CP is forcing me to have a wife, and the male protagonist asked me who he is

Pei Yuanqing reached out and opened the door to the private room, about to push it open and go inside.

Suddenly, I heard a scream from behind me, followed by a cacophony of chatter.

"Ah!!! He is, he is that Pei... Pei what? Ahhh, I can't remember right now! He's that, that movie star we watched together before..."

"Pei Yuanqing? No way? Wasn't he still in Venice? He's back in China so soon...?"

It sounded like two young women's voices.

Although the volume seemed to have been lowered a bit, it was still very noticeable.

Pei Yuanqing paused, unable to resist stopping his hand from opening the door, and turned his head at the sound.

Not far from the private room in the corridor, two young girls were pointing and whispering at him, thinking they were being discreet.

When Pei Yuanqing turned around and their eyes met, the other person immediately became flustered.

The first girl to speak couldn't even speak clearly; she could only hold tightly to her companion's hand and keep jumping around in place.

"Holy crap! It really is him!!! I, he... Aa ...

Fortunately, the other girl remained somewhat calm. While struggling to hold onto her screaming companion, she nodded to Pei Yuanqing and began to explain.

"I'm so sorry, my best friend has recently become obsessed with you and is completely infatuated with you. If she has offended anyone in any way, I apologize on her behalf..."

Pei Yuanqing was at a loss for how to react, so he could only nod with a blank expression.

"fine……"

"Actually, not only my best friend, but I also really like your movies. Mr. Pei, could you please sign an autograph for me?"

The girl suddenly interrupted Pei Yuanqing, quickly pulled a notebook out of her bag, and steadily placed it in his hand.

Her companion, who could only scream, had somehow regained consciousness.

Following suit, she also took out a notepad from her bag and handed it to him, looking at him with bright eyes, and parroted him.

"Teacher Pei, could you please sign your autograph?"

Pei Yuanqing was indeed a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, boldness, and opportunism of the fangirls.

After a moment of confusion, he awkwardly put on a polite smile, borrowed a pen from a passing waiter, signed his name, shook hands, answered many questions, and said "thank you" many times. Finally, he politely saw the two girls off.

When he fled into the private room, he felt his face was about to freeze.

Looking up, I saw several pairs of eyes watching the show.

"It was totally worth coming today—I never imagined I'd see you in this state in my lifetime! Hahahaha..."

Hou Yize stood up with a big laugh and gave Pei Yuanqing a big hug.

Pei Yuanqing was about to retort, but shook his head and swallowed his words. He could only pat Hou Yize on the shoulder and give him a light punch as an answer.

He knew perfectly well what Hou Yize was laughing about.

Because they've known each other for so long, almost since they both debuted, they became friends by chance.

They got along better and better as they spent more time together, and became one of each other's few close friends in the industry.

Therefore, they basically know everything about each other's "dark history" from their early years.

Pei Yuanqing knew what Hou Yize's long-standing inner conflict was.

Hou Yize also understood Pei Yuanqing's almost obsessive-compulsive aloofness.

However, Pei Yuanqing has indeed changed a lot in the past two years.

Let alone a longtime friend like Hou Yize, even Pei Yuanqing himself five years ago probably never imagined—

The reclusive boy who won an international Best Actor award in his teens, who was determined to be a pure actor, who utterly despised the fan-pleasing behavior of idols, and who wished he could disappear as soon as he was off-screen, has become who he is today.

Dressed up with slicked-back hair and powdered face, walking the red carpet, vying for the camera, serving fans, she awkwardly but earnestly tried to cater to the young audience.

In short, he did many things that he had previously disdained and was not good at.

But there's no way around it; only the young have the right to be arrogant.

He is already quite old now.

Since his breakout role in his debut film, despite being hailed as an "international film emperor" and a "genius actor," Pei Yuanqing's career has been a high start followed by a decline, stagnating for many years.

It's not that there are no movies to make, but something's always missing.

Occasionally, when I come across a script I like, the roles that offer room for development gradually fall to someone else.

Those young actors whose acting skills are far inferior to his, whose images are not so suitable for the big screen, and who are about the same age as him but are much more sought-after.

It's because those people are idols that they have something that others don't have—popularity.

"Your public profile is too low. Aside from being a '16-year-old international film star,' the public has almost no memory of you as an adult. You can't stay passive anymore; you need to proactively adapt to the market and make today's young audience interested in you..."

His agent, who had been very kind to him, once advised Pei Yuanqing in this way.

His agent found him some TV drama scripts and variety show offers, and told him to think them over carefully.

It wasn't that he wasn't determined to try a transformation, but unfortunately, most of the projects he worked on couldn't pass his psychological test.

The few decent projects either failed midway through after a long period of planning, or failed to make a splash even after being painstakingly filmed.

Until a few years ago, he finally steeled himself and agreed to cooperate with the film company's request to create a scandal with his co-star in order to increase his public recognition.

The movie was well-received, and the rumors surrounding it were rampant.

However, in the end, the new actress Deng Ruoyu, who had a rumored relationship with him, successfully became famous.

But after the initial buzz of the scandal died down, all he gained was the label of "artistic playboy," and nothing changed. He continued to drift along, neither rising to fame nor falling behind.

Time passed year after year, and I gradually lost even the advantage of youth, becoming a "washed-up uncle" in the eyes of others.

Even the directors who used to work well with us have gradually been sidelined in the changing times of the film market, replaced by new box office darlings, and have become outdated old fogies.

Pei Yuanqing gradually resigned himself to his fate.

Forget it.

Perhaps all my luck ran out when I was 16, and there's no point in struggling anymore.

Anyway, he has savings, his family is well-off, and his personal expenses are not high, so he won't starve to death.

From now on, I'll just let things take their course and live life however I want.

As a result, he basically returned to his old temper.

He'll take on acting roles if he wants, but he absolutely refuses variety shows. If you want to collaborate with him, you have to respect his bottom line; if he doesn't want to give you face, he won't.

Unexpectedly, after several years of being single, he actually landed the lead role in a big director's new film, which was a spy action blockbuster set in the Republican era.

Although his role wasn't very big, it was a great opportunity that he had been longing for for many years!

He almost agreed without thinking.

With only a sliver of remaining rationality, he didn't immediately agree, but instead asked his agent to inquire about the situation first.

Sure enough, when the agent presented him with the results of his investigation, he couldn't help but frown deeply.

There are no major problems with the script or the behind-the-scenes team.

The only problem lies with the two actresses he had the most scenes with—

One of them is Deng Ruoyu, the newcomer who made a name for herself by creating a scandal for the first time. Not only did she fail to gain any traffic, but she also got herself into trouble, while she became famous.

There's another one, a popular young actress who came from the idol drama circle and has just entered the film industry. She's embroiled in scandals and constant controversies, and she's practically the representative of the type of popular actress I hate the most!

Let's take a look at Xie Zhuxin's only film credit—

She played the female lead in her first film, opposite a rising star in arthouse films, or was it the directorial debut of superstar Gu Mei?

Big stars set the stage, veteran actors carry the show, generating buzz, and everyone's the center of attention...

Hehe, it's so obvious—

He's just another celebrity with connections and resources backed by capital!

Pei Yuanqing struggled for several days.

In the past, he would have basically never considered his past grievances with Deng Ruoyu.

But now, compared to the pain of collaborating with resource-rich celebrities, those old grudges are nothing at all.

Let's cancel the show.

Pei Yuanqing had several impulses to say those words to his agent.

But seeing the expectant look on her agent's face, she swallowed her words silently.

Working with a renowned director is an opportunity that comes only once in many years.

It wasn't just him who was waiting; his agent had also been waiting with him for so many years, and he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

If this were back when he was at the height of his popularity in the film industry, he probably would have turned it down without hesitation, or said "it's either her or me," leaving the production company to choose between them.

Even the best production quality is acceptable.

But he is no longer the impetuous 16-year-old international film star he once was.

After hesitating for several days, Pei Yuanqing finally nodded in agreement after being pressed by his agent, and cooperated in completing the contract procedures.

As a result, just a few days before filming began, when he met with his old friend Hou Yize, he found that Hou was in a rather depressed state.

Upon further questioning, it was discovered that the woman who had toyed with her old friend's feelings was Xie Zhuxin.

He came from a traffic-driven background, and not only is his professional ability lacking, but his personal morality is also so bad.

How can we cooperate with someone like that?!

However, the contract had already been signed and filming was imminent. What could a washed-up actor who was almost semi-retired change?

Finally, Pei Yuanqing could only walk into the film set of "Wooden Guanyin" with a stiff face and a belly full of anger, resentment, contempt, and hatred.

How could he have imagined that fate, which had already played so many tricks on him, would play an even bigger one on him this time...