WAM CH27

As Gu Yanzhou spoke, he pulled a towel from the treadmill. After quickly wiping the sweat from his hair in a few swift motions, he casually draped the towel around his neck: “Not the trending searches. The post where I tagged you, didn’t you see it?”

“…No,” Shao Si rubbed his temples, “Sitting right at the crest of the storm, and you still tagged me.”

Gu Yanzhou: “You’ll know once you look.”

He paused after speaking, changing the subject: “There’s someone named Yang Ze, from your company?”

“Yeah, you know him?” Shao Si remembered that day when he used Gu Yanzhou’s phone to call Captain Wang, he saw this name in the contacts. It seemed they likely knew each other.

Gu Yanzhou said frankly: “Met once.”

Shao Si gave a nonchalant ‘oh’, and then heard Gu Yanzhou add: “At the Masks audition site. I just happened to be passing by that day.”

Met once, just happened to be passing by, and he saved his phone number.

This Yang Ze’s pestering skills are truly profound.

Shao Si also pondered in his heart, With acting that terrible, he could still go to the audition?

However, he only thought about it and didn’t say it out loud. He and Gu Yanzhou weren’t close enough for that yet.

“He passed the audition,” Gu Yanzhou said as he walked to the second floor, preparing to get a change of clothes. “But today, Director Ou just found out that someone leaked the audition prompts to him.”

Yang Ze had never been an actor with real skills; his acting was completely inadequate. Meanwhile, Director Ou’s audition requirements for every role involved giving them a prompt on the spot and having them improvise based on the character.

“It’s been so many years, and he hasn’t improved a bit,” Shao Si muttered softly.

He was intimately familiar with Qi Ming’s usual little tricks. Buying prompts, bribing judges… it was always just these things. “But why are you telling me this?”

“Just chatting casually.” As they spoke, Gu Yanzhou had already reached the second floor. He pushed open a door, “Alright, I’m hanging up. Remember to check Weibo.”

Shao Si thought it over but truly didn’t expect ‘just chatting casually’ as an answer: “Hey!”

Then he heard two low chuckles from the other end of the line. The man’s teasing voice slowly entered his ear: “Still want to keep chatting?”

Shao Si was choked up by his words: “…No.”

“I’m in the bathroom, it’s inconvenient to take off my clothes holding the phone,” Gu Yanzhou added. “If you want to chat, wait until I finish showering.”

When Gu Yanzhou said ‘take off my clothes’ and ‘showering’, his enunciation and breath control were incredibly foul play. A lingering image instantly surfaced in Shao Si’s mind.

It wasn’t until the sound of running water gradually came through the phone that Shao Si snapped back to reality. He started walking toward the conference room, saying without changing his expression, “Don’t want to chat, bye.”

Gu Yanzhou: “Mhm, see you the day after tomorrow.”

The day after tomorrow, Masks officially began filming.

The meeting was incredibly boring. Shao Si curled up in an inconspicuous corner, staring down and fiddling with his phone, thinking he was being inconspicuous.

Li Guangzong really wanted to tell him: Your actions are completely exposed when viewed from the front, alright?

Shao Si logged into Weibo and found the post where Gu Yanzhou had tagged him. He almost knocked over his teacup.

Li Guangzong, who was taking notes, heard the noise and looked up: “What happened?”

Staring at his phone screen, Shao Si didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

It turned out that the official verified account of the Longyan Police Station had confronted Wang So-and-so, calling his post pure nonsense and threatening to invite him to the station for tea.

Gu Yanzhou shared this post and tagged Shao Si: Come quickly and thank the police uncles @Shao Si

Shao Si followed Gu Yanzhou’s lead and shared it further: Thank you, police uncles [/Smile].

Running into the two of them, Wang So-and-so was also unlucky. The rhythm he had perfectly orchestrated was completely thrown into chaos.

Now, the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control in a baffling direction.

—This old man pinches his fingers and calculates that a major event is about to occur.

—I actually can’t understand this development at all. What on earth is happening to this world?

—Men fall silent, women shed tears! Why did the police forcefully intervene! What unspeakable secrets exist between the two Best Actors and the Chief of Police… Sorry, I can’t keep making things up.

Regardless of how the outside world gossiped, life went on as usual.

After returning from the company, Shao Si slept at home for most of the day.

Around seven or eight in the evening, Liu Qi called him. Groggily, Shao Si only heard the word ‘eat’.

“About last time… I really want to properly thank you both. Could I invite you and Zhou-ge out for a meal?”

Shao Si rolled over and mumbled, “He and I are currently entangled in a scandal; it’s probably not very convenient.”

Wang So-and-so would definitely send people to follow them around the clock, let alone if they went out to eat together. Even joining the film crew the day after tomorrow would likely not be peaceful.

Although he didn’t mind, the current uproar over this scandal affected not just him but Gu Yanzhou as well. He couldn’t be willful.

Liu Qi laughed awkwardly twice, also feeling that what she said was a bit too foolish. She fell silent for a moment, then added, “Then, could I come visit your set in a while? I can make some soup or something and bring it over…”

“Yeah, sure.”

After these few sentences, both remained silent for a long time. Just as Shao Si was about to say he was going to hang up if there was nothing else, Liu Qi suddenly spoke up, as if she had been brewing it for a long time: “…Shao-ge, how, how do you view homosexuality?”

Shao Si was stunned: “Why do you ask?”

Naturally, Liu Qi was too embarrassed to say it was because she felt the CP (couple) vibe between him and Gu Yanzhou was very strong when they walked together…

“I was just asking casually, it’s nothing. Just treat it as me talking nonsense…”

Before Liu Qi could finish, she heard Shao Si answer her quite seriously: “For me, as long as I like them, I won’t mind anything.”

[What an arrogant young man,] the system marveled, bursting his bubble mercilessly. [But you haven’t liked anyone up to now, you make it sound like you’re very experienced.]

[…You have an opinion?]

Shao Si was just about to hang up when Liu Qi rambled on a bit more: “Shao-ge, I suddenly feel like everything before was just carefree play. After that day, I understood many things overnight—especially when Lu Jiahui strangled my neck and almost choked me to death… It tempered me, continuously polishing me…”

“Taking a walk on the edge of life and death, I began to wonder why I entered this circle… I thought a lot, and ultimately decided to stay. I want to stay and slowly work hard relying on myself. I want to become someone like you and Gu-ge. Like the sun, giving others the courage to live on…” Just like you guys gave me.

Liu Qi continued, “Do you think my choice is right?”

“If you think it’s right, then it’s right.” Shao Si’s half-closed eyes had fully opened, completely awake. “As long as you think it’s right, run forward with all your might.”

He thought for a moment and brought out Director Wang’s words to advise her: “But if you compare yourself to a ship, you must know where your anchor is.”

Liu Qi pondered: “Thank you… I will.”

After hanging up, the system waited a long time before saying: [What about you, what do you think is right? I always forgot to ask you, why did you choose the entertainment circle?]

He had completely had many choices back then. While the entertainment circle indeed had many dark secrets, other circles had them too.

Shao Si slowly closed his eyes, offering no answer.

Because of Liu Qi’s call, this night felt exceptionally heavy.

Those words spun around in Shao Si’s heart.

Why choose this circle?

From a selfish standpoint, it was the desire to be remembered, to experience countless lives within a life that could end at any moment.

Shao Si remembered that when he was very young, probably in elementary school.

His normally fierce homeroom teacher was exceptionally gentle that day, not even punishing a few students who were noisy during class. Before class ended, she played an audio recording. The cassette tape spun round and round in the machine, and what flowed out wasn’t an English text, but a man’s singing voice.

The man’s voice had long lost its fidelity, singing somewhat hazily and melodically. No one understood what he was singing about.

When the song finished playing, the female teacher said: He is my idol. He passed away six years ago.

His name was Ye Qing.

Shao Si later looked for posters of Ye Qing but could only find a few black-and-white ones with rough image quality.

One could vaguely see that, despite being a man, his features were coldly stunning.

He was a Chinese opera actor. When wearing makeup and singing female roles, he was endlessly charming and beautiful.

Speaking of opera actors, the second male lead Shao Si was playing in Masks this time was also an opera actor.

Steeped in a unique strength of character, his sleeves fluttered, the intricate patterns swirling in the air like flowing water. He was a lowly nobody who mocked and flattered, disdained by everyone in the world, yet he was also someone who saw through everything, sometimes smoking a cigarette with a posture as handsome and upright as a pine tree.

Masks was filled with the various contradictions of human nature.

Two days later, Shao Si joined the film crew.

On the day of the opening ceremony, various media outlets swarmed the location. All of them came specifically for Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou.

As a result, they were all blocked outside by a group of bodyguards hired by Director Ou.

“…”

Director Ou was completely different from Director Wang. Director Wang was more grounded, while Director Ou had a lot of ideas.

…In short, he was a weirdo.

Shao Si took the direct access route for the film city, so logically, the media shouldn’t have been able to get in. However, the moment Shao Si stepped out of his nanny van, he was instantly blinded by the camera flashes of the incredibly resourceful media comrades. They shoved microphone after microphone, looking as though they couldn’t wait to jam them directly into his face.

“Do you have any thoughts on working with Best Actor Gu this time?”

“Are the rumors about you and Best Actor Gu’s marriage true?”

“What is your relationship with the Longyan Police Bureau?”

“…” Shao Si took off his sunglasses. In that moment, he really wanted to curse someone’s mother.

Li Guangzong blocked the paparazzi who were pushing closer and closer for him, turning his head to tell Shao Si, “Go back to the car first!”

Shao Si obediently turned around, but someone tugged at the corner of his shirt. “Don’t go, let’s chat for a bit. What are your thoughts on Wang So-and-so’s scoop this morning…”

Seeing Shao Si’s expression, even while struggling with the media on the verge of a breakdown, Li Guangzong still found time to warn Shao Si: “Dad, don’t be impulsive, absolutely do not get physical… Don’t move, seriously don’t get physical.”

During the stalemate, another car drove in from outside following the same route. The media instantly shifted their gaze. Their eyes were glowing; just seeing the license plate of that car, they knew who it was. “Gu Yanzhou! Gu Yanzhou is here! Block him!”

With both parties involved meeting together, they naturally wouldn’t let go of this great opportunity.

Chen Yang saw the surging crowd from afar. He was just about to tell the driver to turn around and drive out when Gu Yanzhou beat him to it: “Keep driving.”

“This…” Chen Yang usually considered his artist to be quite sharp-witted, why was he acting off today? “What are you thinking? In this situation ahead, we can’t clash head-on.”

Gu Yanzhou casually cracked his knuckles twice, noncommittal.

Chen Ming understood. He sighed and told the driver, “Drive forward.”

After speaking, he took out his phone to call Director Ou, asking him to send a few security guards over.

“Director Ou, it’s like this. We took the secure route but got blocked by the media. Yes, I don’t know how they got in either. Could you please…” Before Chen Yang could finish speaking, Gu Yanzhou bent over, opened the car door, and got out. He hurriedly shouted, “—Yanzhou, what are you doing! Ah seriously, this is driving me crazy.”

Shao Si was hesitating on how to shake off the hand stubbornly gripping his shirt when, without warning, a familiar low voice sounded by his ear: “Are you stupid?”

He was stunned hearing this. When he looked up, he saw Gu Yanzhou gripping the reporter’s wrist, his demeanor entirely unhurried and composed. Gu Yanzhou’s gaze swept over the reporter’s name badge, and he said, “This… reporter from the New Entertainment Weekly, please let go.”

The reporter immediately let go.

Shao Si thought to himself, Why does a single sentence from Gu Yanzhou work, when I patiently reasoned with them just now to no avail?

…

Was it a loss of morals or the annihilation of humanity?

Since Gu Yanzhou had come over, Shao Si couldn’t keep retreating into the car.

He had no choice but to turn around, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Gu Yanzhou. Facing the increasingly intense camera flashes, he furrowed his brows deeply.

“May we ask what exactly is the relationship between the two of you?”

Annoyed by the questioning, Shao Si pulled out Li Guangzong’s usual trump card to change the subject: “Today is a big day for joining the cast. Let’s chat about topics related to Masks.”

After speaking, he directly snatched the microphone closest to him and held it up to ask Gu Yanzhou: “Gu-shixiong, what do you think of the script for Masks? Is the role of Jiang Fang very difficult for you?”

Gu Yanzhou actually hadn’t expected Shao Si to use this tactic of stealing the host’s thunder. Raising an eyebrow, he played along with this self-directed act: “Masks holds an unshakable position in literary history. It is a great honor this time, and also very lucky, to be able to play the role of Jiang Fang. Why do I say it’s lucky? —Because actually, my first audition wasn’t successful.”

Shao Si: “Hm? Something like that actually happened?”

Gu Yanzhou smiled slightly: “Yes, so I am not the most suitable candidate for the role of Jiang Fang. For me, it is also a brand-new challenge… Speaking of which, what about you, shidi? I heard your audition was also full of twists and turns.”

Shao Si deliberately contradicted him, saying, “No, not at all. It went very smoothly for me, the role suits me very well.”

All the media present were left speechless as these two drama queens stole the show: “…”