Perfect Divorce [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 10

Yuan Xingzhou had no idea what Huo Yangqing had discussed with this man. Had he really exposed himself the moment they met?

Probably not… he didn’t look like he would at the time, did he?

Then again, it wasn’t certain. Huo Yangqing had always been a law unto himself, someone who never followed the conventional path. It was entirely possible he had gone out of his way to annoy Ye Huai.

Seeing that Ye Huai was unwilling to elaborate, Yuan Xingzhou figured it would be better to ask Huo Yangqing tomorrow.

He wondered if the man would show up to watch again tomorrow. Fortunately, there were no more intimate scenes left, so he wouldn’t have to act as the “filling in the sandwich” between them.

The mere thought of Ye Huai sitting behind the monitor gave Yuan Xingzhou a headache.

“By the way, that chair the director was sitting on…” Yuan Xingzhou recalled the scene at the set and reminded him, “Our director has a good temper, but many people are quite particular about it. An artist sitting in the director’s chair would be scolded for having no manners.”

The hierarchy within a film crew was strict, and rules were plenty; everything involved a web of social favors. Seeing that Ye Huai seemed interested in acting, and considering himself to have some experience, Yuan Xingzhou patiently shared his knowledge: “…A film crew is a place that values traditional rules and etiquette. Actors are accustomed to being ranked by their status. A chair like that is a symbol of identity. You definitely can’t sit in the director’s chair, and you can’t sit in the chairs of the main creators either—those are for their exclusive use. Even if someone else’s chair is empty, try not to go over. Firstly, to avoid being disliked, and secondly, to avoid trouble. If someone trips or bumps into it, the situation becomes impossible to explain.”

Ye Huai clearly hadn’t expected him to bring this up suddenly. He turned his face and looked at Yuan Xingzhou with confusion.

Yuan Xingzhou smiled. “I see you’re interested in acting. With your natural conditions, entering a film crew is only a matter of time. However, a crew is a mix of all kinds of people with different temperaments, and you might not know their backgrounds. It’s better to be careful.”

During their group activities, there had been plenty of internal schemes, but Ye Huai looked down on everyone else. He had a strong backbone and apparently some family support, so others didn’t dare provoke him; instead, they tried to curry favor with him.

But if Ye Huai were to act in the future, he would need to restrain that temper slightly. Compared to their small group of five, a film crew—with people of different ages, experiences, and backgrounds—was significantly more complex.

“I see.” Ye Huai nodded and asked, “Then what do you do when you’re tired?”

Yuan Xingzhou: “I brought my own small folding stool. I marked it with my name in oil pen so I can sit for a while while waiting for my turn. If the stool accidentally gets lost, I just find a place—a step or a tree stump—to sit. Of course, you can’t do that while wearing your costume; if you get it dirty, you’ll be scolded.”

Ye Huai gave an “Mn” and didn’t say more.

Tonight, it was actually the director who had let him sit there to rest. The director’s eyes had been full of unmistakable delight as he inquired if Ye Huai had any desire to act and who his manager was.

Ye Huai was accustomed to such flattery and had sat there as a matter of course. But he had no intention of explaining this to Yuan Xingzhou. Yuan Xingzhou’s reminder was purely out of goodwill, but this man was too easy to bully. Having no seniors or assistants to guide him, he must have summarized these crew rules after being scolded countless times.

The two returned to the hotel.

Yuan Xingzhou stayed in a standard twin room. The room was spacious enough, but the hardware facilities were poor. Upon entering, there were only two 1.5-meter beds. Facing the beds was a television, and on the cabinet sat a kettle. The wooden door to the bathroom on the side had swollen from moisture and wouldn’t close tightly, so the exhaust fan was kept running constantly.

The moment Ye Huai stepped inside, he regretted it. The mattress was too hard, there was no sofa, no fridge, no coffee pot, and most importantly—no toiletries in the bathroom!

“How can anyone live like this?” Ye Huai said with disdain. “Are there not even any disposable items?”

“The crew booked the whole place as a dormitory, so the hotel doesn’t bother with those things,” Yuan Xingzhou explained. ” I have extras here; I’ll get them for you in a moment.”

Ye Huai was stunned. “You have extras?” This wasn’t home, after all. Who brings backups when going out?

“Weren’t I just in Europe trying to intercept someone earlier?” Yuan Xingzhou was busy tidying up the clothes and miscellaneous items he usually kept on the spare bed. Without looking back, he explained, “I went in such a hurry back then that I didn’t know the accommodations there didn’t provide toiletries or hair dryers. I had to meet a very important person the next day, so it took a lot of effort and money to fix it. I’ve made sure to remember that lesson ever since.”

He tidied up Ye Huai’s bed, laid out a fresh set of unused blankets and pillows, and then took several disposable items out of a small bag in his suitcase.

“When I was doing promotions last time, I stayed in a five-star hotel with the others and asked the waiter for extra,” Yuan Xingzhou said. “Do you want to shower first?”

Ye Huai took the items and turned to place them on the bed. He paused for a second, then turned back around.

“Maybe I should go back?” Ye Huai said. “Where are your car keys?”

Yuan Xingzhou was taken aback. “You want to go back?”

Ye Huai gave an affirmative grunt.

“No.” Yuan Xingzhou looked outside and frowned. “I told you to leave earlier and you didn’t. Now the fog is heavy. How can I let you drive on mountain roads? What if something happens?”

Ye Huai clearly hadn’t expected to be refused and became somewhat irritable. “It’s none of your business. I’m leaving.”

“Big brother, you’re driving my car,” Yuan Xingzhou said with a firm tone. “No means no. What are you looking at me for? Just last week, a foreign friend had an accident by driving on the wrong side of the road. You’ve just returned and aren’t used to it. What if you lose focus on the road?”

Ye Huai: “…”

“Are you dissatisfied with the toiletries?” Yuan Xingzhou asked. “Or is there another problem?”

“How am I supposed to sleep on this bed?” Ye Huai frowned. “Just smell it; the blanket even smells of mold.”

Yuan Xingzhou usually kept the unused bedding piled in the wardrobe, so it did have a bit of an odor after being taken out.

He could only offer a suggestion in good temper: “I’ll ask the hotel if they have new ones to replace them?”

Ye Huai looked disgusted, clearly full of doubt regarding the hotel’s cleaning and disinfection facilities.

“Then use mine?” Yuan Xingzhou said.

He instinctively offered his own things, but then immediately realized his duvet cover and sheets weren’t new—he had already slept in them once.

“What about the towels then?” Ye Huai skipped over that topic entirely. “What about showering? I can’t exactly sleep naked, can I?”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…” This guy actually doesn’t mind?

“Use all of mine,” Yuan Xingzhou had completely lost his temper. “You use mine, and I’ll use the hotel’s.”

After “offering up” his belongings one by one as tribute, Yuan Xingzhou finally obtained a moment of peace. He picked out the chicken legs and vegetables from the boxed lunch and ate them, silently complaining that Ye Huai was essentially a textbook case of “Princess Syndrome.” Fortunately, his temper wasn’t erratic; as long as you stroked his fur the right way, it worked.

But who would have thought the usually cold and aloof deity would be so obedient? Yuan Xingzhou had already automatically ignored the difficult parts and skipped straight to the scene where Ye Huai obediently stayed and went to shower. He couldn’t help but think that he was now like a Dragon Rider. Now that he had discovered the weakness of this “Princess Dragon” Ye Huai, he would only need to wiggle a finger in the future to make the other behave.

“Holy sh*t! Ahhh!” Ye Huai screamed from the bathroom. “Yuan Xingzhou!”

Yuan Xingzhou nearly jumped out of his chair in a start and ran over. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Huai: “The hot water… don’t come in!”

Yuan Xingzhou had already pushed the bathroom door open. Stunned by the shout, he hurriedly pulled it shut.

“What’s happened?” Yuan Xingzhou’s fantasy was shattered. Like an obedient eunuch, he leaned toward the door and listened intently.

“The hot water is gone,” Ye Huai said gloomily from inside. “Hurry up and ask the hotel what’s going on!”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

It’s not the dead of winter. If the water gets cold, you might jump for a second, but is a blood-curdling scream necessary?

Yuan Xingzhou hurriedly called room service. The response was that the hotel’s boiler had a malfunction, and technicians were repairing it; it would be fixed in about half an hour.

Yuan Xingzhou knocked on the door again and relayed the hotel’s explanation.

Ye Huai: “…So I have to stand here naked and alone for half an hour?”

“If you want it to be two people, I don’t mind,” Yuan Xingzhou said.

Ye Huai: “…”

“Do you want to dry off and wait out here first?” Having cracked a joke, Yuan Xingzhou quickly returned to being serious. “Or I can give you an iPad to play with in there for a while?”

Ye Huai didn’t say a word. After a moment, the bathroom door opened a crack, and a long, beautiful hand reached out, fingers spread wide like Sadako from The Ring.

Seeing him hiding behind the door, Yuan Xingzhou found it amusing and handed the iPad he was using through the gap. Ye Huai shut the door again.

Half an hour later, the hot water was indeed restored.

The sound of people walking and talking filled the corridor. Yuan Xingzhou went out for a walk and bought two pieces of bread from downstairs for Ye Huai. While he was downstairs, he saw the fog was thick. People were returning one after another, so he guessed the fog had affected filming and the crew had finished early.

Yuan Xingzhou secretly hoped it would rain tomorrow. He particularly loved drizzly days. He imagined himself curled up on a bay window with a hot drink by his side, while outside the window, willows swayed by a thousand houses. He would be playing the guitar inside while the person he loved washed their hands to prepare a hot, steaming meal in the kitchen.

After thinking for a bit, he felt the scene was slightly off, so he changed it to his loved one playing the guitar while he busied himself in the kitchen, washing hands and making a meal.

The beautiful image was quickly shattered by the sudden, sharp ringing of his phone.

A call from Li Yu.

Yuan Xingzhou hesitated. He hadn’t replied to Li Yu’s messages. Normally, he worked hard to perform well, trying to be obedient and trouble-free to avoid annoying Li Yu. But look at him now—doing one annoying thing after another.

Perhaps it was the shame resulting from that impulsive self-analysis the other day.

Yuan Xingzhou took a deep breath, touched his cheeks, and pressed the answer button.

Li Yu was used to being direct. He opened with: “Xingzhou, have you talked to Ye Huai?”

“Mn,” Yuan Xingzhou responded.

“Good. You know about the Idol Love Season variety show now, right?” Li Yu said. “This show features celebrities forming CPs to act in short dramas. You and Ye Huai will go as guest stars. First, you need to show off your love, and second, you need to participate in filming the short drama. You already have experience, but Ye Huai doesn’t, so you should guide him during this time.”

“That’s right, Xingzhou!” Wen Ting shouted from the other end. “I’m counting on you to take care of Ye Huai!”

Yuan Xingzhou hadn’t expected Wen Ting to be there. His mood instantly improved quite a bit, and he gave a smiling response. “What kind of short drama is it? Can we know in advance?”

“I’ll ask ahead of time,” Wen Ting took over and said to him. “Don’t feel pressured. I’ll see if I can let Ye Huai play a narcissistic CEO or a stoic senior—something he can play as himself.”

Sure enough, official roasts are the deadliest. Wen Ting’s summary of Ye Huai was quite fitting.

Yuan Xingzhou couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“There’s one more thing,” the phone was taken back by Li Yu. He said to Yuan Xingzhou, “The two of you need to start preparing now. We need to gradually lay the groundwork to prepare for the ‘unbinding’ in the future.”

Yuan Xingzhou was stunned. “How do we lay the groundwork?”

“I’ve already received the leaked photos of your kiss scene with Huo Yangqing,” Li Yu said. “The production crew’s intention is to hype up a CP between the two of you as appropriate. Yangqing’s manager has already stated their stance; they have no objections. What about you?”

Yuan Xingzhou hadn’t expected this kind of development and stammered.

Previously, Huo Yangqing had thrown a tantrum and refused to cooperate with the female lead, though he was quite happy playing around with some internet models. The female lead’s side was also eager to stay far away from Huo Yangqing; they never even stood together while waiting on set. Consequently, the production’s PR team was pulling their hair out, only able to buy lukewarm trending topics.

If Huo Yangqing was willing to cooperate with the hype, the crew would definitely be happy.

But Huo Yangqing is my fan!

Yuan Xingzhou felt it was strange.

“I’ve already agreed on your behalf,” Li Yu said from the other end, hearing his hesitation and knowing he wasn’t very willing. “This is good for all three parties. It’s convenient for the crew, Yangqing’s side is willing, and you can take the opportunity to distance yourself a bit from Ye Huai.”

Slowly spreading some rumors, then causing some friction, followed by the leads denying the rumors but then more “discord” being leaked… over and over again. This way, when the two finally separated, it wouldn’t be so abrupt. However, it would take time—months at least—so it made sense for Li Yu to start preparing now.

Yuan Xingzhou knew he truly had no reason to object. After all, compared to him unilaterally hyping the CP, this method of unbinding was much safer. In fact, he should be feeling lucky right now; just as he was getting sleepy, someone handed him a pillow.

Ten minutes later, Ye Huai finally emerged from the bathroom looking satisfied. He had applied Yuan Xingzhou’s skin lotion and was wearing Yuan Xingzhou’s pajamas. He sat down on Yuan Xingzhou’s bed.

“What is it?” Ye Huai shook out Yuan Xingzhou’s blanket, covered himself, and leaned against the headboard to comfortably play on the iPad. He asked in high spirits, “Why such a long face? We’re all young; what could be so bad that you can’t get over it? Cheer up.”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

“It’s nothing,” Yuan Xingzhou sighed and took out his script to read.

“What is it?” Ye Huai was clearly happy after his shower and urged, “Hurry up and tell me. Don’t you know keeping things half-said will kill a person?”

“…Ah?” Yuan Xingzhou was taken aback. “When did I only say half?”

“Just now!” Ye Huai said. “It’s written all over your face—’Come and ask me, I’m so unhappy’…”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

“It’s fine.” Yuan Xingzhou thought there was nothing to hide, so he could only say, “My manager wants me to hype a CP.”

“Then hype it!” Ye Huai said. “Aren’t you quite skilled at that? Is there a difficulty?”

If they hadn’t become familiar over the past two days, Yuan Xingzhou really wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from thinking these words were sarcastic.

“No,” Yuan Xingzhou sighed. “I’m just depressed. I’ll probably be scolded for ‘stepping on two boats’ in the future. I’ve maintained a devoted and exclusive persona for several years; it’s a bit hard to let go of it so suddenly.”

“Huh??” Ye Huai was full of question marks.

“My manager’s meaning is for me and Huo Yangqing to hype a CP,” Yuan Xingzhou saw his confusion and provided a deep interpretation. “That way, when we divorce in the future, it can be said that I had a change of heart and our relationship failed.”

He originally thought that since Ye Huai was about to be liberated, he would have a better impression of Huo Yangqing.

To his surprise, Ye Huai shot up from his seat and asked, “What? A change of heart?!”

Ye Huai’s beautiful eyes widened in anger as he snapped, “Impossible! How ridiculous. A change of heart for him? Are you blind?”

Yuan Xingzhou: “I…”

Yuan Xingzhou thought, it’s just hyping a CP, it’s not for real. What does it have to do with me being blind? But soon, he realized Ye Huai was looking down on Huo Yangqing.

“This must be that hater leader’s way of trying to disgust me.” Ye Huai sneered in anger, grabbed his phone, and dialed a number. “Compare him to me? Keep dreaming. He isn’t even fit to carry my shoes… Hello!”

The call connected. It was likely Wen Ting on the other end.

“No way! I don’t agree!” Ye Huai said with a cold face. “Even if he’s locked with me for life, we cannot give that hater a single opening!”