk mate, Jiang Jaimin. Ziyi always tells us how well you treat her, making us all so envious. Truly, seeing is believing—you’re amazing!”

“Hello, I’m Jiang Yihan, Jiang Ziyi’s brother. Thank you for looking after my sister,” Jiang Yihan replied warmly—Jiang Jaimin’s openness made it easy to connect. “Well, my sister and I have plans to celebrate Christmas tonight, so let’s talk more next time, okay? We’ll be off now.”

Not wanting to keep Li Ran waiting outside, Jiang Yihan said goodbye first, carrying Ziyi’s bag as he left.

Soon, Jiang Ziyi came out as well. “Brother, my classmates are all in love with you—they wouldn’t let me leave, kept asking questions!” she laughed.

“You little rascal, I bet you exaggerated how good I am, otherwise why would they think that?” Jiang Yihan pinched his sister’s nose, his tone doting.

“Hmph, I only told the truth! And now you’re spending Christmas with me—they’ll be green with envy. I just want them to know how great my brother is!” Ziyi ran ahead, her laughter trailing behind.

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“You see, you spoil her rotten,” Li Ran said after understanding the backstory, agreeing with Jiang Ziyi’s view.

“Haha, she’s my little sister—if I don’t dote on her, who will?” Jiang Yihan hopped on his bike and gave chase.

The three of them, each with their own bike (Han PD’s motorcycle ever-present as always), set off.

“Brother, where are we going today?” Jiang Ziyi asked, riding between Li Ran and Jiang Yihan on a newly borrowed bike.

“You decide—we’ll go wherever you want,” Jiang Yihan smiled.

“Let’s go to the amusement park! It’s almost five, and Jiang Jaimin says the amusement park is open at night too, which must be fun. Afterward, we can eat out. How’s that?” Ziyi clearly had the day’s itinerary planned long ago.

Jiang Yihan and Li Ran, well aware of her careful planning, didn’t expose her and simply said, “Let’s go!”

The amusement park was huge and full of attractions. Maybe because it was Christmas, the place was especially crowded, and the holiday atmosphere was everywhere—Christmas trees, artificial snow, and people dressed as Santa Claus.

Since all three had grown up in a small town and weren’t familiar with amusement parks, they wanted to try everything they saw. From the carousel to the roller coaster, bumper cars to the pirate ship—they tried them all. None of them were timid, and danger didn’t faze them; whenever they saw something they wanted to try, they went for it, faces flushed with excitement and anticipation as they rushed from one ride to the next.

Time always flies when you’re having fun. Night fell. After several hours, the three started to get tired and decided to rest on the Ferris wheel, which required no physical effort. Because of the crowds, they had to wait a while for their turn. As the Ferris wheel slowly rose, the night view from above was magnificent and beautiful. Any words used to describe a city’s brilliant night skyline seemed inadequate—besides exclaiming “Wow,” there was nothing more to say.

“It’s a pity there’s no snow—how romantic would a white Christmas be,” Ziyi voiced her wish. Li Ran and Jiang Yihan nodded. Back home in the south, they hadn’t seen snow in over a decade; they thought coming to this northern country, Korea, they’d finally see it, but it hadn’t snowed—only the temperature had dropped several degrees.

Leaning against the window, gazing outside, their feelings were hard to describe. Just as the Jiang siblings were lost in thought, Jiang Yihan’s phone rang. As he answered, Li Ran’s phone rang as well. Jiang Yihan didn’t pay attention to whom Li Ran was speaking with—his own call was from Kim Jaejoong.

“Brother, it’s resolved! Thanks to the fans’ efforts, the company agreed to give us another chance—ah, I can stay on stage!” Jaejoong’s voice was full of excitement.

“Really? That’s great!” Jiang Yihan was thrilled too. “Jaejoong, now that the company’s given you another chance, work hard. If they get another excuse, it won’t be so easy next time.”

“Thanks, brother, I know,” Jaejoong replied happily, his excitement finally subsiding. They chatted a bit more before hanging up.

At last, the problem was resolved, and in the midst of the holiday atmosphere, Jiang Yihan’s mood brightened instantly. It took him a while to come back from his joy and focus on Li Ran.

“It was Uncle Li,” Li Ran said simply as he began.