Huayu 2014: From Traffic Stars to Superstars

Chapter 51, Prelude to Catching the Adulterer

It was almost nine o'clock when the hot pot party ended.

Mao Xiaotong went to the front desk to pay the bill, and when she came back, Chen Xiang was already slumped over the table, not moving.

"How much did he drink?" Mao Xiaotong asked her boyfriend, her tone carrying a sense of helpless acceptance.

Naza thought for a moment: "I don't know how many glasses of baijiu and two bottles of beer. He said he wanted to drink to his heart's content with Gao Huan, but Gao Huan only drank one glass of baijiu, and he drank the rest himself."

Mao Xiaotong sighed, walked over and patted Chen Xiang on the shoulder.

"Get up, let's go."

Chen Xiang gave a mumbled "hmm," raised his head, his eyes half-open and half-closed, his face flushed from the base of his neck to his forehead, looking like a boiled shrimp.

He looked at Mao Xiaotong, grinned, and said, "Xiaotong, let me have another drink."

"What are you drinking for? Let's go." Mao Xiaotong tried to pull him away, but couldn't.

Gao Huan stood up, walked to Chen Xiang's other side, and took his arm.

"Get up, I'll see you out."

Chen Xiang glanced at Gao Huan, his eyes holding an indescribable look.

At the dinner table tonight, he kept giving Gao Huan a subtle, disdainful look.

Gao Huan didn't pay any attention.

"Gao Huan, let me tell you..."

When Chen Xiang was lifted up, his entire weight pressed down on the two of them. He mumbled incoherently, "You're a good actor, but I'm not bad either. When I was at the Central Academy of Drama, my teachers said I had exceptional talent."

Gao Huan didn't reply, but helped him walk out.

Mao Xiaotong followed behind, carrying her bag, her expression a complex mix of apology and embarrassment.

"Gao Huan, I'm sorry, he's not usually like this."

"It's alright," Gao Huan said.

Naza walked at the very back, took out her phone to check the time, and then sent a message to Yangyang Jinfa:

"Sister Yangyang, we've finished eating and are heading back to the hotel now. You don't need to pick us up; I'll drive."

Yangyang Jin replied instantly with two words: "Okay."

The designated driver is already waiting at the door.

A black minivan was driven by a man in his forties wearing a dark blue uniform. He stood by the door and opened the back door when he saw someone get out.

Gao Huan first shoved Chen Xiang into the back seat. Chen Xiang slumped into the seat, closed his eyes, and mumbled something.

Mao Xiaotong bent down to help him fasten his seatbelt, and it took her several tries to buckle it.

Just then, Chen Xiang's phone lit up.

He was holding his phone, or more accurately, clutching it in his hand, resting it on his knee with the screen facing upwards.

The screen lit up, and a WeChat message popped up.

Gao Huan was standing next to the car door when he saw the message.

The nickname is an emoji.

The message contained only one sentence: "Baby~ Are you coming over tonight? I'm waiting for you."

Gao Huan's gaze lingered on that message for a second.

His expression remained unchanged, but his pupils contracted slightly.

In this context, the term "baby" most likely refers to that kind of relationship.

A thought flashed through Gao Huan's mind: Mao Xiaotong's boyfriend is someone else.

The thought came quickly, like a pebble thrown into water; before the ripples could spread, it had already sunk.

The next second, Chen Xiang's hand loosened, and the phone slipped off his knee and fell to the ground.

The screen landed face down on the floor tiles, making a crisp sound.

Mao Xiaotong bent down to pick it up, and the screen was still lit when she picked up the phone.

She saw the message.

Gao Huan wasn't sure how much she had seen. But he saw her expression, an expression he had seen before, in plays, in scripts about "discovering the truth."

But when it happens in reality, the impact is completely different.

Mao Xiaotong's face turned pale in an instant.

Her fingers, holding the phone, trembled slightly, her knuckles turning white, as if she were holding a piece of ice that would burn her.

She stared at the screen for about three seconds.

Then she looked up and glanced at Chen Xiang in the back seat.

His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open, and his breath reeked of alcohol; he was completely unaware that he had just dropped a bomb.

Mao Xiaotong put her phone in her pocket with a light and steady motion, as if she were doing something she had done countless times before.

"Gao Huan," she said, her voice soft but each word clear, "help me pull him out. I've called a designated driver; the car's over there."

Gao Huan looked at her.

Her expression had returned to calm.

That calm is more terrifying than crying out, because what lies beneath it could erupt at any moment, like a volcano.

Gao Huan didn't say anything, nor did he look at her a second time.

He bent down and helped Chen Xiang up.

Chen Xiang's legs were as weak as two noodles, and he was hanging on Gao Huan, muttering something like, "Brother, let me tell you something."

Gao Huan helped him to the car that Mao Xiaotong had called for a designated driver and shoved him into the back seat.

Mao Xiaotong opened the passenger door and got in.

Her hands were shaking when she was fastening her seatbelt, and it took her two tries to buckle it.

She nodded to Gao Huan through the car window.

"I'm sorry, Gao Huan. Thank you for tonight. I'll treat you to dinner separately another day."

Gao Huan looked at her and said only one word.

"it is good."

The car window rolled up, the engine started, and the taillights lit up in the night as it merged into the traffic flow in the JA zone.

Gao Huan stood still, and Nazha walked over and stood next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You were looking at that person's phone for several seconds just now."

Gao Huan turned his head and looked at her.

The light from the streetlamp fell on his face, illuminating half of it while the other half remained hidden in shadow.

He reached out and ruffled Nazha's hair.

"It's alright, let's go."

Naza glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.

She drove the car, and Gao Huan sat in the passenger seat.

The car drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the hotel.

In Shanghai at night, neon lights sweep across the sky one by one, casting a flowing pattern of light and shadow on the windshield.

Gao Huan leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed.

The image in my mind was of Mao Xiaotong's expression the moment she picked up the phone; her face was as white as paper, her fingers were trembling, but she didn't cry.

Such restraint is more powerful than any cry or shout.

He didn't know who sent the message, what the extent of Chen Xiang's relationship with that person was, or how Mao Xiaotong would handle it.

But he knew one thing: tonight, a crack had appeared in someone's world.

……

Time flies when you're on set.

The filming of "Love O2O" has entered its most intensive phase.

Most of the cherry blossoms in Songjiang University Town have already fallen, leaving a layer of pink and white petals on the ground, which are blown around by the wind like a group of butterflies that have lost their way home.

The pace of the production was getting faster and faster. Director Lin Yufen was an impatient person, and her first words when she arrived on set every day were always, "Let's get back into the swing of things from yesterday first, and then we'll finish today's work."

She speaks at a speed like a machine gun, but every word is clear and distinct, like nails hammered into a board.

Gao Huan had gotten used to this rhythm. He arrived at the film set on time every day, and after getting his makeup done, he would go to his trailer to write scripts, compose songs, and occasionally catch up on sleep.

Naza had more scenes than him and was running around on set all day, but she was in much better shape than when filming first started.

Gao Huan helped her rehearse every night, scrutinizing each line and correcting each glance.

She absorbed what Gao Huan taught her and made it her own.

Lin Yufen once watched one of Nazha's scenes behind the monitor, remained silent for five seconds, and then said something that surprised everyone present.

"Nazha, your performance lately has been getting better and better."

Naza smiled so hard her eyes curved into two crescent moons, but she knew that half of this "getting better and better" was thanks to Gao Huan.

……

On this day, two newcomers arrived at the film crew.

At nine o'clock in the morning, a black minivan stopped at the entrance of the film set.

The car door opened, and the first person to step out was a tall girl with long, flowing hair, striking features, large-framed sunglasses, and a light blue dress. She looked like she had stepped out of a magazine.

Li Xirui.

In the drama, she plays Xiao Yu Yao Yao, a beautiful player in the game and a real-life school beauty, who is Bei Weiwei's "love rival" in the game.

The role isn't particularly important, but there are a few scenes with Bei Weiwei that require a "polite on the surface, but secretly competitive" dynamic.

Following her was an even younger girl.

With a round face, big eyes, and two shallow dimples when she smiles, she looks like a freshly washed peach, juicy and exuding a sweet, unguarded charm unique to young girls.

Huang Mengying.

In the drama, she plays Meng Yiran, Xiao Nai's suitor, the school beauty, and Bei Weiwei's rival in love.

The character is defined as "beautiful and self-aware," possessing a sense of superiority yet not being mean, making her a "villain" that is hard to dislike.

When the two got out of the car, Lin Yufen was watching the playback behind the monitor.

She looked up and glanced at the two people across half the film set, her brows furrowing slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Yangyang Jin stood next to Gao Huan, holding a cup of coffee. She glanced at the two new girls and muttered under her breath, "People from Jiaxing."

Gao Huan leaned against the door frame of the RV, holding a thermos in his hand, and took a sip of goji berry and polygonatum tea.

"Um."

Yangyang Jin turned her head and glanced at him, her tone carrying a certain "I knew it" confidence.

"Did Yang Mi send it over?"

"Yes," Gao Huan said. "She called me and said the two girls were quite attractive and asked me to help look after them."

"You agreed?"

"It was just a small favor."

Yangyang Jin pursed her lips and didn't say anything more.

But she was calculating something else in her mind: given Gao Huan's current position, a favor was a favor.

Helping Yang Mi train the new recruits is a favor that must be repaid in the future.

However, she didn't say it aloud.

Some things are better left unsaid.

……

Li Xirui and Huang Mengying were led to the dressing room by the crew members, where the makeup artist did their makeup.

Neither of them wore complicated makeup. Xiaoyu Yaoyao's beauty was "refined but not deliberate," while Meng Yiran followed the "pure school beauty" route, with light makeup, a clear base, eyeliner only on the inner eyelid, and a dusty rose lipstick. She looked clean and comfortable.

After getting their makeup done, the two of them came out of the dressing room and headed towards the film set.

Li Xirui walked ahead, her steps quick, her high heels making a crisp sound on the ground.

Her expression was relaxed, but beneath that relaxation lay a tension typical of a newcomer, like a fully drawn string that dared not loosen, nor tighten too much.

Huang Mengying walked behind, her steps slower, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings.

Although she wasn't exactly a newcomer, her expression carried a cautious curiosity, as if she were afraid of stepping on some landmine.

When Lin Yufen saw the two people walking over, she put down her walkie-talkie, went over, and looked them up and down.

"Li Xirui?"

"Hello, Director." Li Xirui bowed slightly, her tone steady.

"Huang Mengying?"

"Hello, director."

Huang Mengying's voice was softer than Li Xirui's, carrying a hint of nervousness, but it wasn't very noticeable.

Lin Yufen nodded without saying anything more.

She turned and walked back behind the monitor, picked up the walkie-talkie, and called out, "Get ready, let's shoot Li Xirui's scene first. The one where Xiaoyu Yaoyao and Bei Weiwei are having a game confrontation."

Li Xirui's expression changed slightly.

Naza was reading a script in the rest area when she heard her assistant call her name. She stood up, picked up the script, and walked over.

As she passed by Li Xirui, she glanced at her and nodded as a greeting.

Li Xirui nodded, a slight, polite curve appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Gao Huan stood at the door of the RV, looking into the distance.

Yangyang Jin stood next to him and whispered, "This Li Xirui seems pretty steady."

"Um."

"But her schedule doesn't seem to be working out. Jaywalk Studio has scheduled a lot of appearances for her, and she needs to take two days off next week to film GG."

Gao Huan turned his head and glanced at Yangyang Jin.

"How did you know that?"

"When her assistant came to pick up the script yesterday, she chatted with the production coordinator for a bit, and I overheard it."

Yangyang Jin's tone was very calm, as if she were talking about something she had already confirmed.

"The coordinator's expression immediately turned sour, saying that Director Lin hates it when actors ask for leave."

Gao Huan didn't reply, but took a sip of the goji berry tea in her thermos.

……

. "