Chapter 42: The Scapegoat

Zhang He’s voice, filled with a trace of excitement, came through Li Mu’s phone. Ruan Xingwen: "..." If he hadn’t heard the excitement in Zhang He’s tone, he definitely would have helped her criticize Yu Xiaozhe. Ignoring Zhang He’s complaints, Yu Xiaozhe first asked Li Mu to send some information to Zhang He, then he replied to her, "No need to deal with the matter on Weibo for now, take a look at the information Li Mu just sent you." From the other end of the phone came the incessant clicking of a mouse, and after a few minutes, Zhang He finally exclaimed, "Whoa, Mingsheng is really a mess! What a bunch of disgusting stuff is this!" Yu Xiaozhe spoke calmly, "Did you see Zeng Xu’s matter?" "Uh-huh, he’s something alright, quite good-looking too, why does he have to go down this road? And to top it off with such an unreliable patron, tsk tsk tsk." Ruan Xingwen, on his side of the video, didn’t dare to make a sound, quietly absorbing the information. He felt these matters seemed beyond his reach, but since Yu Xiaozhe didn’t avoid him, it meant these things weren’t exactly secret. "Speaking of his patron, didn’t I hear a few days ago that he got beaten up by a little-known star? There sure have been a lot of developments with him recently." Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaozhe glanced at Ruan Xingwen in the video, noticing he seemed spaced out. His deep, dark eyes carried a hint of a smile as he gently called out, "Xingxing, come back to your senses." He chuckled softly, his voice still gentle, continuing the previous topic, "Xingxing, did you hear what we were just talking about?" Ruan Xingwen deliberately ignored the voice that almost numbed his heart, feigning calmness, "I heard everything, Brother Ze." "Remember what I told you about Producer Zhang?" Ruan Xingwen thought for a moment, connecting it to the President Zhang just mentioned... "So this President Zhang, is that the one I kicked?!" "What? You were the one who hit President Zhang?" Zhang He was shocked. "Uh, I did kick him, but I didn’t hit him." He definitely didn’t hit anyone, wouldn’t want to be accused of something he didn’t do. "That doesn’t matter, I just want to say, good job! Hahaha, I’ve never liked President Zhang!" Zhang He laughed unladylike from the other end of the phone. Ruan Xingwen did not expect this outcome, feeling a bit bewildered, while Yu Xiaozhe also spoke, "Alright, you can even chat with people through a video." Stopping to glance at Ruan Xingwen, who was clearly relieved, he continued instructing Zhang He on the other end of the line, "After you finish reading the information, don’t rush to release any announcements, Ah Kai found some new information." "Yes, yes, Boss Yu, I’ll contact Ah Kai right away." Zhang He, Yu Xiaozhe, and Fang Wenkai grew up together and know each other well. Yu Xiaozhe hung up the call with Zhang He and suddenly asked an unrelated question, "Xingxing, do you have time tomorrow?" The topic shifted too quickly, leaving Ruan Xingwen momentarily unresponsive, and he replied in a daze, "Huh?" "I’d like to invite you to dinner, is that okay?" Yu Xiaozhe looked gently at him on the screen. Ruan Xingwen thought about it and, having no other plans for tomorrow, nodded in agreement. But he always felt as if he was taking advantage of Yu Xiaozhe somehow, and asked a bit embarrassedly, "Okay, Brother Ze, where should we eat? How about I treat you?" Yu Xiaozhe could guess Ruan Xingwen’s expression pretty well now, knowing he was embarrassed about always bothering him. So he changed the previously set time, "No need, I’ll come pick you up at Times Garden when the crew is on break tomorrow. We can discuss signing the contract, how does that sound?" Ruan Xingwen had no more reasons to decline, so they agreed on a meeting time for the next day and ended the video call. "Gosh, my brain must be a mess!" Ruan Xingwen knocked on his own head, realizing that the purpose of the video call was to ask about the trending topic, but instead, he ended up hearing lots of gossip without solving the main issue! [Wen Xingcui: Brother Ze! What’s actually going on with the trending topic? Are you injured or what?!] Yu Xiaozhe couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing this. This little leopard is so concerned about him, perhaps he isn’t as indifferent to him as he seems? [Yu: Do you think the trending topic is true?] Ruan Xingwen racked his smart brain, thinking it over and still concluded that Yu Xiaozhe didn’t seem like someone who would hit people. [Wen Xingcui: Brother Ze, is that Zeng Xu also from your crew? Have you two crossed paths before?] [Yu: No, he just wanted to come to my room to practice lines, and I refused.] Oh~ now he understood, it must be revenge. He got it~ the trending topic surely was fake then. [Wen Xingcui: Since it’s fake, why not clarify it?] This was what Ruan Xingwen didn’t understand. [Yu: You’ll know tomorrow, don’t be impatient.] Yu Xiaozhe still left a bit of suspense, making Ruan Xingwen, who was initially just worried about his injury and indifferent to crew matters, completely curious now. Brother Ze is so unreliable, always playing mysterious charades. [Wen Xingcui: ... Alright then... ] Yu Xiaozhe could tell from Ruan Xingwen’s reply that he was helpless, but he still didn’t want to tell him. Imagining Ruan Xingwen at this moment made Yu Xiaozhe’s fingers itch, wanting to pinch something, like Ruan Xingwen’s reddened ears. Originally, Yu Xiaozhe and Li Mu were just about to head back to the hotel when Zeng Xu’s incident occurred. Now that things were resolved, they left the resting room, and the driver had been waiting at the gate of the film base for a long time. Meanwhile, Ruan Xingwen, noticing no reply, casually placed the leftover carrot on the bedside table, wiped his hands, and rolled around on the bed with the quilt in his arms. He pondered over his recent unusual behavior. Why was he so concerned about Yu Xiaozhe? Despite his love for gossip, why was his first reaction upon seeing the trending topic to worry about Yu Xiaozhe? Usually indifferent to matters unrelated to him, why was he interested in Yu Xiaozhe’s affairs? A significant matter like contract signing, he readily agreed just because he trusted Yu Xiaozhe? Something’s off, his actions were off, and Yu Xiaozhe was somehow off too. Where was the cool and dignified demeanor? Why that sexy smile for no reason? Where was the aloof flower on a high peak? Why flirt with him for no reason? Unable to make sense of it all, Ruan Xingwen eagerly sought someone to blame. He opened the chat with Yu Yue, pressing hard on the screen with his finger [Wen Xingcui: It’s all your fault!] Blame Yu Yue, if it weren’t for him calling out "brother," he wouldn’t be like this! Yes, it’s all his fault! Yu Yue, who received Ruan Xingwen’s message, was utterly confused. Yu Yue: ???