Great, It's the Pervy Neighbor. We're Doomed

Chapter 644: Gu Lan, the Pure and Innocent Goddess

"No thanks, I don't smoke."Even though Gu Lan's reputation had collapsed, if she had an unfinished cigarette and offered it to someone else, a whole bunch of old perverts would be scrambling to take a puff.

Yes, despite the collapse, Gu Lan's fanbase—the old perverts—had actually exploded.

"Don't smoke? Alright then, I'll smoke it myself. This single cigarette costs over a hundred bucks!"

Gu Lan stuffed the cigarette filter back into her mouth, grinning cheekily.

And just this one action completely shattered Jiang Ran's previous image of Gu Lan as the so-called pure and innocent jade maiden.

What a stark contrast! In private, her personality was completely different!

"Your private personality is quite unlike the impression you give the public!" Jiang Ran said, pulling up a chair to sit opposite the three women.

Gu Lan took a drag from her cigarette nonchalantly. "That's normal."

"Celebrity packaging. The surface image and the private persona, the public character and the real personality—they're never the same."

"For example, some celebrities give off a vibe of being outgoing and cheerful, but in reality, they're quiet and reserved in private."

"Then there are others whose public image, their packaged persona, is that of a well-educated, highly cultured academic genius."

"Pure bullshit, really. Just a high school graduate, pretending to be some intellectual."

"And there are even those who pretend to be pure, innocent, good men, good women, good husbands, good wives... but in private, they play around more wildly than anyone."

"Of course, mine was also a persona. That whole 'pure and innocent jade maiden' thing? That was all arranged by my company. My real private personality is basically the complete opposite."

"Hey, handsome, let me tell you something that'll blow your mind."

"You might be a guy, but when it comes to that male equipment, I guarantee I've seen way more of it than you ever have."

Jiang Ran: ???

Jiang Ran's face was currently a picture of utter shock.

Hold on, sister, how can you just blurt out anything and everything?

With this personality of yours, forget being a pure and innocent jade maiden, it doesn't even come close!

Not even remotely!

And what was that last part?

Making dirty jokes...

Seeing Jiang Ran's stunned expression, Gu Lan puffed on her cigarette and giggled.

Jiang Ran needed a good long moment to recover, finally fixing his gaze on Gu Lan's eyes. "I think... your current real personality is actually quite likable."

Gu Lan smiled. "Yeah, I thought so too back then. But at the time, the company assigned me the 'pure and innocent jade maiden' persona. All these years, people said my acting was bad. I never accepted that. Because I've been acting the part of the pure jade maiden for so long, and it was never exposed, was it?"

"It's just this time, I got screwed over by some little punk."

A flash of anger flickered in Gu Lan's eyes, and she unconsciously bit down harder on the cigarette filter.

"Qingzhao, did you and Gu Lan know each other long before this?" Jiang Ran shifted the topic to Wang Qingzhao.

Wang Qingzhao nodded. "We've been friends for many years."

"My dad holds shares in the entertainment company Gu Lan belongs to."

Jiang Ran thought to himself, sure enough, a rich woman. He asked, "So, the reason you came to my place this time is...?"

"With something like this happening to Gu Lan, aren't you curious about who filmed the video? Who leaked it?"

Of course he was curious. When Jiang Ran watched Gu Lan's indecent video, he also wondered who filmed it.

The most likely candidate was the male lead in the video.

After all, some guys love filming that stuff. Using it as a badge of honor.

Especially with a certain type of person online.

Those "flower-seeking" videos, "flower-exploring" videos.

But, the filming angle in that video wasn't actually great, and throughout the entire video, the reactions of the male lead seemed completely unaware of any camera's presence.

"Jiang Ran, come on, I'll take you to uncover this secret right now."

Wang Qingzhao stood up, ready to lead Jiang Ran away, then seemed to remember something. "Jiang Ran, I almost forgot to ask, how did you get so badly injured?"

Gu Lan also cast a curious glance his way.

Jiang Ran said, "Fell off my bike."

The three women didn't press for details. Instead, they left together with Jiang Ran.

Before leaving, Gu Lan still disguised herself, putting on sunglasses and a scarf.

The three women led Jiang Ran to a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV parked outside the main gate of Alice Apartment.

Jiang Ran and Wang Qingzhao sat in the back.

The driver's seat was occupied by that young woman with glasses who hadn't said a word from start to finish.

The passenger seat was Gu Lan's.

"Whose car is this?"

Jiang Ran got in, examining the interior of the black Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

He'd only ever seen the exterior on his phone before, never scrolled through pictures of the interior.

"Mine."

Gu Lan turned her head. "So? First time riding in one?"

Jiang Ran nodded.

Gu Lan: "Any thoughts?"

Jiang Ran lifted his butt and sat back down, repeating the motion several times.

"The seats are pretty comfortable. And the paint job looks nice."

Gu Lan turned back with an exasperated look.

Jiang Ran asked, "How much did this car cost, all in?"

Gu Lan: "Over two million."

Jiang Ran: "Ah... a car I could never afford in my lifetime."

"You celebrities have it so good! Making money is so easy!"

"An ordinary person working their whole life might not even be able to buy one."

Gu Lan smiled faintly. "When you're famous, making money is easy."

"But this time, I've hit a stroke of terrible luck. Don't even know how much I'll have to pay in compensation, and my career is completely finished."

She gritted her teeth.

Jiang Ran asked again, "That... this might be a bit rude, but who's the guy in your video? Your boyfriend?"

Gu Lan burst out laughing. "Get out of here. With his looks? My taste isn't that bad."

"Hmm... whatever, it doesn't matter. Might as well tell you. After all, you seem pretty close with Qingzhao, and she specifically brought you along for this."

"That guy gave me over five hundred thousand, and planned to invest in a production with me as the female lead. I spent one night with him. Get it?"

Jiang Ran had a sudden realization. "So, he was basically a sugar daddy?"

Gu Lan nodded. "Yes. A one-time sugar daddy."

"If it were up to my personal taste, I only like sleeping with handsome guys."

"But sleeping with handsome guys doesn't come with that kind of money and benefits."

Jiang Ran said, "The lives of you rich people are truly colorful."

Gu Lan laughed. "Your life could be colorful too. Just depends on whether you want it to be."

The black G-Class cruised along the road.

Jiang Ran realized riding in this kind of luxury vehicle was completely different from taking those rideshare cars.

This kind of luxury car, whether on wide, sparsely trafficked roads or on crowded streets...

Other cars seemed to give it a particularly wide berth.

Maybe they were afraid that if they scratched or bumped it, they couldn't afford the repair.

This kind of luxury car automatically came with a buff that made other vehicles dare not collide with it.

The car drove for over an hour.

Finally, they arrived at an abandoned pier in Nancheng City.

After getting out, Jiang Ran gazed into the distance.

He found the place desolate and lonely, exceptionally capable of calming one's spirit.

A city isn't exactly huge, but it's not small either.

Jiang Ran genuinely had never been here before, hadn't even heard of it.

After all, since he crossed over, he hadn't really toured all over Nancheng City. The place he went to most was still the city center.

"Isn't she coming along?"

Jiang Ran asked, referring to the bespectacled young woman in the driver's seat.

Gu Lan waved her hand dismissively. "No need."