WAM CH31

Ye Qing.

Shao Si wasn’t entirely sure which “Ye Qing” Old Mei was talking about.

Could it be the person he had heard on a cassette tape when he was young—the one with exquisite singing and a voice cold to the extreme?

“You bear some resemblance to him; perhaps it’s your figure, or maybe your voice when singing the lyrics… Just a moment ago when my mind wandered, it felt as if I had returned to the days of teaching him to sing opera in the courtyard.”

Old Mei’s gaze was incredibly distant. Even at his advanced age, his eyes remained completely clear. “He was a good child. It’s a pity, the heavens didn’t treat him well.”

[Old Mei is one of the clue figures.] The system popped up with a notification. [The others remain unidentified.]

[He’s a clue figure?]

[Yes.]

The system rarely provided him with clue figures, as years of being in a scrapped state had left its capabilities insufficient.

In a flash of thought, Shao Si recalled that the very few clue figures the system had provided in the past were either old, weak, sick, or disabled.

[Because I can only detect those with weaker vital signs.]

[…You didn’t need to tell me; I already guessed as much.]

The system was silent for a moment. [The old man in front of you won’t survive past the end of this year.]

Old Mei appeared to have very sturdy health, not at all like someone suffering from a major illness.

Hearing this, Shao Si’s emotions churned. Even though he knew life and death were unpredictable, and he himself walked that boundary year-round, he still couldn’t take it lightly.

“The Ye Qing you speak of, is he… the Ye Qing who sang The Deep Cold of Late Winter over twenty years ago?” Shao Si temporarily cast aside his emotions, sat up straight, and cut to the chase. “He was your student?”

Old Mei looked quite surprised. “You know of him?”

Nowadays, who would still remember that there was once a peerlessly magnificent Ye Qing?

Shao Si replied, “Because I’m going to play this role, I did a lot of homework… I’ve heard a little about him.”

Put that way, it indeed made sense.

Old Mei poured himself another cup of tea. His hand trembled slightly as he picked up the teacup, and he sighed. “It’s rare that anyone still knows of him.”

“When I first met him, he was only thirteen. My qualifications weren’t high enough back then; strictly speaking, I couldn’t be called his teacher.”

The tea exuded a lingering fragrance; upon sniffing closely, it also carried a hint of bitterness.

Ye Qing possessed extraordinary natural talent and had studied opera singing since childhood. Later, with the rapid development of the film and television industry and the rampant prevalence of ‘talent scouts,’ Ye Qing muddleheadedly entered the entertainment circle.

“I should have stopped him back then,” Old Mei said. “Perhaps all those things wouldn’t have happened later… But never mind, there’s no use talking about it now. It’s all in the past.”

From Old Mei’s words, Shao Si was able to briefly piece together the life story of this “Ye Qing.”

After Ye Qing entered the entertainment circle, he seemed to have smooth sailing on the surface, but suffered behind the scenes, ultimately committing suicide due to severe depression.

But these were all superficial details that didn’t explain much.

In a flash of inspiration, Shao Si thought of the key figure in the hidden scandal—Ye Xuan.

One Ye Xuan, one Ye Qing. What connection could these two have?

However, Old Mei’s next sentence dispelled Shao Si’s suspicions: “…It’s just a pity for little Qing. He had no father or mother, was picked up and raised by an old master in the troupe since childhood, and until his death… he had no descendants.”

An orphan, utterly alone until death.

Shao Si thought to himself that he must have overthought it.

There were so many people in the world with the same surname; it hardly counted as a clue.

The afternoon hurried by, and class ended punctually at 6:00 PM.

After six, Shao Si still needed to make a trip back to the company.

Over the course of this afternoon, the relationship between Shao Si and Old Mei could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds.

For Shao Si, it wasn’t solely because Old Mei was a clue figure; he genuinely liked the old man. With his classical charm, steady and dignified demeanor, he was like a cup of aged, fine wine.

As for Old Mei, he had never possessed any resistance against diligent and hardworking youths.

After finishing Ye Xuan’s basic acting lesson, Gu Yanzhou walked out of the adjacent room just in time to see Shao Si seeing Old Mei out.

Shao Si bent slightly, walking beside Old Mei, his hand half-supporting the old man—likely afraid that offering too obvious assistance would trigger the old man’s rebellious psychology. Many elderly people with strong self-esteem disliked being excessively cared for by the younger generation, as if they truly had major mobility issues.

After seeing off Old Mei, Shao Si returned, only to be unexpectedly blocked at the door by Gu Yanzhou.

Shao Si was exceptionally cooperative, consciously taking two steps back and leaning against the doorframe, asking, “Did… you need something?”

Gu Yanzhou replied with a question: “Are you free tonight?”

Shao Si pretended to be conflicted for a moment, then answered decisively, “No.”

The corner of Gu Yanzhou’s mouth quirked up, a half-smile on his face. “You’re not even going to ask what I wanted you for?”

“…” Shao Si played along. “Then what did you want me for?”

“Director Ou organized a dinner tonight, and Mr. Zhou Weiping will also be attending.”

Zhou Weiping was the author who wrote Mask. Back then, relying on this book, he had swept several major literary awards and was now serving as the chairman of the Writers’ Association. However, after Mask, he had never produced another work that could rival it.

In his few years of acting, Shao Si had at most communicated with screenwriters; he had never once had the opportunity to discuss with the original author.

Thinking of this, Shao Si stood up straight and changed his tune: “Thinking carefully about it, I can still squeeze out some time tonight.”

At this moment, Chen Yang finished packing up and walked out from the next room: “We can pretty much head out now…”

After speaking, Chen Yang paused and glanced into Shao Si’s classroom. “Where’s Guangzong?”

“He stepped out for something,” Shao Si raised his hand to check the time. “He should be back any minute now.”

Chen Yang: “I see. If you don’t mind, you can ride in our car. Looking at the time, if you wait for Guangzong, you might not make it.”

Director Ou was casual about most things, but there was one exception: he absolutely hated when people were late, even just for dinner.

Considering this, Shao Si gladly accepted: “That works. Then I’ll trouble you.”

As a result, an anxious Li Guangzong, constantly checking the time while driving back to the film base, received a call from his Daddy Shao, who coldly told him he didn’t need to come anymore.

Li Guangzong was a bit confused: “What? Did something happen? Are the paparazzi besieging the place again?”

“No,” Shao Si sat beside Gu Yanzhou, his head tilted and resting against the glass window, occasionally bumping his forehead when the car swayed. “Director Ou set up a dinner; just head straight to the Jinyue Hotel… Me? I’m currently in Gu Yanzhou’s car. Do you want me to give him the phone so he can say hi to you?”

Li Guangzong: “…No need. I’ll head over right now.”

Hanging up the phone, Shao Si closed his eyes.

He was a bit sleepy.

A habit accumulated over years caused him to feel physiologically drowsy the moment he got into a car.

Beside his ear, Gu Yanzhou’s deep voice reverberated in the cramped, narrow space.

He was discussing work matters with Chen Yang. Although Shao Si wasn’t paying attention to exactly what he was saying, the voice slowly drilled into his ear, making it sound… husky and ticklish.

Chen Yang: “To sum it up, it’s like this. If there aren’t any major issues, we’ll just sign the contract directly with them. Actually, compared to Cole, this brand AL…”

Just as he was speaking smoothly, Gu Yanzhou suddenly signaled him to lower his voice.

Chen Yang didn’t react immediately. “Hm? What’s wrong?”

Gu Yanzhou steadied the head resting on his shoulder and said, “He fell asleep. Keep your voice down.”

“…”

Shao Si had no idea when he had leaned over next to Gu Yanzhou. Most likely, in a daze of sleep, he felt the window bumping his forehead too painfully, so he changed directions to sleep, only to be pressed directly onto his shoulder by Gu Yanzhou.

Having witnessed the entire scene, Chen Yang silently turned his head back, stopped discussing the contract, and tactfully took out his phone to play on his own.

…

A man’s thoughts cannot be recklessly guessed, Chen Yang said to himself. Especially Best Actor Gu’s; guessing back and forth won’t make it any clearer.

Wasn’t he rather unwelcoming towards Little Shao at the very beginning?

When Shao Si slept, he was very quiet.

Gu Yanzhou watched him for a while, then suddenly reached out and combed back the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes, revealing half his forehead.

Then he let go, and those few stubborn strands of hair scattered down again, covering half of Shao Si’s face.

Flipping them back and forth a few times like this, it looked more like he was just ruffling Shao Si’s hair.

Half-asleep, Shao Si still didn’t forget to swat his hand away, mumbling incoherently, “Don’t move around.”

Gu Yanzhou’s hand paused.

Then he heard Shao Si furrow his brows and deliver the second half of his sentence: “…You’re going to mess up my hairstyle.”

“…”

“…Just these few tufts of hair, and he calls it a hairstyle.”

After speaking, Gu Yanzhou felt this sleep-talking was truly somewhat miraculous. So he casually pinched Shao Si’s nose and tentatively called his name: “Shao Si?”

Shao Si actually wasn’t sleeping deeply.

Normally, Li Guangzong loved to harass him while he slept, chattering endlessly if he didn’t get a response. Because of this, he habitually kept one ear open while sleeping, but his brain was completely blank, and his responses relied purely on a randomizer.

Just like now, Shao Si mindlessly replied to Gu Yanzhou: “…Don’t know, ask again and I’ll rape you.”

…

It wasn’t until they were about to get out of the car that Shao Si finally realized he had actually used Best Actor Gu’s shoulder as a pillow.

Gu Yanzhou: “Was it comfortable?”

Shao Si had just woken up and his brain’s circuitry was a bit slow. It took him a few seconds to reply politely: “Quite comfortable.”

Gu Yanzhou rubbed his arm: “But I’m not very comfortable.”

“…” Completely unaware he had walked into a trap, Shao Si asked, “In this kind of situation, what else can I do besides say sorry?”

Gu Yanzhou raised his wrist and checked his watch: “There are still ten minutes left; you could put it into a little practical action.”

As a result, when Li Guangzong rushed over, his Daddy Shao was currently pounding Gu Yanzhou’s shoulder.

“Is this pressure okay?”

“Are you scratching an itch? Did you not eat?”

Shao Si said reluctantly, “…If you’re talking about dinner, I indeed haven’t eaten yet.”