Chapter 30: Throwing Himself into His Arms

After filming the warehouse scene, Yu Chuan had a noticeable mark on his neck.

After the director called cut, Xiao Meng quickly came in with a shawl, but almost retreated, intimidated by his grim expression. Yu Chuan didn’t speak, and she didn’t dare to either.

It was already mid-November, and the temperature in Lingang was approaching zero. When Li Siwei came out of the studio, a strong wind was blowing outside. He wrapped his thick coat tightly around himself and walked back to his hotel room alone.

Fortunately, they didn’t have any scenes together for the next two days. He could finally have some peace.

The ginkgo leaves downstairs had all fallen, covering the ground in a golden blanket. The wind swept them up, swirling them in the air. Li Siwei entered the hotel lobby, looked back, and saw several vans parked outside. Flashes went off in the distance. He looked away and walked inside without turning back.

He had specifically hung the “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door this morning. He opened the door; the room was as he had left it. He threw himself onto the bed and took a deep breath.

But before he could relax, his phone rang in his pocket. Li Siwei sluggishly took it out and checked.

It was a WeChat message from his agent. He rarely saw his agent send him such a long message.

Li Siwei squinted and read it for about half a minute before understanding what he meant.

He was invited to a media reception this weekend. The reception was mainly for film crews, production companies, and media representatives. To show their sincerity, the agency would prepare his makeup, hair, and attire. He was instructed to be in good condition and dress formally.

Li Siwei rubbed his temples, his throat tightening before he let out a sigh. His brief moment of peace was gone.

He had never been to a media reception in all his years in the industry. At most, he had attended a couple of wrap-up dinners with the crew.

He didn’t understand why they would invite an insignificant actor like him.

Then his agent sent another message: “They also invited Yu Chuan.”

Li Siwei paused for a moment, then replied: “Understood.”

In the entertainment industry, without hit dramas or trending topics, any slight disturbance would attract a swarm of reporters. The film hadn’t even wrapped up yet, but the rumors of conflict between the leads were already rampant. Inviting Yu Chuan alone wouldn’t satisfy the public’s appetite. They had to bring him, the catalyst, along for the drama.

Li Siwei sneered.

On Saturday afternoon, his agent kept his promise and sent two stylists to the hotel. Unfortunately, Li Siwei’s room was too small to accommodate all their equipment. He had no choice but to go to the lounge on the first floor for his styling.

But when he opened the door, the lounge was already half occupied.

A person was sitting in the chair in the middle, eyes closed. Behind him was a rack of suits and accessories, dazzlingly new.

Li Siwei’s temples throbbed, and he gritted his teeth.

He turned and saw Xiao Meng standing behind Yu Chuan, talking to the costume designer.

“Why are you here for styling too?” He asked Xiao Meng.

Xiao Meng finally noticed him: “Oh, Brother Siwei. You’re here too. We have too many people, the suite wasn’t big enough, so we came here.”

Xiao Meng gave him a look, glancing at Yu Chuan, who still had his eyes closed, and mouthed silently: “He doesn’t like people in his room.”

Li Siwei clenched his right fist. He doesn’t like people in his room, yet he keeps calling me over for rehearsals? Is he insane?

He had no choice but to take a table in the furthest corner of the lounge, pull out two chairs, and let the makeup artist work.

But compared to the entourage on the other side, his side looked rather shabby.

Yu Chuan’s makeup artist had finished applying his foundation and whispered something to him. Li Siwei saw Yu Chuan unbutton two buttons on his shirt.

“Hey!” The makeup artist gasped.

Yu Chuan opened his eyes slightly.

“Mr. Yu, what bit you here?” The makeup artist held a brush, unsure where to start. “It’s quite bruised.”

“A gecko.” Yu Chuan replied coldly.

“A gecko? Are there geckos here?” The makeup artist looked around nervously.

“Then a scorpion.” Yu Chuan changed his answer.

“Huh?” The makeup artist froze for a few seconds, realizing he was being brushed off, and could only laugh awkwardly, not asking further.

You’re the gecko, you’re the scorpion. You’re a rabid dog. Li Siwei rolled his eyes inwardly.

That evening was the media reception. Li Siwei had assumed they would take separate cars.

But unexpectedly, they were taking the same van arranged by the production. The driver had already started the engine and turned on the heater, waiting for them.

When Li Siwei got in, Yu Chuan was already sitting in the back row, by the window. Clearly, the outer seat was for him.

But Li Siwei didn’t sit there. He went to the third row and sat by the window.

“Why aren’t you taking your own car?” He asked sullenly.

“Fang Yu arranged it.” Yu Chuan simply replied.

Li Siwei had left the lounge early that afternoon and hadn’t seen Yu Chuan’s complete look. Now, in the car, he noticed that Yu Chuan was wearing a bow tie, the ribbon perfectly covering the bite mark he had left.

“Where’s your assistant?” Li Siwei didn’t see Xiao Meng.

“She has other things to do.”

An awkward silence fell in the car. The driver also remained silent, stepping on the gas and driving onto the road.

The reception was held in an art district thirty kilometers away from Lingang. Although it wasn’t by the sea, the wind was still strong.

The car soon stopped at the entrance. A rose wall had been set up at the entrance. Li Siwei looked out the window, surprised that they could find so many fresh flowers in such cold weather. They must have spent a fortune.

It wasn’t until they got out of the car that he understood why Fang Yu had arranged for them to take the same car.

There was a red carpet at the entrance, a bright spotlight shining on each arriving car. Reporters with cameras and microphones lined both sides of the red carpet.

Appearing together in front of the media seemed to be the best way to dispel the rumors of their conflict and steer public opinion.

They got out of the car one after the other, Li Siwei in a white suit, Yu Chuan in a black suit. The only thing they agreed on was their grim expressions. They walked to the rose wall, and the ushers led them inside.

Beyond the rose wall was a huge burgundy wall covered in signatures from the guests. The usher handed them pens and gestured for them to sign the wall.

Yu Chuan took the pen first and signed his name near the top, then turned and left without looking back.

Li Siwei took the other pen, paused for two seconds, and signed his name in the opposite corner, as far away from Yu Chuan’s signature as possible.

Li Siwei was about to continue inside when he was stopped at the entrance to the banquet hall.

Why didn’t anyone tell him that there would be a media Q&A at this reception?! Yu Chuan was surrounded by reporters, a dozen microphones and recording pens thrust in front of him.

Seeing Li Siwei arrive, the crowd buzzed. Before he could react, the reporters pulled him into the interview area.

“Siwei, since you’re here, everyone isn’t very familiar with you. Could you tell us about how you got into the industry? We know you also graduated from the film academy. What inspired you to study acting?” A female reporter was the first to hand him a microphone.

Li Siwei was first taken aback by her familiar tone, then by the question itself. Of all the things to ask.

“I simply love movies.” He answered indifferently after five seconds.

Yu Chuan frowned, turning to leave, but was blocked by more microphones.

“Last question! Please answer separately!” A male reporter raised his hand from the crowd, holding a phone.

“Go ahead.” Yu Chuan frowned slightly.

“This is an entertainment news report we just saw, a photo released five minutes ago. What are your thoughts on this?”

Li Siwei looked up and saw a photo zoomed in on the reporter’s phone screen.

It was a photo of a hotel corridor late at night. Li Siwei was standing at the door of a suite, the door half open, revealing Yu Chuan’s side profile. The caption below the photo was in bold yellow: Newcomer actor knocks on Yu Chuan’s door late at night, seemingly throwing himself into his arms?

He recognized it. It was taken the night before the warehouse scene, when Yu Chuan called him to his room for rehearsal.

Li Siwei felt as if he had been doused with cold water, his body numb. He hadn’t expected the reporters to sneak into the hotel and take photos. What was even more chilling was that he hadn’t noticed anything that night.

He glared at Yu Chuan, who remained expressionless.

Seeing their silence, the reporter pressed: “Mr. Yu, what are your thoughts?”

Yu Chuan, about to leave, said with a grim expression: “It was just a normal script discussion. Sensationalism.”

The flashes went off, as if not wanting to miss any micro-expressions.

“What about this photo?” The reporter didn’t seem to want to let them go, scrolling through his phone and showing another photo on full screen.

Li Siwei’s eyes widened, his pupils constricting, his hands trembling involuntarily.

The photo was taken in the small theater of the film academy. In the center of the photo, Yu Chuan, in costume, was climbing the wall and kissing him.