Chapter 56

In the following half month or so, apart from returning to the university to complete the re-enrollment procedures and attending a few classes, Zhang Chengyuan mostly rested, taking the opportunity to adjust his mindset and daily routine, so that he could mentally transition from a soldier back to an ordinary urbanite.

Taking advantage of this rare leisure time, Zhang Chengyuan, on one hand, reconnected with old friends like Ha Ji-won, Won Bin, Yoon Eun-hye, and Moon Geun-young, rekindling their friendships; on the other hand, he watched popular TV shows, movies, variety shows, and read magazines and weekly publications to understand the current era's characteristics and trends, hoping to quickly regain the ease and confidence he once had in the advertising and entertainment industries.

Additionally, he made a trip to China, spending ten days not to enjoy the scenery or cultivate his sentiments, but to investigate the secret realm "Xiao You Qing Xu Tian" deep in Wangwu Mountain, where he had lived in his previous life. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, when he finally found the original site of "Xiao You Qing Xu Tian" after much effort, he discovered that the secret realm had long vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed. He could not determine whether it had collapsed due to changes in the world or been destroyed by external enemies. Under the span of a thousand years, all traces of the secret realm had been completely erased, and Zhang Chengyuan could not deduce the truth.

Undeterred, Zhang Chengyuan visited the ancestral temples and Daoist observatories of the major sects from his past life, hoping to find a remaining lineage to uncover the answers. Unfortunately, he found nothing. Even more tragically, he traveled across the country and could not find a single true practitioner. The highest-level Daoist he encountered was only at the intermediate stage of refining essence into qi, far below his current level, let alone the prosperity of a thousand years ago.

Disappointed, Zhang Chengyuan saw that the Chinese land was devoid of traditional Han clothing and Han-Tang etiquette. Compared to small countries that made great efforts to preserve their own culture, even shamelessly appropriating other countries' cultural traditions, the Chinese indifference to traditional civilization pained and angered him. Thus, he lost interest in aimlessly wandering in China and hurriedly returned to South Korea, using interactions with family and friends to remind himself that he still had people to protect and a reason to live in this world.

After two more days of idleness, Zhang Chengyuan could no longer sit still. He went to the company and asked Park Byung-ryul to quickly arrange suitable work for him. If he continued like this, he feared he would become a lazy good-for-nothing, no better than a kept man.

During Zhang Chengyuan's rest period, Park Byung-ryul had been quite busy. Besides paying attention to Kim Tae-hee's schedule, who remained highly popular, he had to shamelessly contact some influential work opportunities for Zhang Chengyuan.

However, Zhang Chengyuan was not the same as he was two years ago. Although his popularity was comparable to that of top idols like Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin, he was still a first-tier star, and the market demand for him was strong. But now, advertisers, TV producers, and PDs were not interested in him because there were many new stars with more buzz and public appeal to choose from.

Park Byung-ryul and Zhang Chengyuan had anticipated this situation two years ago, but when it actually happened, it still made them feel uncomfortable and resentful, wishing they could give those arrogant people a good beating. Given the current situation, Park Byung-ryul reduced Zhang Chengyuan's value by several levels and arranged for him to collaborate with Kim Tae-hee on several advertisements.

After much effort, he finally leveraged Kim Tae-hee's almost unmatched popularity in the advertising industry to promote Zhang Chengyuan again, and a very controversial topic emerged in the entertainment industry: "Zhang Chengyuan returns from military service, inseparable from Kim Tae-hee." As a result, Zhang Chengyuan's popularity quickly soared.

Zhang Chengyuan and Kim Tae-hee originally detested such gossip marketing tactics. Zhang Chengyuan preferred to start from scratch rather than use Fin.K.L's fame to rise quickly. Kim Tae-hee, from the moment she entered the entertainment industry, maintained her integrity and relied on her own abilities to advance, though she could not avoid occasional gossip, none of it was intentional.

However, when she learned that the gossip would involve Zhang Chengyuan, she was not at all concerned and was even happy to help him, as she always considered him a good friend and a good younger brother.

Kim Tae-hee's willingness to help made Zhang Chengyuan, who initially wanted to refuse the gossip marketing strategy, reluctantly agree. After all, if the woman did not object, it would be too pretentious for him, a man, to firmly oppose it.

With Kim Tae-hee's strong public influence, Zhang Chengyuan gained many opportunities to appear in public, reuniting a large number of his former fans and attracting the admiration of many young, innocent girls who were just beginning to dream of love, as well as the attention of some young people who liked to imitate his cool demeanor.

Cold, strong, simple, and fashionable—this was the new image Park Byung-ryul designed for Zhang Chengyuan. However, this was not a decision to cater to the current trends in the entertainment industry but a temporary strategy.

Zhang Chengyuan's original personality was quiet and reserved, not good at expressing himself. After years in high school, university, and the military, he had fewer than five close friends. He gave off an aura of strength and wisdom, making him seem very proud and hard to approach. Only those who had known him for a long time or naturally got along with him could see his inner loneliness and longing.

After two years of training in a border military camp, he became even less inclined to smile or speak. He only relaxed and laughed freely in front of Fin.K.L and his friends. In front of others, Zhang Chengyuan often had a cold, stern expression, making him seem distant and out of touch with society.

Therefore, trying to shape him into a lovable, neighborly big brother image was an impossible task for the time being. Forcing it would only make things worse, and no matter how outstanding his appearance and abilities were, few people would pay attention to him.

After redefining Zhang Chengyuan's image, Park Byung-ryul immediately promoted it. In many public settings, Zhang Chengyuan maintained a cold and cool demeanor, even without pretending. Just standing there, he had a "chilling to the bone" effect, scaring away some unscrupulous colleagues who wanted to show off and some female artists who wanted to chat with him.

While losing some good fortune, he gained a significant advantage: a memorable and unforgettable image. After a large gathering of entertainment professionals, Zhang Chengyuan unexpectedly received several invitations to audition for TV dramas.

Of course, given his current status as a recent returnee with only moderate popularity, the roles offered to him were far from leading roles, with the highest being a second male lead. Two of these roles caught his attention because their scripts were quite good and had the potential to be successful. One was "The First Love of the Crown Prince," where he would play a calm and serious illegitimate son who graduated from a prestigious university. The other was "Full House," where he would play a charming and gentlemanly industry elite.

At first glance, the second role seemed more appealing, and Zhang Chengyuan guessed that "Full House" was a fresh and novel drama with a higher chance of becoming popular than "The First Love of the Crown Prince." Therefore, he initially preferred this role but could not decide if he would be selected. To be safe, he auditioned for both roles.

Zhang Chengyuan thought it would be great if he could play both roles, but "The First Love of the Crown Prince" and "Full House" had conflicting schedules, so he could only choose one.

In the end, Zhang Chengyuan chose the second male lead role in "The First Love of the Crown Prince." It was not because he performed poorly in the audition for the other role and had to settle for the first one, nor was it because the character in "The First Love of the Crown Prince" was similar to him, making it easy for him to bring the role to life. It was because his good sister, Sung Yu-ri, had already been cast as the female lead in "The First Love of the Crown Prince."

Previously, he had gone to the "Autumn Fairy Tale" production to play a minor role for the newly acquainted Moon Geun-young. Now, he could interact more with Sung Yu-ri and play a significant role, a win-win situation he could not refuse.