lovenovelstory Chapter 53 Zhi En: Brothers are for beating up! Zhi Xing: Agreed!
Chapter 53 Zhi En: Brothers are for beating up! Zhi Xing: Agreed!
Zheng Taiyuan is a shrewd businessman who is decisive and adept at hype.
After Li Zhixing completed the photoshoot, while the afterglow of the previous scandalous rumors was still lingering, Taiyuan Entertainment immediately sent out press releases to the entire internet through various familiar media outlets.
BIGBANG member TOP regrettably leaves the show due to scheduling conflicts; rising star Lee Ji-haeng from Haeundae joins IRIS.
The press release was written in a grand and respectable tone, but it was nothing more than the fact that BIGBANG's upcoming overseas tour and new album preparation tasks were too heavy, and Choi Seung-hyun's schedule simply could not be coordinated. After "friendly negotiations" with the production team, he decided to regretfully withdraw.
YG Entertainment was surprisingly cooperative, not only refraining from rebuttal but also quickly issuing a statement saying it was a difficult decision and wishing the "IRIS" crew a smooth filming process.
After all, although YG suffered in silence, they couldn't openly break ties with Jung Tae-won. They were still trying to secure an important role for Choi Seung-hyun in Taewon Entertainment's upcoming war epic, "Into the Fire."
Both sides maintained a respectable facade, but online, the news was like a bombshell.
Less than half an hour after the news was released, terms such as "Li Zhixing replaces TOP" and "IRIS changes actors" began to climb steadily on Naver's real-time search rankings.
For Li Zhixing's fans, this is absolutely fantastic news.
Since the end of the promotional period for "Haeundae," Lee Ji-haeng, who doesn't even have an agency, seems to have vanished into thin air.
Fans could only gather in forums, anxiously guessing his whereabouts every day, with many even worrying whether their idol had gone back to being a martial arts instructor.
Now, a new drama has been officially announced, and it's a top-tier spy drama with an investment of 20 billion won and featuring Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-hee acting together.
"Wow! First there was Haeundae, worth 14 billion won, and now IRIS, worth 20 billion won! Our Zhixing oppa only takes on top-tier productions!"
The chat rooms of DaumCafe and NateOn instantly erupted in excitement as everyone discussed the new role that Lee Ji-hyeong was about to play. Nobody cared whether this would offend Choi Seung-hyun's fans.
However, for BIGBANG fans, this was like the sky falling.
The idol's new drama had already started filming, but it was replaced halfway through. How could fans who are used to being domineering in the fandom accept this?
"What scheduling conflict? They've already joined the production team, how could it suddenly be impossible to coordinate?"
"That newcomer named Li Zhixing was kicked out of the production team; he must have used some shady methods!"
Angry fans began to systematically flood the official website of KBS's "IRIS," spamming the viewer message board and demanding an explanation from the production team, strongly calling for Choi Seung-hyun to rejoin the cast.
Even worse, unable to find Li Zhixing's official social media accounts, these fans, with nowhere else to vent their frustrations, began spreading rumors wildly on various forums.
"He used such underhanded tactics to steal Lee Joon-gi's role in 'Haeundae,' causing Joon-gi oppa to miss out on a movie with millions in box office revenue. Now he's trying to steal our brother's role again."
These half-true, half-false accusations were amplified to an extreme degree, and fans began calling for a nationwide boycott of Li Zhixing.
YG Entertainment has never intervened to restrain its fans, which has emboldened them to become increasingly arrogant.
Unfortunately, things did not develop as they had hoped.
Just as Li Zhixing and Zheng Taiyuan had planned, faced with the fanatical attacks from idol fans, ordinary netizens not only did not follow suit in boycotting, but instead developed a strong sense of rebellion.
Just a few days ago, the controversy surrounding Li Zhixing's "late-night rendezvous with a minor" had barely subsided when his image as an "ideal older brother" carrying his exhausted younger sister home late at night garnered him a lot of goodwill from the public online.
As a result, the comments section under the news unexpectedly saw a one-sided reversal of public opinion.
"Are these idol fans crazy? Li Zhixing is a legitimate actor who came from a multi-million dollar box office film. Isn't it only natural for him to replace a stoic idol? The production team replacing him is called cutting their losses!"
"His acting skills are obvious to all, and he comes from a martial arts background. Casting him as the assassin will guarantee the quality of this drama. The production team made a good choice."
The attack by idol fans not only failed to cause any real harm to Li Zhixing, but also made the general public more inclined to side with him, and even served as an excellent free promotion for the drama "IRIS".
Looking at the trend of public opinion online, Jung Tae-won, sitting in the production office, leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
Everything is unfolding as planned.
While the outside world was abuzz with discussion, the filming of "IRIS" was proceeding at a rapid pace.
After being rearranged and redesigned by writer Kim Hyun-joon, the script for the debut of assassin BIG was finally handed to Lee Ji-haeng.
Although his role was short, it was enough to showcase Li Zhixing's solid action skills and camera presence.
To meet the deadline, the crew split into two groups. Director Kim Kyu-tae, along with lead actors Lee Byung-hun and others, stayed at the Moonjeong-dong set to continue filming the main storyline.
Meanwhile, Li Zhixing followed the B-team director to another set location to film his first appearance scene in the second episode.
Wanting to see the final result in person and to conduct an on-site assessment of Li Zhixing's motor skills, Zheng Taiyuan and writer Jin Xianjun also went to the scene.
Jung Tae-won was prepared to spend the whole day with the scene, as it was a high-intensity action scene, and the camera work and action coordination would be a considerable challenge for a newcomer.
However, the result was beyond everyone's expectations.
Li Zhixing successfully completed the filming of this part of the scene in just half a day.
He rarely makes mistakes, and his movements, positioning, and camera accuracy are all so skillful that he doesn't seem like a newbie.
When the final footage was played back on the monitor, Jung Tae-won and Kim Hyun-joon, standing behind him, remained silent for a long time, watching the man on the screen with a smile on his lips but an icy gaze.
With the successful completion of his first scene and the perfect defense against the initial attacks from BIGBANG fans online, Jung Tae-won finally felt relieved.
In high spirits, Representative Jung generously hosted a dinner that evening, taking Kim Hyun-joon, Lee Ji-hyung, and the staff of Group B to a nearby barbecue restaurant for a hearty meal.
This time at the dinner table, there was no more scheming or infighting, only the anticipation of the show becoming a huge hit.
……
Because of the heavy filming schedule ahead, the dinner party didn't last very late.
Before nine o'clock, Li Zhixing, slightly tipsy, returned to his home in Fangbeidong.
He changed into comfortable clothes, slumped in the wooden rocking chair, and half-closed his eyes to sober up.
Lee Ji-eun stood behind him, her small hands resting on the back of the rocking chair, gently rocking him while chattering about the interesting things that had happened to her these past few days while rushing to her schedule.
Li Zhixing listened half-heartedly, occasionally responding with an "uh-huh".
On the sofa not far away, Grandma was watching "Questions That Change the World" on MBC with great interest. It was a situational talk show specifically for middle-aged and elderly housewives. Apart from Grandma, no one in the family could understand the jokes of those middle-aged women.
Meanwhile, Lee Jong-hoon was sprawled out on the other end of the sofa, sighing and turning over in pain.
He's been in this state for several days now.
The reason is simple: summer vacation is almost over, and he'll be starting school soon.
After Li Zhongxun let out another extremely exaggerated long sigh, he scrambled up from the sofa and scurried over to Li Zhixing's side.
"Brother, you drank so much tonight, your stomach must be upset, right?" Chung Hsun asked, blinking his eyes.
Li Zhixing squinted: "Hmm~"
"I heard that drinking some hot soup after drinking alcohol will make your stomach feel better."
Li Zhixing glanced at him sideways but ignored him.
Lee Jong-hoon chuckled and shamelessly pressed forward, "Brother, why don't you go cook some ramen to warm your stomach?"
Lee Ji-eun, who was behind him, slapped her younger brother on the back of the head.
"Hey, Lee Jong-hoon, if you want to eat, go cook it yourself, don't bother Oppa."
Lee Jong-hoon covered his head, pouting with a wronged expression: "Is hyung's cooking good? My ramen is so bad that even Grandma can't eat it..."
He clasped his hands together and pleaded pitifully, "Brother, look, school is about to start, and I'm in such a sorry state. It's not too much to ask for some ramen, is it?"
Li Zhixing was so angry that he laughed and flicked him on the head.
"Kid, using the excuse that school's about to start, how much have you gotten from me these past few days?"
Lee Jong-hoon covered his forehead and chuckled foolishly.
However, Li Zhixing rubbed his stomach and realized that he hadn't eaten much since he had been drinking with Zheng Taiyuan and the others all night.
He sighed, stood up from the rocking chair, and walked towards the kitchen.
"Ji-eun, do you want some?"
Lee Ji-eun swallowed hard, then shook her head, forcing herself to stop: "No, I'll get fat if I eat tonight, and I have a schedule tomorrow."
Lee Jong-hoon made a face at the side: "Then Nunu won't get to eat it."
Then, he followed Li Zhixing into the kitchen like a shadow.
As soon as Li Zhixing started boiling the water, Li Zhongxun, who was standing next to him, began to chatter incessantly making demands.
"Brother, put the seasoning packet in before the water boils, that way the broth will be thicker."
"Brother, remember to chop some scallions, and... add some green pepper pieces too."
"Brother, be sure to add two slices of cheese before taking it off the heat."
"And the eggs, bro, please don't scramble them, I want them whole."
Veins throbbed on Li Zhixing's forehead. Unable to bear it any longer, he kicked him out of the kitchen: "Shut up, get out and wait."
......