Chapter 3: He’s Waiting for You

The unnecessary self-introduction left Li Siwei frozen in place for about half a minute.

He quickly raised his hand and lowered the brim of his cap, pausing for two seconds before extending his hand and shaking Yu Chuan’s.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Yu Chuan’s palm felt cold.

“Li Siwei.” He nodded slightly, ending the cursory greeting.

Fang Yu smiled again: “You two actually know each other? Oh right, Yu Chuan also graduated from the film academy’s performance department. You’re about the same age. Weren’t you classmates before?”

Li Siwei, still hiding his face, simply hummed in response.

Yu Chuan put his hands back in his pockets and didn’t reply.

Fang Yu sensed something was off and quickly smoothed things over: “I just happened to be on your floor, so I brought you two together to get acquainted. I’ll accompany Yu Chuan to greet the director’s team later.”

Li Siwei felt relieved, stepping back half a step and watching them leave.

Unlike him, Yu Chuan didn’t come alone. He was followed by an assistant, a girl with medium-length hair and black-rimmed glasses, pushing two large suitcases. Before leaving, the assistant turned and waved to Li Siwei. He could only nod back.

In just a few minutes, he was overloaded with information. After closing the door, Li Siwei’s mind went blank.

Why did Yu Chuan suddenly come to save the day? Wasn’t he about to join another production? The total investment of this film wasn’t even enough for his salary alone. What was he doing here? Charity work?

He sat back on the bed and plugged in his phone. As soon as it turned on, he received a new message from Mo Xue.

“Holy shit, your Romeo is here!”

Li Siwei felt a lump in his throat and decided not to reply.

Li Siwei put the half-packed luggage back in its original place and squatted down in the corner to retrieve his violin. He hadn’t played it for a few days, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the case. The violin was a delicate instrument that needed constant care and maintenance.

He gently wiped the rosin off the strings with a wet wipe. He plucked a string lightly, and it seemed slightly out of tune.

Before he could take out his tuner, his phone vibrated again. Li Siwei almost jumped, his hand trembling, and the strings buzzed with a jarring sound.

He calmed himself and opened his phone. It was a message from Fang Yu: “Get ready. The director’s team is having dinner with Yu Chuan’s team at six tonight.”

Director Qiu Yaoming was a commercial film director based in Lingang Film Studio. Over the years, he had established some small businesses in this small city. Tonight’s dinner was at a restaurant he had invested in years ago. It was elegantly decorated in a Chinese garden style. There was a man-made pond in the garden, winding paths leading to hidden bamboo groves, and further back were several small private rooms. Each room was separated by four or five meters of corridors, offering excellent privacy.

Li Siwei had never been here before. This was also his first time dining with the director’s team. When Lu Tong joined the production, they had simply set off some fireworks and lit some incense on set, keeping things simple.

There was still a thin, long scab on his face. After much thought, he borrowed a concealer from Mo Xue and managed to cover it up somewhat. Then he rummaged through his suitcase and chose a beige sweater and casual pants.

When Li Siwei arrived at the private room, Fang Yu was already there. She seemed to be in a good mood, probably because the investors were very satisfied with the replacement male lead. She had also resolved a major issue.

On the north side of the private room were two flower windows. The wooden window frames fragmented the dim light from outside.

Fang Yu sat on the west side of the south end of the table, and the row of chairs on the east side was empty. After greeting her, Li Siwei sat in the furthest corner.

Li Siwei always knew his place, even though he was nominally one of the film’s male leads.

This film was Fang Yu’s project. Director Qiu wasn’t a particularly famous director in the industry and hadn’t won any prestigious directing awards. He had simply directed a few commercially successful low-budget urban films in his early years, earning him a decent reputation in the industry.

Yu Chuan had been very popular in the past two years, with no shortage of good scripts offered to him. It was baffling that his agency allowed him to take on such a small-budget film.

Soon, Director Qiu arrived with two assistant directors. The assistant directors were young, and Li Siwei had seen this setup many times. In many film and television projects, the chief director was just a figurehead, unwilling to micromanage everything, so they would bring assistants or students from their studio to the set as executors. This was efficient and cost-effective.

Li Siwei stood up and greeted the directors. Director Qiu simply nodded to him. After they took their seats, there were still four or five empty seats in the room. Fang Yu chatted with the assistant directors. As night fell, the lights outside the window gradually brightened, the empty seats bathed in the equally empty light.

The restaurant waiter came in twice, and Fang Yu shook her head each time, signaling him to come back later.

About ten minutes later, the door to the private room opened again. Li Siwei looked up and saw Yu Chuan, who had changed into a black jacket and black pants, his assistant following closely behind.

Dressed like a gangster, trying to scare someone. He thought to himself.

However, from the moment he entered the room, Yu Chuan didn’t look sideways, walking straight in, barely glancing at him, his greeting a cursory glance over his face. Finally, he sat diagonally opposite Li Siwei, their lines of sight just missing each other.

“Director Qiu, Producer Fang, sorry I’m late.”

Director Qiu showed a rare smile, reassuring him: “Don’t mention it. You’ve had a long journey. It’s only right to rest more after flying over.”

Fang Yu remembered the afternoon conversation between Li Siwei and Yu Chuan: “Have you two old classmates caught up this afternoon?”

She looked at Yu Chuan as she spoke.

Yu Chuan leaned back in his chair, the light from outside the window falling on his face, and looked back at Fang Yu: “No.”

“Ah, it’s good to rest after landing. There’s no rush to catch up.”

Yu Chuan interrupted her: “I don’t have Mr. Li’s contact information.”

Li Siwei abruptly looked up, but Yu Chuan didn’t look at him.

“…It’s normal to lose touch after so many years since graduation.” Fang Yu smiled.

Director Qiu overheard and chimed in: “Siwei, you should chat more with Xiao Yu. He’s new to the production and isn’t familiar with the script yet. You two should interact more and build some rapport.”

Li Siwei gave a dry laugh and nodded, lowering his head.

“Yu Chuan is very dedicated. I contacted him the day before yesterday, and he read the script overnight. Then he agreed to join the production.” Fang Yu said with a smile. “It seems he’s very satisfied with our script.”

Li Siwei finally glanced at him. So it was because of the script.

“Of course, the original novel is more subtle.” Director Qiu smiled, raising his glass. “This version has added several intimate scenes, which is more in line with the current audience’s taste.”

“I think these added scenes are very good, even better than the original.” Fang Yu was a long-time fan of the novel and had bought the adaptation rights at a low price when the market was down.

At this point, Li Siwei’s hand slipped, and he almost dropped his glass. Fang Yu turned and looked at him. He had already steadied the glass.

Director Qiu had already raised his glass, and the others couldn’t refuse. Li Siwei wasn’t used to drinking alcohol and had always avoided it as much as possible since entering the industry. He took a small sip and pretended to drink. Yu Chuan drank more slowly, the liquid flowing down his throat. Even after Li Siwei put down his glass, Yu Chuan’s neck was still slightly tilted back, revealing his moving Adam’s apple.

Yu Chuan remained mostly silent during the dinner. But the conversation inevitably circled back to the departed male lead.

Fang Yu said that Lu Tong had returned to Beishi, and the remaining disputes here had been handed over to his lawyer.

“We’re very grateful to Yu Chuan for helping us out this time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know how to clean up this mess.” Fang Yu still sounded resentful. “But Lu Tong’s departure might not be a bad thing. Filming depends on fate. Siwei feels relieved too, right?”

The question was directed at Li Siwei. He looked up and saw Fang Yu looking at him, her expression unreadable.

Li Siwei’s heart tightened. Could Fang Yu have found out about his fight with Lu Tong?

Whether he agreed or disagreed, it seemed wrong.

Li Siwei coughed, then said: “It’s alright. Working with Brother Lu was quite pleasant.”

Everyone at the table was shrewd. They naturally knew that Li Siwei was just being polite and didn’t want to cause trouble.

But after a brief silence, the man sitting diagonally opposite suddenly spoke.

“Really?” He raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Li Siwei. “How pleasant?”

The question came out of the blue, and everyone at the table was stunned. The light filtered through the window frame fell on Yu Chuan’s side profile. For the first time that evening, Li Siwei felt Yu Chuan’s direct gaze.

No one spoke for five seconds. The atmosphere turned icy.

Li Siwei’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He finally squeezed out a sentence: “Just a normal working relationship, nothing special.”

A moment later, he saw Yu Chuan nod slightly, a smile playing on his lips. Li Siwei wasn’t a fool; he could see the mockery in that smile.

Fang Yu hadn’t found him a replacement male lead; she had invited a difficult deity.

After a few rounds of drinks, Li Siwei hadn’t drunk much, but his chest felt tight. It was almost nine o’clock. He excused himself and slipped out into the garden for some fresh air.

Mo Xue had given him a pack of cigarettes that day, which he had put in his coat pocket. Li Siwei wasn’t a smoker, but he felt restless. Under the cover of the bamboo grove, he took out a cigarette, went to a secluded spot, and lit it.

Mo Xue’s taste was probably a bit strange. Li Siwei was caught off guard by the strong lemon flavor, feeling like he was smoking dish soap.

He coughed uncontrollably, his eyes turning red. When he looked up, he saw the door of a private room not far away open, and a dark figure walked out.

The figure came closer and closer, almost face to face with him.

Li Siwei took a deep breath and decided to turn away. But at the same time, the person walked right past him towards the other side of the bamboo grove.

A breeze brushed past Li Siwei’s ear as they passed each other. The footsteps grew fainter until they disappeared at the end of the path, as if the person had never been there.

Li Siwei put out his cigarette and walked back.

Half an hour later, the dinner finally ended. It was completely dark. Fang Yu and the two assistant directors got into Director Qiu’s car. Before leaving, she rolled down the window and asked Li Siwei if he wanted a ride. Li Siwei shook his head, saying he could go back by himself.

The production arranged another commercial vehicle to pick up Yu Chuan. Yu Chuan and his assistant quickly got into the car. But after they got in, the rear window didn’t close.

Li Siwei saw Yu Chuan lean back in his seat after getting into the car, closing his eyes, his side profile hidden in the darkness, without a single glance back.

The car quickly drove away. Li Siwei walked to the intersection and took out his phone to call a taxi.

Perhaps because it was late at night, there were few cars on the road. In less than two minutes, the taxi caught up with the commercial vehicle Yu Chuan was in. The two cars sped through the darkness, maintaining a distance of about ten meters. Only occasionally, when passing through traffic lights, would they briefly be side by side. But the windows of both cars were tightly closed, revealing nothing of the thoughts inside.

As the taxi approached the hotel’s drop-off area, Li Siwei saw the commercial vehicle in front stop at the entrance.

“Driver, slow down.” Li Siwei instructed.

The taxi driver was puzzled: “Slow down?”

“Yes. Wait for the people in front to get out before we go in.”

Half a minute later, the commercial vehicle finally drove away. Li Siwei breathed a sigh of relief: “Let’s go.”

The taxi stopped at the entrance. After paying the fare, Li Siwei looked towards the lobby. Yu Chuan had already walked away. After getting out of the car, he went to the hotel front desk and leisurely bought two sugar-free sodas from the vending machine before heading towards the elevators.

No one was around, and it was silent. Li Siwei pressed the button and waited for the elevator.

Three minutes later, the elevator doors opened, and Li Siwei stepped inside alone, swiping his card and pressing the button for the 16th floor.

However, just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand appeared between them.

Buzz. The doors opened again.

Li Siwei turned and saw a girl rush in.

It was Yu Chuan’s assistant. She quickly pressed “17” and turned to Li Siwei with a smile.

“Finally found you, Mr. Li.”

“Found me?” Li Siwei stepped aside to make room for her.

“Yes.” The girl’s eyes sparkled. “We’re staying on the floor above you. My boss said he wanted to discuss the script with you later. He’s waiting for you in his room.”

“Your boss? Yu Chuan?”

“Yes.” The assistant nodded.

“But it’s past ten o’clock now.” Li Siwei raised his wrist and pointed at the time. “How about tomorrow?”

“My boss said he has to shoot makeup photos tomorrow morning. He probably won’t have time.”

“Then the day after tomorrow? Filming shouldn’t be that urgent.”

“He just said he wants to do it today, Mr. Li—” The assistant pursed her lips, looking helpless.

The elevator reached the 15th floor. Li Siwei gritted his teeth: “…Alright.”

He canceled the lit “16” button. The elevator continued upwards to the 17th floor.

“And you don’t have to call me Mr. Li. Just call me Siwei.” He added.

After stepping out of the elevator, the girl opened her phone and showed him a QR code.

“Okay, Brother Siwei, then you can call me Xiao Meng. I’ll contact you directly if anything comes up.”

The girl smiled brightly, and Li Siwei couldn’t refuse, so he took out his phone and added her as a friend.

Although they were in the same hotel, the 17th floor was a completely different world from the 16th. This floor didn’t have as many single rooms; most were suites over 100 square meters. Soft carpeting stretched from outside the elevator to the doors of each suite.

“I’m staying in a single room at the end of the hallway.” Xiao Meng pointed to a corner on the west side, then turned and led Li Siwei to the other side. “My boss is staying in room 1719, a suite.”

She walked ahead, leading the way. The only sound in the late-night hotel corridor was their light footsteps. At the end of the corridor, Xiao Meng stopped in front of a large door.

Ding-dong. She rang the doorbell twice. Li Siwei stood behind her, waiting, but there was no response from inside.

“If he’s asleep, we can reschedule…” Before Li Siwei could finish, there was a sudden sound from inside the suite.

Click. The door opened, and Yu Chuan stood behind it, wearing a white bathrobe, his hair still wet, steam rising from his body, as if he had just taken a shower.

Li Siwei glanced at him and quickly looked away.

Yu Chuan nodded to Xiao Meng beside him: “You can go back and rest now.”

“Okay, Boss. Remember you start work at eight tomorrow morning.” Xiao Meng reminded him before turning and walking away quickly.

Even after Xiao Meng disappeared at the end of the corridor, Li Siwei still stood at the door, not moving.

“What are you waiting for?” Yu Chuan asked.