LR – Chapter 36

***
Chapter 36 – Snake and Scorpion

He Yujing had already negotiated the number of episodes he’d film with the production team before signing. Once today’s shoot wrapped, his team hurriedly picked him up late at night, transferring directly from the nearest city to fly to Japan.

After returning from the courtyard, neither of them spoke a single word. It wasn’t until He Yujing had left that Jiang Liusui suddenly remembered something trivial.

No wonder He Yujing had come into the makeup room empty-handed, without even a suitcase.

He hadn’t planned to stay overnight at all.

Mu Zhe didn’t realize He Yujing’s late-night departure was due to scheduling conflicts. Remembering how Jiang Liusui had pulled him away earlier, and shortly after returning, He Yujing left alone, Mu Zhe glanced at Jiang Liusui, who was as expressionless as ever after the shoot, and asked cautiously, “Did you two fight?”

He thought He Yujing had left because he was upset, and Jiang Liusui didn’t look too happy either. He wanted to offer some comfort.

“Xiao Mu, be good.” Xu Miao, being much wiser by comparison, pulled Mu Zhe aside and said earnestly, “At a time like this, it’s better to say less.”

Mu Zhe realized he had misspoken and quickly fell silent. Qin Yi, seeing Jiang Liusui’s sour mood, unusually offered comfort: “Don’t overthink it.”

Jiang Liusui gave a faint smile and muttered a soft acknowledgement.

In truth, there wasn’t much to think about. Things had already reached this point—he and He Yujing were completely through.

Even with one fewer guest, the production team had carefully planned the next two days of activities, successfully completing this filming session.

Back home after the shoot, Jiang Liusui finally had a moment to rest. The three days and two nights in the Turin Desert had been packed with various activities. Perhaps because of this, he felt even more exhausted than last time, collapsing into sleep as soon as he got home.

Jiang Liusui slept until dawn. Half-dreaming, half-awake, he was roused by his phone buzzing on vibrate. He didn’t want to get up, but the calls kept coming one after another. Finally, Jiang Liusui forced himself to open his eyes.

Unlocking his phone, he discovered over twenty missed calls, all from Jiang Chuan. The thought that something might have happened instantly wiped away the last traces of sleepiness. Before he could even call back, Jiang Chuan’s call came through again.

He answered, and Jiang Chuan’s voice, unusually sharp and serious, cut through: “Where are you? Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

“I’m at home. I was asleep before,” Jiang Liusui said, pausing. “Did something happen?”

Jiang Chuan seemed quite agitated, though he forced himself to speak calmly: “Listen to me, don’t look at any social media platforms for now.”

“During your third year of university when you filmed ⟪The Ultimate Guide⟫, I remember an investor named Zhu harassed you multiple times. The worst time nearly turned dangerous… How many people know about this?”

Jiang Liusui was stunned for a moment, recalling: “I only reported it to you, Ding Yan didn’t know. Besides Zhu Renliang, who was present at the time…”

He hesitated briefly, then added, “Xie Chen was also there. He helped me.”

Jiang Chuan cursed under his breath, then said: “I don’t know who it is, but they actually have that surveillance footage. You didn’t even know you were being set up — Zhu Renliang entered your room first, and you went in afterward. The rest was deliberately edited out. The footage circulating online now makes it look like you were willingly playing along with the casting couch[mfn]referring to being seen as consenting to sexual exploitation in professional contexts[/mfn]!”

Jiang Liusui’s eyes went wide, and he gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles whitened.

Back in his junior year, he had taken a role in the web drama ⟪The Ultimate Guide⟫, adapted from a novel, playing the third male lead. This had been his most recognized role before filming He Yujing’s music video. At that time, Zhu Renliang, as one of the investors, came to the set to inspect. Jiang Liusui always felt his gaze fixed intently on him. At several crew dinners afterward, Zhu Renliang made it a point to attend, and every single time, without fail, he sat right beside Jiang Liusui.

Zhu Renliang had sought him out both openly and secretly many times, asking him to follow him, promising that he would fully support him in the future. Jiang Liusui, barely twenty at the time, spoke and acted far more bluntly than he does now, refusing him without an ounce of politeness.

At the final dinner, Zhu Renliang’s wrinkled hand landed on his shoulder, the sensation akin to a sticky leech clinging to him. Drunk and persistent, the man gripped his shoulder tightly, spewing incoherent nonsense through alcohol-laced breath. Jiang Liusui had had enough and yanked him off.

Zhu Renliang seemed to sober up slightly and offered an apologetic smile. Such incidents were not uncommon in the industry, and the rest of the crew tactfully minded their own business, letting the matter pass without further comment over drinks.

Zhu Renliang appeared to have urgent business and left early after taking a phone call. Jiang Liusui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The crew was filming on location in the mountains, staying at a local hotel. The dinner had been anything but pleasant, and he endured it until the gathering finally ended. Returning to his room, he had barely begun to relax when, after switching on the light, Zhu Renliang emerged from the shadows.

The man had bribed a crew member to gain access to his room ahead of time, lying in wait for his return. In a panic, Jiang Liusui tried to open the door and escape, but it was firmly blocked from the outside. To his despair, he gradually lost strength in his wrists, and his entire body began to grow weak.

It was then he realized he had been drugged at the dinner table. Frantic with fear and panic, he fumbled with the door lock, but it didn’t budge. Seeing his futile efforts, Zhu Renliang smiled confidently and advanced toward him step by step.

“Right now, all sorts of true and false information are mixed together. Using that one video as a pretext, a slew of fabricated scandals are spreading. Someone is definitely pulling strings behind the scenes!”

Listening to Jiang Chuan’s description, Jiang Liusui felt his heart sink slowly into despair.

Several times, he wanted to open Weibo to see the situation for himself, but each time he forced himself to stop. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it and finally asked softly, “Are the criticisms severe?”

“Yeah…” Jiang Chuan spoke bluntly, “That video is extremely misleading. With so many paid trolls flooding the comments, the fans trying to defend you are being drowned out. The online sentiment is overwhelmingly against you.”

Although Jiang Liusui’s Weibo followers had doubled after the first episode of ⟪Fantasy Holiday⟫ aired, he was still relatively new to the industry. The video had not only spread widely on Weibo but was also circulating across various platforms, with negative rumors spreading at an alarming rate.

Overnight, a wave of fans, disheartened and outraged, unfollowed and attacked him. One after another, people claiming to have worked with him hinted that he had acted arrogantly on set or relied on his looks to get ahead[mfn]靠色相上位 (kào sè xiàng shàng wèi – slang for using sexual appeal for career gain.[/mfn]. There were even students from NUA accusing him of moral corruption, saying he had been “kept” while in school… all sorts of monsters and demons appeared. If it wasn’t deliberate sabotage, it was hard to believe.

“Think carefully—have you offended anyone recently?”

Jiang Liusui forced himself to set aside thoughts of the outside world and struggled to steady his mind. He went over it again and again. If he really had to guess…

“You mentioned before that ⟪Fantasy Holiday⟫ originally had another guest lined up. Was it Xie Chen?”

Jiang Chuan grunted in affirmation. “Could it be—?”

Jiang Liusui stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking. “Xie Chen wanted the role in ⟪Eternal Bell⟫. We had a conflict during the audition that day. He probably also tried to get into He Yujing’s music video.”

As soon as Jiang Chuan heard this, he immediately understood. ““It’s almost certainly him! Hardly anyone knew about the Zhu Renliang incident. I was wondering how someone dug up such an old story… ⟪Eternal Bell⟫ already struggled to secure funding. If they tarnish your reputation first, the production team might drop you to avoid risks, and the role would just fall into his lap.”

The more Jiang Chuan spoke, the more absurd it sounded: “Is he insane? To go this far for such a lousy project?” But then he reconsidered and retracted his statement, muttering to himself, “…No. Old grudges plus new resentment. In his eyes, you stole his resources. That’s the ultimate taboo. He got cut in the audition — it wouldn’t be surprising if he acted this way.”

Jiang Liusui said nothing, his emotions tangled and complex. He recalled how, after the audition, Xie Chen had laughed strangely and said, “Then let’s each rely on our own abilities.” At the time, he had genuinely believed Xie Chen meant a fair competition of acting skills.

Spreading fabricated scandals to push him out—was this what Xie Chen meant by “fair competition”? What a joke. Xie Chen really had some “abilities,” all right!

Jiang Liusui clenched his phone so tightly the veins on the back of his hand bulged from the strain. Anger mingled with a strange indescribable disappointment.

He had shared a dorm with Xie Chen for four years, and before graduation, their relationship had been mostly pleasant. Although Xie Chen’s personality could be overwhelming at times, he had helped Jiang Liusui during critical moments. Until now, Jiang Liusui had carried a quiet sense of gratitude for that.

The Zhu Renliang incident had happened a year ago, and hotel hallway surveillance wouldn’t have been stored that long. Whatever the reason, Xie Chen had privately held onto that footage.

“Damn it!” Jiang Liusui couldn’t hold back and swore.

Seeing how unstable he was, Jiang Chuan said, “Let’s not talk about this for now. Many Gallery artists live in this residential area, and I’m worried reporters might track you down at home. Before things get out of hand, I’ll send a driver to pick you up. Go to a hotel or a friend’s place.”

“The company hasn’t given any clear response for some reason,” Jiang Chuan hesitated, then suddenly remembered something.

Xie Chen’s family… it seemed they were recently negotiating a collaboration with Gallery. If Jiang Chuan remembered correctly, it was a fairly important project.

He hesitated, unsure whether to tell Jiang Liusui. After a moment’s thought, he decided against it, offering only a gentle reassurance: “Don’t worry too much. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

Just as Jiang Liusui got into the car, Zhou Xun’s call came through.

He had just learned the situation from Shen Sijia. As soon as the call connected, he suggested that Jiang Liusui stay at his place temporarily.

“Shen Sijia is already on her way and will arrive soon.” Zhou Xun didn’t know all the details, but he understood how serious this was and worried something might happen if Jiang Liusui was alone. “Do you want me to come pick you up?”

Jiang Liusui pressed his fingers against his brow.

Earlier, while speaking with Jiang Chuan, he had managed to keep his emotions in check. But hearing his friend’s concern, a delayed wave of grievance washed over him.

Jiang Liusui said softly, “No need, the driver will bring me over.”

Zhou Xun could tell he was deeply upset and chatted with him for a while, trying to distract him.

But Jiang Liusui’s mind was clearly elsewhere on the call. Zhou Xun had no choice but to wait until they met in person to speak properly. He added a few more reminders, telling Jiang Liusui to notify him once he reached the neighborhood so he could come downstairs to meet him.

Somewhere along the way, rain had begun to fall outside the car window. The torrential late-August rain washed over the entire city, dimming the daylight to a muted gray.

After hanging up with Zhou Xun, Jiang Liusui’s thoughts drifted hazily, unintentionally wandering back to the incident from a year ago.

He remembered—it had been a day just like this, drenched in relentless rain.

While filming ⟪The Ultimate Guide⟫, Jiang Liusui played the third male lead, and Xie Chen was the male lead. Xie Chen was the person he got along with best in the entire crew. That night, after the dinner party, a sudden rainstorm had hit. Due to an incident during the gathering, he returned to his room in low spirits. But as soon as he turned on the light, he found Zhu Renliang waiting inside.

As the effects of the drug gradually set in, Jiang Liusui’s arms and legs grew weak. Zhu Renliang stepped closer, one step at a time. With people blocking the door outside, he couldn’t force it open. Stumbling backward as Zhu Renliang lunged at him, he retreated into the bathroom. Jiang Liusui’s fingers were too weak to lock the door before Zhu Renliang shoved it open.

Zhu Renliang seemed to treat this as a game of cat and mouse, his fleshy face twisting into a deepening grin.

“Stop struggling, Xiao Jiang. Or do you prefer it right here…?”

Jiang Liusui still held his phone and seized the chance to call Xie Chen. As soon as the call connected, he blurted out, “Xie Chen! Zhu Renliang is in my room, I—”

Before he could finish, Zhu Renliang stepped forward and knocked the phone from his hand, cutting off the call right in front of him.

“You’d better give up hope. The people outside are mine—no one’s coming to help you.” Zhu Renliang’s eyes brimmed with a nauseating desire, his pudgy hands twitching as he reached out to touch him. “Don’t worry, as long as you serve me well, I won’t treat you badly.”

Fear and panic surged to their peak, and instead of collapsing, Jiang Liusui suddenly grew calm.

Although he usually appeared gentle and mild-tempered, when truly provoked, he became the type to throw all caution to the wind. Pushed to this extreme by Zhu Renliang, the brief calm shattered, replaced by a violent surge of rage. Jiang Liusui’s expression twisted slightly, his eyes gleaming with something strange and unsettling.

Zhu Renliang thought he had resigned himself to his fate. To his surprise, Jiang Liusui uttered shocking words: “If you can want this face, others will too. If I’ve already been used, I might as well keep selling it.”

His wording was unbearably crude, and Zhu Renliang couldn’t help but pause in his steps.

Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Liusui smiled faintly, his expression inexplicably sinister. “Who knows? Maybe one day, someone will be willing to help me take revenge on you.”

Zhu Renliang was deeply unsettled by this twisted line of reasoning, and anger rushed to his head. “Fuck! You really are a—”

He had initially intended to strike directly, but Jiang Liusui simply stared back at him, not dodging at all. Those pitch-black eyes were like poisoned daggers, seemingly ready to carve a layer of flesh from his body at the first opportunity.

“Go on, try it,” Jiang Liusui said, his words slightly slurred and dizzy from the drug’s effects. But he forced himself to stand straight, refusing to show any weakness in front of others. “Let’s see who gets the last laugh.”

Zhu Renliang felt the young actor before him was as venomous as a snake or scorpion. That unrestrained ferocity made him wary, and he hesitated, unable to make a move.

He was drawn to Jiang Liusui’s looks—but not enough to risk provoking someone who seemed unhinged and dangerous.

But after finally getting his chance — even risking bribing the crew — Zhu Renliang was unwilling to back down so easily. Just as he wavered, someone suddenly slammed into the door from outside.

Xie Chen pounded hard, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Jiang Liusui?! Are you in there?!—Damn it, open the door!”

A commotion erupted outside, as if an argument had broken out. After a moment, Xie Chen forcibly barged in with his assistant, breaking the door open. Taking in the chaotic scene before him, Xie Chen froze for a moment, then angrily shoved Zhu Renliang aside and stepped forward to support Jiang Liusui, who was already barely able to stand. “Are you okay? Jiang Liusui!”

“Xie-ge!” The assistant hurriedly followed, growing even more nervous upon seeing Zhu Renliang’s expression. As one of the investors, Zhu Renliang’s interest in Jiang Liusui was no secret to anyone. When that call came, the assistant had tried to dissuade Xie Chen from causing trouble, but Xie Chen had insisted on forcing his way in.

The ruckus they caused was so loud it eventually alerted the head director.

On one side was a relatively unknown actor, and on the other was an investor no one dared to offend. Naturally, the head director leaned toward one side.

And yet, the incident itself was deeply embarrassing. In the end, the chief director chose to smooth things over. He later promised that Zhu Renliang would not harass Jiang Liusui again, and just like that, the matter was quietly brushed aside.

***

“Are you certain he has nothing to do with He Yujing?” Xie Chen asked quietly, fingers tightening around his phone.

On the other end was Xie Chen’s agent: “I already helped you look into it. I contacted a staff member from the variety show—during their second recording, the two of them had a huge fight. Even if they were on good terms before, they’ve completely fallen out now.”

“And from what I’ve heard, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about their relationship.”

This matched the results of Xie Chen’s earlier probing.

During the audition for ⟪Eternal Bell⟫, Xie Chen had deliberately made offensive remarks, asking Jiang Liusui if he had become He Yujing’s lover, trying to ascertain the nature of their relationship.

If Jiang Liusui really had He Yujing backing him, Xie Chen would never have dared to act the way he did.

“We’re already at this stage. There’s no need to think too much,” his agent said calmly. “He Yujing is abroad, busy with his tour. There’s already an information gap—who knows if this will even reach his ears? Even if he finds out, why would he take time off during his tour to come back and deal with such a trivial matter?”

Xie Chen hummed in response, then asked, “Jiang Liusui’s contract—there’s still a year left?”

“Less than a year.” The agent understood his concerns and said unhurriedly, “Gallery has highly-valued this collaboration with your family as always. Once we threatened to withdraw funding, their senior management immediately showed their stance. As long as we can properly steer public opinion, we can even paint black as white.”

“At the end of the day, Jiang Liusui no longer has a company backing him, and no one willing to help manage things for him. There’s naturally no chance for him to make a comeback.”

As if recalling something amusing, Xie Chen’s agent chuckled: “His agent is quite adept at reading the situation too. Seeing that things were going south, he simply went along with it and said Jiang Liusui was disobedient and hard to manage. With his contract nearly expired anyway, his company has already decided to abandon him.”

“That’s good, then.”

Back then, Xie Chen had inexplicably kept that surveillance footage. He hadn’t originally planned to use it, having let slide the two previous encounters with Jiang Liusui. But this film role was something he truly couldn’t bear to yield.

Setting aside thoughts of Jiang Liusui, Xie Chen asked what concerned him most: “What’s Tianguang’s stance?”

“For now, it’s unclear. Once this escalates further, I’lI contact Tianguang Media.” The agent understood all these roundabout tactics ultimately served one purpose and emphasized, “Don’t worry, Tianguang wouldn’t want to take the risk. The role in ⟪Eternal Bell⟫ will definitely be yours.”

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