Perfect Divorce [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 12

Ye Huai, who usually wouldn’t touch Weibo once in half a year, had suddenly updated.

In the forum thread, the “melon-eating” spectators went wild. Yuan Xingzhou hurriedly exited the forum and switched accounts to Weibo. Sure enough, on the front page, Ye Huai had just posted a new update.

Ye Huai: The weather is good, and so is my mood.

The photo showed him standing by the hotel window, looking down.

It had to be said that Ye Huai’s photos were stunning. Even just standing there casually as a backlit silhouette, he exuded the aura of a total heartthrob.

Yuan Xingzhou spent a moment admiring Ye Huai’s profile—which was practically a textbook example of the golden ratio—and his body proportions. Then, remembering the task at hand, he quickly switched back to the forum thread.

The thread had jumped two pages in an instant. Everyone was clamoring for the Original Poster (LZ) to start their “eating shit” livestream, while others manually tagged [Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy] to come and inspect the results.

Sure enough, [Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy] appeared quickly, urging: Waiting for LZ to start the stream.

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

The direction of the popular thread had completely derailed. Everyone had collectively turned into a chorus of “hahaha,” waiting to watch the LZ make a fool of themselves.

Yuan Xingzhou guessed the poster would probably run away. Just as he was about to refresh one last time and log out, he saw that the LZ had actually returned quite boldly.

[Fake CP Exposé]: That Huai-Zhou fan ID… you’re a paid professional fan (zhifen) for Yuan Xingzhou, aren’t you? Heh.

[Fake CP Exposé]: I dared to make this bet because I have inside info. There was something fishy about Ye Huai and Yuan Xingzhou’s marriage from the start. For the past two years, Ye Huai hasn’t contacted Yuan Xingzhou once while abroad. All those “loving interactions” Yuan Xingzhou claims were made up by himself! I’ll put it this way: if a single word I said is a lie, may I be struck by a car within five hundred yards of leaving my house.

[Fake CP Exposé]: That Huai-Zhou fan is definitely a pro-fan from Yuan Xingzhou’s side. Didn’t expect that, did you? An exposé thread fished you right out. When Yuan Xingzhou was in the group, he used to contact fans privately. I didn’t expect that after all these years, his tricks haven’t changed at all.

Yuan Xingzhou did, in fact, have a “black history” regarding private contact with fans. It happened before one of their group’s concerts, when his fans had a dispute with Yuan Cheng’s fans over the letter “Y” for their support light signs. A large crowd of fans gathered outside the venue, and a direct physical conflict broke out.

Knowing this, Yuan Xingzhou was terrified something would happen. He sent private messages one by one to his fan club, fan sites, and familiar fans… asking them to pass the word along. He said a support letter didn’t matter, and that it was enough for “Porridge” fans (Zhou-fen) to show up and support him. He begged them not to fight and to prioritize safety, saying he would feel extremely guilty if anyone got hurt because of it.

At that time, his Weibo had just been opened. Yuan Xingzhou didn’t know how an idol should face fans, so he kept sending messages until his private messaging was restricted by the system.

Fortunately, the fans spread the word, and they were very obedient, giving up the argument with the other side.

However, after this incident, Yuan Xingzhou was labeled as someone who “privately contacts fans.” During a meeting, his manager even singled him out for criticism, telling him to mind his boundaries and that such “fan-pandering” (meifen) brought shame to the whole group.

Yuan Xingzhou had been furious. When he returned to the dorm to check fan messages, he found a massive wave of insults. Yuan Cheng’s fans called him a “scheming person who pretends to be pitiful to build a persona.”

The poster of this exposé had been re-hashing Yuan Xingzhou’s old scandals, which wasn’t original, but once these two sentences of defense came out, the nature of the situation changed instantly.

Yuan Xingzhou grew more alarmed the more he read.

The matter of his fake marriage with Ye Huai had been kept strictly under wraps by the company. How did this person know? And looking at the time of their last post, even Li Yu and Wen Ting were still in the dark back then!

Who was this person?!

He frowned as he thought through the possibilities, but he really couldn’t think of a suspicious character. Although he tried his best to avoid making enemies in the industry, he had good luck these past two years with a hit drama, which had already rubbed many people the wrong way. Moreover, his former teammates were in different situations now; except for Yuan Cheng, the others rarely had any activities. Who knew whose resentment he had incurred?

In the thread, the spectators mocked the LZ for being a coward, and the LZ continued to press the Huai-Zhou fan they had bet with.

Yuan Xingzhou held his breath and continued reading.

[Fake CP Exposé]: Do you dare to swear you aren’t a pro-fan? Whoever lies gets hit by a car within five hundred yards.

[Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy]: Settle the first bet first before betting on the next one. No class.

[ghjkiuya]: LZ has no class +1. Trying to back out of the eating stream bet and making people swear poisonous oaths instead…

Many “+1,” “+10086,” and “+ID card number” followed below.

[Fake CP Exposé]: What I said was right, so why should I do an eating stream? I’ll say it straight—I’m an industry insider. Since that Huai-Zhou fan refuses to admit to being a pro-fan, I’m really going to leak some info.

[Fake CP Exposé]: Today’s Weibo wasn’t posted by Ye Huai. Ye Huai’s new manager, WT, loves shipping the Huai-Zhou CP. I strongly suspect that either the Huai-Zhou fan here is the manager himself, or it’s an assistant or someone else.

[Fake CP Exposé]: The Weibo post was also made by the manager, right? I know Ye Huai; he’s never mentioned Yuan Xingzhou. If it’s WT, I’m asking you: you’re using your artist’s Weibo to help another person, you traitorous lapdog—does Ye Huai himself even know?

Perhaps because this LZ’s tone was so firm, the direction of the wind in the thread suddenly became chaotic.

Yuan Xingzhou was also stunned. Could it really be Wen Ting? he wondered.

[Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy]: You say you know Ye Huai—does he know you exist?

[Fake CP Exposé]: Ho, you dare to confront me? If you really are WT or his assistant, let me give you a piece of advice: I’m scolding Yuan Xingzhou, it has nothing to do with Ye Huai. Don’t pull hate toward Ye Huai.

[Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy]: Huai and Zhou are a couple. Scolding Xingzhou isn’t scolding Ye Huai? Is he blind? Why did he find Yuan Xingzhou to marry and not you? Who the hell are you to be jumping around here?

It had to be said that although the Huai-Zhou fan didn’t post much, their strikes were very precise. For someone with a proud personality like Ye Huai, whoever he chose was someone he acknowledged. Moreover, the two of them were already married; it wasn’t a rumored CP made up by fans. Other people gossiping was indeed a bit excessive.

[HZ Blood Red]: Upstairs is right! At this moment, Great God Ye and Zhouzhou might be making love. What are you being so gloomy about here?

[Huai-Zhou Fans Are Your Daddy]: ??? What is “making love”?

[HZ Blood Red]: HHH, the person upstairs is so innocent. Doing… love-making (crossed out) things. ←_←

[HZ Blood Red]: Every time the LZ scolds Zhouzhou once, Zhouzhou and Great God Ye have an orgasm together.

[kiuyna]: Kids, don’t “drive the car” (talk dirty). Anyway, looking at the whole thread, the LZ is a bit of a drama queen. Making excuses and blaming everyone else to avoid the eating stream. It’s not easy being a melon-eater; in the blink of an eye, this thread has over two thousand floors.

Yuan Xingzhou finished reading the rhyme in his head and nodded vigorously, thinking this person was also a talent. However, the thread seemed to be turning inappropriate.

He had followed the thread all afternoon, his mood fluctuating. Seeing the situation stabilize, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly exited.

But why did Ye Huai think to post on Weibo?

Yuan Xingzhou thought about it. He hadn’t heard from the man all morning and didn’t know if he had gone back yet. He logged into WeChat, saved the number Li Yu had sent, and dialed it.

The call connected, but the person on the other end sounded sluggish.

“What is it?” Ye Huai asked.

“Nothing,” Yuan Xingzhou said, his voice inadvertently carrying a smile upon hearing the other’s languid tone. “I just wanted to ask why you thought to post on Weibo?”

He had almost been misled by that poster into thinking Wen Ting had posted it on his behalf, but then he remembered the picture was taken at the hotel and Wen Ting hadn’t come over. Only then did he believe Ye Huai had posted it himself.

“Mmh,” Ye Huai said. “Pampering fans.”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…” What a pity, you’re pampering CP fans.

“This is rare for you,” Yuan Xingzhou couldn’t help but tease. “To actually know how to do proper ‘business’ (public interactions).”

“Otherwise?” Ye Huai asked. “If I don’t do business, will I have to bring my own small stool in the future?” (referring to being unpopular/unsupported)

“You won’t.” Yuan Xingzhou laughed. “Not everyone is like me, always playing a supporting role. Besides, your conditions are so good…”

Ye Huai gave an “Mmh.” “Are my conditions very good?”

“Of course!” Yuan Xingzhou hadn’t expected Ye Huai to lack confidence, so he hurried to comfort him. “You have a great body, great looks, and such a noble temperament. Other people can’t reach your level even with plastic surgery. Didn’t you already reach ‘godhood’ when you were in the group? Now that you’re back, your follower count is growing more in a day than mine does in six months. Your future development will obviously be different from mine.”

If these words were said to someone else, it would definitely be flattery, but since the recipient was Ye Huai, Yuan Xingzhou was afraid he wasn’t praising him enough.

Fortunately, Ye Huai gave a faint “Mm” in agreement, accepting it as a given.

Yuan Xingzhou silently breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking for a moment, he said softly, “And you also accidentally helped me out.”

“Oh.” Ye Huai didn’t even ask what it was, saying immediately, “Then you’d better thank me properly!”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

Yuan Xingzhou set the “thank you ceremony” at a sliced mutton hot pot restaurant.

He remembered Ye Huai liked this. Once, when their group was filming a variety show, they traveled to several cities to record short clips. The schedule was actually very tight; they only stayed in each place for half a day before flying to the next destination. One of the stops was Inner Mongolia, and the production crew chose to fly directly to Hailar.

At that time, Yuan Xingzhou hadn’t traveled much. When he heard “Hailar,” he reflexively thought of “Hyrule Castle” from Nintendo’s Zelda. He was being silly and just said it out loud to the teammate next to him.

This incident triggered a round of mockery from everyone, and they started asking about various customs of Yuan Xingzhou’s hometown.

Yuan Xingzhou felt very awkward. He had mentioned many feudal customs of his hometown before; the teammates found them strange and would “cue” him to repeat them on shows as a joke. This time he naturally wouldn’t speak of it, but because he didn’t cooperate, those few people called him moody.

By the time they arrived in Hailar, it was already night. There was a dinner portion for the variety show, and those people tacitly left Yuan Xingzhou behind and went to eat with the filming crew.

Later, a staff member came to knock on his door, calling out to ask if “Little Yuan” wanted to go out to eat.

Back then, Yuan Xingzhou was still young and impetuous and wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. So, with red eyes, he followed the “big brother” out aggrievedly.

When they reached the hotel entrance, he saw Ye Huai waiting there as well.

“Ye Huai said he loves hot pot and wanted to try the sliced mutton here,” the staff member laughed. “It just so happens this is my hometown. I’ll take you two to eat!”

Yuan Xingzhou stole a glance at Ye Huai. Not daring to speak, he followed closely behind the staff member.

Inner Mongolian sliced mutton is truly different from elsewhere; it’s not gamey and even tastes slightly sweet. The local hot pot restaurants were too full, so the three of them sat in a plastic tent.

“You like playing games?” While waiting, Ye Huai raised an eyelid and unusually asked Yuan Xingzhou a question.

“Mmh, mmh, Zelda is the best!” Yuan Xingzhou nodded, feeling overwhelmed by the attention, then became embarrassed. “But I… I haven’t saved the princess; I’ve just been chasing shooting stars.”

The staff member clearly didn’t understand what they were talking about and looked back and forth blankly.

Ye Huai closed his eyes and stopped speaking; the atmosphere became stiff again.

Yuan Xingzhou thought he should reciprocate and mustered his courage to ask, “So, what do you usually play?”

As if he were about to fall asleep, it took Ye Huai a long time to open his eyes. He looked over profoundly through the hazy steam of the hot pot.

“A person like me,” Ye Huai said, “only thinks about how to enrich myself every day.”

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

Yuan Xingzhou was too naive back then. He felt ashamed on the spot. After eating the mutton, he went back to practice singing and dancing even more seriously. Although in subsequent performances Ye Huai continued to “slack off” to a frustrating degree, Yuan Xingzhou actually felt that this was Ye Huai being unique.

How could he have known that this guy was just “posing” (acting cool)?

And he was lazy.

The afternoon’s filming went very smoothly. After finishing work, Yuan Xingzhou asked Huo Yangqing for the specific address and took Ye Huai to the mutton restaurant.

Ye Huai was indeed very satisfied with the meal. Afterward, as Yuan Xingzhou drove him back, the man kept asking how that little shop had been discovered.

Yuan Xingzhou didn’t dare mention Huo Yangqing, only saying vaguely, “I heard it from the crew.”

“Remember the way.” Ye Huai comfortably reclined his seat and placed his crossed hands over his stomach, making arrangements. “When it gets colder in a few days, we can come to eat every day… you can eat it, right?”

Rarely, he actually remembered that Yuan Xingzhou was on a diet.

“I can.” Yuan Xingzhou glanced at him and smiled. “By then, the filming should be wrapped up. I don’t usually need to diet.”

“Mmh, you look better with a bit more weight,” Ye Huai said.

Being praised out of the blue, Yuan Xingzhou’s face turned slightly red.

“My body fat ratio actually isn’t high, but it’s particularly unnoticeable on camera. The girl who did my makeup today even said… Ah!” Yuan Xingzhou suddenly remembered the makeup girl he had forgotten. “There was a girl today who is your fan and wanted to meet you. I was looking at the thread… I was too busy looking at my phone and forgot…”

“That’s nothing. Just bring a signed photo for her.” Ye Huai turned his head, looking inquisitive. “What were you going to say just now?”

The light ahead was red. In another few hundred meters, they would be home.

Yuan Xingzhou thought a signed photo was a good idea and would take a few more later. He continued, “The makeup girl said that when we film the climax (gaochao) scene, if it doesn’t work out, she’ll just paint something on my body. Anyway, as soon as the clothes are off and the camera flashes, there won’t be a close-up.”

Ye Huai looked shocked and sat bolt upright.

“Film what?” Ye Huai asked.

“Film… film the scene!” Yuan Xingzhou was startled by him and looked at him blankly. “The director said he was afraid the emotions wouldn’t be enough, so it was moved to the end.”

“Emotions? There’s also ‘brewing’ this kind of emotion? Didn’t you say it was just adding one kiss scene? How is there still…” Ye Huai was furious. “Did that ‘anti’ Huo Yangqing use money! Or was it Li Yu’s idea?”

“Turn around,” Ye Huai said coldly. “Go back.”

Yuan Xingzhou looked at the apartment building not far away. “…It’s not very easy for me to change lanes here.”

With a dark face, Ye Huai glanced at him.

Yuan Xingzhou: “…”

The green light came on. Yuan Xingzhou carefully merged into the next lane and turned back.

The pressure inside the car was too low.

Yuan Xingzhou really couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Ye Huai. Had he said something that triggered a nerve?

He recalled their conversation just now: Didn’t I just say I was going to use makeup… the girl is a fan… I’m going to film…

“I…” Yuan Xingzhou suddenly had a realization. He took a deep breath and said slowly, “I’m going to film the ‘climax’ (gaochao) scene.”

“I know!” Ye Huai sneered.

“The ‘climax’ of the plot, the character’s ‘highlight’ moment…” Yuan Xingzhou forced himself to stay calm and nodded. “The content is in the rain—I’m half-naked, fighting the enemy with a bayonet.”

Yuan Xingzhou finished speaking slowly, suppressed a laugh, and didn’t dare look back.

He stole a glance through the rearview mirror.

Sure enough, Ye Huai’s body stiffened. He instinctively wanted to turn his head but controlled himself.

Yuan Xingzhou: “…” Legendary!

Ye Huai continued to look out the window expressionlessly.

“So…” Yuan Xingzhou swallowed and coughed lightly, asking tentatively, “…Are we still going back?”

With a grim face, Ye Huai turned his head and looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Yuan Xingzhou really couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. He had held it in so hard that his hands were shaking, so he simply pulled over and laughed his fill.

“What are you laughing at!” A faint red flush appeared on Ye Huai’s face as he said awkwardly, “Illegal parking! The traffic police will tow you away in a minute.”

Yuan Xingzhou laughed until tears came out. “Are you too innocent or too dirty-minded? …So, are we still going back?”

Ye Huai was expressionless: “Go back!”

Yuan Xingzhou: “What are you going back for?”

“Pampering fans!” Ye Huai roared. “I’m going to meet the fan who does makeup!”