For a while, Liang Sizhe was dumbfounded.
In the recording sent by Zhang Minghan, Cao Ye said that he saw Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin go to bed with his own eyes, as well as the sentence "Like those two dogs", those words kept playing back in his ears, every word and every word. As if wrapped in hailstones, it smashed towards him.
There was probably another reminder in the banquet hall. Seeing that Cao Ye had left, Lin Huan approached him tentatively: "Si Zhe, everyone is waiting for you to go take pictures, do you want to..."
Liang Sizhe regained his senses as if he had just woken up from a dream. He didn't care to talk to Lin Huan. He stepped forward, raised his hand and pressed the elevator button. .
During the dozens of seconds when the elevator descended, Liang Sizhe felt extremely confused. He didn't know what he was going to say when he caught up with Cao Ye. Cao Ye told him not to take Cao Xiuyuan's films, but could he really refuse
But he just felt that he had to catch up with Cao Ye and pull him back. He had an inexplicable intuition. If he didn't chase Cao Ye back, he would really not be able to find Cao Ye in the future.
After getting out of the elevator, Liang Sizhe strode out and ran after him.
Someone in the lobby on the first floor recognized him and exclaimed "Liang Sizhe", and then everyone in the lobby looked at him.
But Liang Sizhe ran very fast and ran out of the hotel lobby before everyone rushed to ask him for a photo and autograph.
Standing on the side of the road, Liang Sizhe gasped for breath, and faced the three-way intersection in front of him with a dazed expression.
On the wide road, long rows of vehicles parked behind the zebra crossing waiting for the red light. Pedestrians hurriedly crossed the road. As far as the eye could see, there was no Cao Ye in the crowd.
Where to chase? Did Cao Ye go left, right or forward
The red light changed to green, the vehicles galloped past, the pedestrians on the road disappeared, and only the lights left a trail of afterimages on the retina.
The phone in his hand began to vibrate. It was probably an assistant or a manager who called to urge him to go back, but Liang Sizhe didn't answer. He picked up his mobile phone and dialed Cao Ye, but a cold voice indicated that the other party's phone had been turned off.
A few people behind him chased after him from the hotel lobby: "Liang Sizhe, it's really you! Can you sign my name?"
More and more passers-by recognized him and stopped and turned to look at him.
Liang Sizhe was not in the mood to deal with all this. The world in front of him seemed to be filled with vehicles, crowds, the horns of cars, and the surrounding noise, but his chest was empty, as if a very important part had been dug out suddenly. , so that he now has a dazed sense of weightlessness.
He walked through the crowd with no expression, some people tried to get his autograph, and some people said happy birthday to him, all kinds of voices mixed together and poured into his ears from all directions, and for a moment, he could only see them Lips that kept opening and closing, but couldn't hear what they were saying.
Liang Sizhe lowered his head slightly and walked quickly through the crowd, passed the hotel lobby, and walked to the staff elevator.
Entering the elevator, the world seemed to suddenly quiet down, but the sense of weightlessness had not disappeared, so that he had to lean his back against the elevator wall to make himself stand firmer.
As soon as the elevator door opened, the assistant was standing outside. When he saw him, he was relieved: "You're back, I'm going to go down to look for it!"
Liang Sizhe didn't look at him, didn't speak, and walked towards the banquet hall.
After a few steps, the assistant touched his arm from behind: "Si Zhe."
Liang Sizhe turned to look at him and saw the tissue he handed over.
"You're sweating on your forehead, and you're going to take a picture later."
"Thank you." Liang Sizhe took it and took out a tissue. There was indeed a lot of sweat on his forehead, probably because he ran too quickly, but it was strange that he didn't feel hot, but rather cold.
Pushing the door and entering, the people in the banquet hall were waiting for him. When they saw him come in, several people yelled at him to punish him for drinking.
Liang Sizhe did not refuse anyone who came, and drank all the wine that was handed over. People kept talking in his ears, but he seemed to have some hearing problems and couldn't hear anything clearly.
"Si Zhe," someone called his name, "Mr. Xu asked you."
"What?" Liang Sizhe put down his glass and looked at the person who was speaking, a senior female executive of his agency.
"Mr. Xu asked you what birthday present you want," the man said with a smile, "I want you to mention it, but you have to say it when you are older, don't be soft-hearted."
Xu is always the boss of this banquet hall, looking at him with a smile at the moment.
Liang Sizhe lowered his eyelashes slightly, stared at a certain place for a long time, so that people could not tell whether he was thinking or was absent-mindedly letting go.
The female executive called him again and smiled: "Have you thought about it yet?"
Liang Sizhe raised his eyes: "I want to monitor the hotel tonight."
"What?" The female executive was stunned for a moment, then smiled again, "Hello? We hired the best party photographer tonight, Si Zhe, if you say that, Brother Lin will be sad."
Liang Sizhe ignored what she said. He looked at Mr. Xu, and regardless of whether he would agree or not, he said to himself, "Not only in the hall, but also in the corridor, elevator, the lobby on the first floor, at the entrance of the hall, I I want it all, and only this one, okay?"
Then Mr. Xu still smiled and looked at him with great interest: "Yes, yes, but what do you want this for?"
"I have my use." Liang Sizhe lowered his eyes and said, not answering this question directly.
No one can refuse Liang Sizhe, let alone today is his birthday.
The manager of the hotel quickly called up the lobby manager, took Liang Sizhe to the monitoring room, and called up the monitoring from ten minutes ago.
Liang Sizhe looked up at the surveillance screen on the screen wall. In the cramped elevator room, Cao Ye first stood with his back against the elevator wall for a while, then he seemed to be unable to stand, and then squatted down slowly against the elevator wall. head, buried his face in his knees.
The teenager curled up in the corner of the elevator, his fingers dangling from his knees weakly, looking decadent and helpless.
Liang Sizhe stared at the surveillance screen, his fingers clenched into fists, and his short nails pinched the palm of his hand.
At the entrance of the hotel, Cao Ye strode out of the lobby on the first floor and was catching up with the green light. He quickly ran across the road and disappeared at the end of the surveillance screen.
Liang Sizhe asked his assistant to take a hooded jacket down. After walking into the elevator, he put on the jacket and pulled up the hood. The hood was wide enough to cover most of his face, so that not many people would recognize him. out of him.
He chased in the direction Cao Ye left, and ran for a few kilometers. He always thought that Cao Ye might be in front of him, but after chasing several streets, he couldn't find Cao Ye.
After running for too long, his legs were too sore to run. He stopped and walked a few steps before he felt his throat was so dry that it hurt to swallow.
Every time he passed an intersection, he hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if Cao Ye would turn at this intersection, but he still took a chance and chased him along the main road. But who knows if he made a wrong decision at the first intersection and missed Cao Ye, who turned the corner
Liang Sizhe stopped and stood there, looking at his long shadow under the street lamp, and after a while, he sighed.
Maybe he just drank a lot in the banquet hall, and now he walks this street, he always feels like he is in a dream, the weightlessness in the dream is too realistic, making him a little dizzy.
The phone in his pocket kept vibrating, and he ignored it all the way. Only then did he take out the phone and swipe the screen down to read it again.
Many friends and seniors in the circle sent messages to wish him a happy birthday, while assistants and managers urged him to return to the banquet hall quickly.
After a quick scan, he saw Zheng Yin's name. Zheng Yin also sent a congratulatory text message: "Si Zhe, happy birthday. I haven't made time to contact you these days. If you have time, can we meet tomorrow for a chat?"
It should be about Cao Xiuyuan's new film, Liang Sizhe thought. He had seen the report, and reporter Cao Xiuyuan said that the film would not be possible without him. At that time, he stared at that sentence for a while.
In "Thirteen Days", he had to shoot dozens of times in just a few seconds. At that time, he was still a rookie who knew nothing about acting. Now he has won the best actor and was nominated for the best actor at the Academy Award for the second time. Lord, there are still thousands of movie fans, without Cao Xiuyuan, he would not be the current Liang Sizhe who "can't do without him".
Cao Xiuyuan was his mentor on the road of acting. Now that his mentor is in trouble, how can he stand by
But what happened to Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin that Cao Ye said? It was absurd to hear it at first. If Cao Ye hadn't said that he had seen it with his own eyes, and someone else would have told him the news, Liang Sizhe would never have believed it.
It is true that Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin have a tacit understanding of cooperation, but the tone and actions of their usual speeches are never beyond the norm, just like directors and producers who have worked together for many years, so that Liang Sizhe has never thought of other directions.
Is there any misunderstanding here? Could it be that Cao Ye saw it wrong? Liang Sizhe thought that he had to ask Zheng Yin about this matter, including Cao Xiuyuan and him, as well as Cao Xiuyuan and Li You, and Zhang Minghan.
Someone on the side of the road seemed to recognize him and turned to look at him. Liang Sizhe lowered his head, pulled down the brim of his hat, and turned into a dimly lit path.
He didn't bring a cigarette with him. He bought a pack of Yuxi at the newsstand on the corner of the street, borrowed a fire from the boss, and smoked a cigarette in the dark. He calmed down for the most part. He called Zheng Yin.
He didn't make it clear on the phone that he wanted to talk to him, but only said that he had just met Cao Ye.
Zheng Yin was silent for a moment on the phone, saying that he is at home now and can come to him at any time.
Liang Sizhe took two taxis on the street, and half an hour later he appeared in front of Zheng Yin's house.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, and after a while the door was pushed open from the inside. Zheng Yin was wearing a simple T-shirt and slacks. He was much more casual than usual in the crew. There was no expression on his face, and he just said lightly: " coming."
The room was very big, Liang Sizhe went in with him and sat on the sofa in the living room.
"Cold drink or drink?" Zheng Yin asked as he opened the freezer door.
"Just drink water," Liang Sizhe said, "Uncle Yin, sit down, I'll leave after I ask."
Zheng Yin took two glasses of water, added crushed ice from the freezer, put one glass on the coffee table in front of him, and then took another glass of ice water and sat down on the sofa diagonally opposite Liang Sizhe. , "Say, what do you want to ask me?"
Liang Sizhe took the glass of ice water. He had been running for too long and his throat was dry. At this time, he raised his head and drank it all in one breath, and then he said, "I met Cao Ye tonight, and he told me something for a few years. What happened in the past, guess what?"
Zheng Yin also took a sip of water and put down the cup, with no surprise on his face: "He saw it, I know."
The two seemed to be playing dumb puzzles, one refused to ask clearly, the other refused to answer clearly, but they all knew what the other said.
It seemed that there was no misunderstanding, Liang Sizhe lowered his head, probably drinking, and he felt his head was a little heavy. He raised his hands, put his elbows on his legs, twisted his fingers together to support his forehead, and said very slowly: "Uncle Yin, this is a private matter between you and Teacher Cao, you are the seniors who helped me, it is reasonable to say It shouldn't be my turn to ask such things, but Cao Ye is my friend, and I want to help him clarify things that he can't ask... What is the relationship between you and Mr. Cao? Or, Mr. Cao and Li What's the secret behind Teacher You's marriage?"
"Mr. Li You..." Zheng Yin leaned forward, with both arms bent over his legs, he seemed to think for a while before continuing, "Si Zhe, if I tell you about the relationship between the two of them, I don't really care. Clear, do you believe it?"
"Tell me, I will have my judgment."
"Okay," Zheng Yin nodded, "Then let me tell the truth, when I first met Director Cao, I was still a junior in Chinese opera. Director Cao was twenty-eight years old and went to my school to give lectures. At that time, I started to follow him to make movies. Don't get me wrong, nothing happened in the first ten years. Now more than ten years have passed. Seriously, except for Teacher Li who sent Cao Ye back to China in the early years, I rarely see them together."
Liang Sizhe frowned: "You mean they...?"
"I don't know their relationship. Director Cao never told me this. I guess they may have separated a long time ago. I don't mean to distance myself, but if you have seen the way they talk, you will know. Now, it's like..." Zheng Yin paused, as if thinking about how to say it more appropriately, "Like old friends who admire each other but haven't been in touch for a long time."
Zheng Yin said this, but Liang Sizhe was not surprised. In the few years he was in Cao Xiuyuan's crew, he occasionally wondered why he had never seen Li You come to the crew for so long while filming. The marriage between Cao Xiuyuan and Li You seemed to exist only in other people's mouths. Said, those doubts seem to have been explained.
"Does Cao Ye know?" Liang Sizhe thought about it and continued to ask.
"He shouldn't know," Zheng Yin shook his head and said, "I guess Li You probably didn't want to tell him this, otherwise he wouldn't have sent him back to China every holiday."
"Then why didn't you explain it to him? Uncle Yin, I want to see with my own eyes that it must have hit him very hard. Why didn't you explain it to him at that time, telling him that his parents were separated, and now you are with Teacher Cao At the same time, Cao Ye is not a kid who accepts death, he trusts you so much, if you tell him the truth, maybe this matter will be easier for him to digest."
"I thought about explaining it to him, but I've never figured out how to explain it, Si Zhe, Director Cao and I..." Zheng Yin seemed a little hard to say, and it took a few seconds before he answered, "If we really It’s easy to talk about being together, but now I don’t know how to explain this relationship to him, and I don’t know if it’s better to explain or not to explain…”
Liang Sizhe quickly understood what he meant, he looked up at Zheng Yin in shock, no wonder, he thought, no wonder they usually get along not like ordinary couples, because they are not couples at all, they just maintain the relationship of bed partners Just a partner.
"You understand," Zheng Yin said with a wry smile, "not to mention that Li You hid it from Cao Ye for so long, and I didn't know that they were not together. Should I, an outsider who didn't know the inside story, tell him. I I persuaded Director Cao to have a good talk with Xiao Ye, but he always said that Xiao Ye is a child, and he will naturally understand when he grows up. You also know that he is a person who never allows others to interfere in his own affairs. If he talks too much, he will get angry. , no one can persuade him."
"I understand, you have your difficulties," Liang Sizhe was silent for a moment, "I know I shouldn't ask this, but if Teacher Cao's sexual orientation is male, will Cao Ye..." Halfway through he said, he also felt It was absurd, so I didn't go on.
"Are you saying that Cao Ye may not be Cao Dao's biological child?" Zheng Yin immediately understood what he meant, shook his head and said, "That's not true, he is born with a weak relationship with people and doesn't like children. , If there is no such relationship, he will not care about Cao Ye. You have heard about the 10 million thing. At the beginning, he never agreed to Zhang Minghan. Later, Zhang Minghan sent the recording and photos to At Cao Ye's place, I told him about this, and after a few words of persuasion, he let me settle with 10 million privately. In the end, he still cares about Xiao Ye's situation, otherwise he wouldn't be like this because of his personality. It's easy to bear this breath... You know what the solution he mentioned to me at the beginning, he said that he simply announced the relationship between him and Zhang Minghan's bed partner six years ago, so that Zhang Minghan would not be able to steal the chicken and lose the rice," Zheng Yin lowered his head lightly With a laugh, "That's his style of doing things."
"So Zhang Minghan and Teacher Cao really..."
"Zhang Minghan has been telling the media about lewdness and portraying himself as a victim. He just wants to gain sympathy through this incident. If he really wants to announce the relationship between his bed partners, he will have no way out at all. He uses Cao Ye as the middle man. Chip, this step is really right."
After Zheng Yin finished speaking, the two were silent for a few minutes. Liang Sizhe asked again, "I have one last question. Besides you and Zhang Minghan, does Teacher Cao have any other questions...?"
"Yes." Zheng Yin said, "I won't hide it from you, most of the rumors in the circle are true. Si Zhe, I have made it clear to you, you have to tell Xiao Ye that I have no objection. In fact, I also think someone should tell him that."
"Yeah." Liang Sizhe responded.
He really wanted to make it clear to Cao Ye, but now that he knew most of the truth of the matter, he also felt a little troublesome.
Everyone, Li You, Cao Xiuyuan, Zheng Yin, including the crew members, as well as Cao Ye's friends, they may know part of the truth more or less, but they all chose to keep silent.
Intentionally or unintentionally, brick by brick, they built a beautiful and illusory castle for Cao Ye, and let the young man live in it for more than ten years carefree, but now Zhang Minghan suddenly took a brick from below, So the unstable foundation of the castle collapsed like an avalanche.
He thought of Cao Ye, who was curled up in a ball in the elevator, the young man who was at a loss facing the incomplete truth, and the image of his father who fell from the altar-how should he make it clear to Cao Ye, so that he can accept that Cao Xiuyuan is such a side Genius, on the other hand is not glorious or even a bit dark
From Cao Ye's point of view, he can fully understand why he doesn't want to forgive Cao Xiuyuan, nor does he want to cooperate with him to help him turn over.
There are two ends of the scale, one end is the mentor who helped him reach his current position, and the other end is the friend who gave him the opportunity back then. Which end is heavier
In a dilemma, I don't know what choice to make is the right one.
Choosing Cao Ye would be ungrateful, and choosing Cao Xiuyuan would be treachery, so how should you choose
"Uncle Yin," Liang Sizhe bowed slightly, clasped his hands together, sighed to his lips, and said with some difficulty, "Mr. Cao asked me to play "The River of Wangchuan", saying that this film did not I can't, but I thought about it and felt that the earth turns the same way without me, and this film should be able to be made without me."
Zheng Yin immediately looked up at him: "Why did you say that all of a sudden? You mean, you don't want to play "Wang Chuan"?"
"It's not that I don't want to act," Liang Sizhe shook his head in pain. "Cao Ye came to see me tonight. He didn't want me to take this film. From his point of view, I can understand his thoughts."
Zheng Yin was speechless for a moment, then stood up and paced the room. The room was very quiet, and the sound of pacing was particularly clear.
Liang Sizhe said again: "Uncle Yin, I will call you Uncle Yin with Cao Ye. Cao Ye once said that you are Teacher Cao's Doraemon. You can do whatever Teacher Cao asks you to do. This film..."
Zheng Yin stopped and interrupted him with a bit of anxiety: "But he asked you to play, I can't find a second Liang Sizhe."
Things seemed to be deadlocked. After a while, Zheng Yin said, "Si Zhe, have you seen Song Yu's report? Song Yu said that someone sent him an invitation for "Wang Chuan", which is true. The director went to make an appointment with him, but Director Cao didn't know about it at the time. Song Yu rejected the film simply because he felt that Director Cao was involved in this matter at this time, and making films with homosexual themes would be bad for his reputation. It has an impact, not to mention that the film cannot be released in the Mainland within five years. If the final film cannot win an award, it will be a waste of money, and he does not dare to take risks. Actors in the circle think this way now, so the two male protagonists simply do not It's easy to find, and now even you have to refuse to act... Okay, Si Zhe, if you think so too, you feel that accepting this film will be detrimental to your own development, I can understand... "
"Uncle Yin," Liang Sizhe interrupted him, "I'm not that ungrateful. I've already stated the reasons clearly. I don't think it has anything to do with my future. After all, all my futures are given by Teacher Cao. ... If Director Cao insists that this film is really my must, then I will take it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yin's phone on the table vibrated.
Liang Sizhe stopped talking, Zheng Yin walked to the table, bowed and picked up the phone: "I'll take a call first."
Zheng Yin walked to the bedside and got on the phone: "Cao Ye? Yes, Director Cao's only son... Why did they involve him?... Find a way to press down first, give me the contact information, and I will go to the editor-in-chief. talk."
After hanging up the phone, Zheng Yin's face was darker than before, and his brows were furrowed, as if something had happened.
"What happened to Cao Ye?" Liang Sizhe asked.
"There is a self-media that dug up all the information about Li You and Cao Ye, and plans to release the video tomorrow before the popularity of Zhang Minghan's incident has passed."
"Why do you want them involved?" Liang Sizhe frowned.
"This kind of entertainment media, what is hot, they rub against it. These days they have almost smashed Director Cao, and now they will naturally turn their attention to his family. Director Cao has not announced his marriage and family, it depends on the outside world. Guess, so the outside world has always been curious about his son, if he really wants to send it out, Cao Ye's life will be ruined by them in the next period of time."
"Can it be suppressed by giving money?"
"It should be fine," the phone vibrated again, and Zheng Yin lowered his head to read the message just sent, "My friend sent me the contact information of the editor-in-chief, I will talk to them first, and try to suppress it with money."
Zheng Yin took a cigarette from the cigarette case on the table, lit it with a lighter, took a deep breath, then walked to the back room, closed the door, and called the editor-in-chief to negotiate.
Liang Sizhe listened to the movement in the room and judged whether the negotiation would be successful.
After a few minutes, the conversation in the inner room stopped, and Zheng Yin came out. Liang Sizhe stood up and asked, "How is it?"
Zheng Yin frowned with anxiety, shook his head and said: "This one can be negotiated, and it can be suppressed with ten million. But the editor-in-chief is a kind person and likes Director Cao's "Red Boy and Red Girl" very much, he and I It was revealed that not only their family wanted to dig into the privacy of Cao Xiuyuan's family, but I don't know who leaked this idea. Several entertainment media, including We Media, are preparing to release this news, with reports and videos. These days In order to grab different reporting angles, they have spent a lot of manpower and financial resources to follow Cao Ye, and now it is too difficult to completely suppress this matter... We know this news is too late, how can we go all the way in the middle of the night? talk?"
Liang Sizhe fell silent.
Zhang Minghan accused Cao Xiuyuan of molesting, just like a snowball, when the matter was about to end, it rolled over Cao Ye with a huge impact.
It is hard to imagine at this juncture, if Cao Ye, who is already on the verge of collapse, would have his private life revealed to the public, and all passers-by would recognize him as Cao Xiuyuan's son and point him out, what kind of collapse would he be like.
And, to what extent will the media announce it? At that time, the producer of "Quarantine Zone" was due to Cao Xiuyuan's face, and the person who did not publicly beat anyone was Cao Ye. Will it be made public now? Cao Ye chased Lin Huan in the crew a year ago, but will he be noticed by someone with a heart and then exposed to the media? And Cao Ye has been to Lin Yan's brother's gay, will he be questioned about his sexual orientation
Liang Sizhe himself is a public figure, and he knows how handy the media is in exaggerating and spreading rumors, and the unregulated self-media is even more confident. Once exposed, Cao Ye's life may really be crushed to pieces, and bid farewell to the quiet life that is now undisturbed.
There were cracks in the youth's innocence, and the pressure came from all directions, as if to grind it into powder.
"I have a way to delay the time." Liang Sizhe said suddenly.
"What?" Zheng Yin asked.
"I held a media conference to clarify the rumors with Mr. Cao. The media should be interested in me. They will not waste a headline, and can only postpone the announcement of Cao Ye."
"This is also a method..." Zheng Yin thought for a moment and felt that it was feasible. "I will call the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and ask him for his opinion."
When the call was connected, Zheng Yin pressed the speakerphone. He didn't say much, but told the editor-in-chief.
"Liang Sizhe makes headlines, but it's enough to keep it in the ordinary," the editor-in-chief said on the phone, "but if you want to cover such a big gossip about Cao Xiuyuan's family, generally the media will not agree. You think, the relationship between Liang Sizhe and Cao Xiuyuan is now It's just that some people are guessing, and it's far from the point where a clarification conference will be held. Even if a clarification conference is held now, the media may not want to use it to make headlines... I have an idea, if he wants to hold a 'must ask A' press conference, to answer everyone's doubts about him since his debut, that's a big news, after all, the private life of such a big star is more attractive to the public than the private life of an amateur, you If you want to make a deal with the media, you can only negotiate with them with a bigger piece of news, but I don't know if Liang Sizhe will agree to it..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Yin heard Liang Sizhe whisper, "I agree."