Chapter 43 - I’ve got this Celebrity’s back (3)
Chapter 43: I’ve got this Celebrity’s back
Only after reading it several times did Director Liang finally understand his implied meaning.
Liang Yuan:…
“Liang Yuan: You beast in human clothing!!!”
He had personally watched Gu Xi fire his agent and assistant and he knew that Gu Xi would definitely have a falling out with the company because of this. It was expected that he wouldn’t be in a good mood.
But no matter how bad his mood was, leaving a huge manpower problem and running off to make merry and have a romantic affair would undoubtedly be beyond what the always conservative and reserved Director Liang could understand.
Simply outrageous.
Director Liang bitterly sent this condemnation and especially added three exclamation marks after it. He tried his best to beat some sense into the other, to rein him in at the brink of the precipice, to make him look back and see that the shore was at hand.
His phone buzzed and Gu Xi pressed down to light up the screen and take a look. He curled his lips disapprovingly.
Prude.
He just checked in to a hotel with someone. This sort of thing wasn’t a big deal in the circle. At any rate, he’s a film emperor. So what if he takes someone to sleep with for the night?
What’s with all the fuss?
King Gu was very stubborn and didn’t intend to reply at all. Putting aside his phone, he tucked in the corners of the quilt for the little paparazzo who was sound asleep, careful not to disturb him. He pulled out a thin blanket and leaned into the sofa.
After turning over a few pages of the script, there came a rustling sound of movement from the bed. Gu Xi immediately stopped his movements and looked over with bated breath.
Lu Qingzhou just turned over, still curled up in the quilt, sleeping soundly.
Memorizing his lines produced only quiet breathing sounds, but even then that was still noise.
After hesitating for a while, Gu Xi decided to put away his things. He turned on the flashlight on his mobile phone and got up to head to the balcony.
Not only did he need to memorize his lines but he also needed to reply back to the company. Now that the police have been involved and the people who broke into his property have been arrested, if he drags this on and fails to make timely appearance, he would simply be wasting police resources.
Although he himself was quite happy to be robbed he really should cause trouble for their public servants. Gu Xi turned the phone around in his hand and sent a message to the company. He counted to five silently and a call came in.
“President Fang, I’m in a bad mood right now. You’d better think about what you’re going to say first, otherwise I can’t guarantee that I won’t blow my top and just run off to somewhere no one would find me.”
Without waiting for the other side to speak, Gu Xi had already cut off his words. He closed the balcony door tightly and flicked the cigarette between his fingers.
He turned the limited edition zippo in his palm. The exquisite metal shell flipped open, knocking out a crisp sound. The tongue of flame rose up as though pouncing.
Gu Xi took a puff of smoke and exhaled slowly.
The sound of it passed through the phone clearly and Fang Kun, on the other side of the phone, choked back hard his frustrated and vexed reprimands. His breathing was obviously heavy but he was still sensibly stayed silent.
Everyone in the circle knows that Gu Xi smokes but he doesn’t smoke often. Even when socializing, he would permit others to do so out of mere politeness. He never makes an exception for anyone.
And the only time he would willingly smoke was only when his mood was extremely bad.
Fang Kun gritted his teeth for a long while. When he had barely managed to calmed down his tone, he said, “Look at you. What are you talking about? The company had been worried about you for half the night. Now, I’m just calling to ask how you are and you’re thinking of running of somewhere… …”
“So much the better.”
Gu Xi put his left hand outside the window and slowly twisted the cigarette between his fingers. He didn’t smoke any more and merely watched the smoke being blown away by the night wind, “President Fang, this matter caused a lot of commotion…”
“The case has just been withdrawn from the police and the company will remove the hot search tonight.”
He had been handed the topic, Fang Kun immediately responded. In a tone that seemed as though he were doing it for Gu Xi’s his sake, he continued to exhort with seemingly meaningful and heartfelt words, “It’s not good at this matter has become this big a commotion. If this gets out, they would say that you were deliberately setting this up to get sympathy from the fans. The company will help you deal with it and there won’t be any impact. Don’t worry.”
Gu Xi smiled thinly.
Why would he even need to pretend to be wronged?
Listening to the words coming from the other end of the line, taking him for a fool, Gu Xi dropped his gaze and interrupted the other party’s endless talk.
“President Fang, I must insist on getting a statement from those people who snuck onto my property. If someone tries to brush this off as sasaeng fans or a burglary to fool me, I might get so angry that I might just report to the case to the police.”
He is now surrounded by negative news and normal people couldn’t see amidst the clouds and mists. If he could clarify the identities of those people and confirm that someone was out to blacken his reputation, then those sewage that had been spilled upon him before would also be put into question once again.
If this news broke out, while it might not be completely harmless to him, the benefits would definitely outweigh any harm.
The company doesn’t care about him. They must let him find his own way.
Fang Kun’s words stalled. He couldn’t help but say hesitantly, “Gu Xi, listen to me–”
“I can’t stop you from withdrawing the hot search. If there’s any other shady business, you don’t need to bother to file a report with me.”
The corners of Gu Xi’s lips ticked up and his voice was cold, “It’s just that I’d like to remind you, President Fang, that what people do the heavens watch. If I’m photographed by paparazzi, at most, my reputation would suffer a blow. If you, though, are photographed by paparazzi someday, it will be very big trouble…”
Before Fang Kun was completely irritated, he hung up the phone. He flicked the ash off his cigarette. The light in his eyes had gone completely cold.
When he left his phone off earlier, it was to see just how far his still could-barely-be-considered-as agency’s plans for him had gone.
He had done nothing more than to shut off his phone in the middle of Fang Kun’s tirade and gone unreachable afterwards. Even Liang Yuan, that pedantic blockhead, could guess that he was simply in a terrible mood and had gone off someplace quiet. Fang Kun was the president of Yikun Entertainment. It was impossible that he’d be scared out of his wits by such a simple matter; even to the extent that he’d filed a report with the police that very night.
The only explanation was that Fang Kun knew he would encounter an incident tonight but he didn’t know how big it would be.
His villa was in the mountains some sections of the road could be quite treacherous. If you weren’t careful, your car might overturn and fall off the edge.
That Fang Kun could be scared enough to report to the police indicates that by Fang Kun’s estimation, there was at least the possibility of an accident.
Hi old boss who had used him as a cash cow for fifteen years was not only watching on as his reputation was blackened but was already colluding behind his back with the people out to get him and had sold him out.
*
Yikun Entertainment.
In the general manager’s office, the dropped microphone was half-suspended in the air. Fang Wei had on a dark expression and the ashtray had already been smashed into several pieces on the ground.
“President Fang…”
Mao Chuan, standing to the side was trembling and he cautiously leaned over to pass him a cigarette. His hand was slapped away coldly. “Ignorant ingrate!”
He didn’t know if Fang Wei was talking about Gu Xi or himself and Mao Chuan shuddered. He then quickly retracted his hand, laughing fearfully, “President Fang, Gu Xi has such a bad temper. When Li Feng and I were with him, we quickly became used to being wronged. There is no need for you to lower yourself to his level…”
Fang Wei sneered. “Looks like you’ve managed to properly memorize and deliver that line of yours.”
Gu Xi practically grew up in Yikun Entertainment. Everyone knew his temperament. Although he’s always had his own way of thinking, so long as his bottom line wasn’t crossed, he has always been kind to others, amiable to the point of being indulgent.
Over the years, Mao Chuan, this agent, had been secretly using Gu Xi to fish for a quick buck. His cousin, Gu Xi’s assistant, was also the type to fish for three days and to sundry his net for two. Anywhere else, he wouldn’t have lasted for long.
This rhetoric of his could be used to bluff outsiders but to Fang Wei it was as good as spouting nonsense.
Mao Chuan bowed even lower, a smile on his face.
“I’ve said it many time now and I and others have come to believe it which makes it’s true… President Fang, don’t worry. He’s just acting tough on the phone. Doesn’t he not want an assistant anymore? Let’s just follow his wishes and take even his personal assistants away. Once he goes to the set and discovers that there’s no one to take care of him anymore, we will see how long he can endure.”
Gu Xi debuted at the age of fifteen. At shooting sites, he has always been the moon all the stars cup themselves around. The nanny car was always pre-prepared. Food and lodging were all taken care of. After his scenes, there was water and a chair to sit on. If he’s tired, there’s a place for him to lie down and rest. These things were unremarkable when there was someone who took care of them. If suddenly, there was no one to handle them, it would be all-around discomfort.
Now Gu Xi can still spout a few firm and unyielding statements. When he arrives on the set tomorrow and suffers a few days of hardship, he will know to bow his head to them.
Hearing his words, Fang Wei’s expression finally improved. He glanced at Mao Chuan. “Look for a few people on the set and add a couple more roadblocks for him. I’ll see how long he lasts.”
Mao Chuan quickly agreed and wanted to speak again but seeing Fang Wei’s faintly impatient expression, he consciously shut up. He tidied up the mess on the ground and got up to leave.
The office door was carefully closed and Fang Wei drew out a cigarette and lit it. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes.
There was something amiss in Gu Xi’s last few statements. It seems that he has already figured something out.
He was nominally the president of Yikun Entertainment but in fact he was just a general manager working for others. Even if Gu Xi earns 100 million for the company, it had nothing to do with him. But the hard, cold cash paid to blacken Gu Xi was something that went straight to his pockets.
Gu Xi has half a year before the end of his contract and anyone with half a brain could guess that he was going to terminate the contract and fly solo. For these next six months, either to pressure him severely or to just let him be and use the current public opinion to force him to renew his contract, the use of company methods was perfectly justifiable.
But he had taken the money, indulged others to scheme against Gu Xi and even secretly cooperated to push the wave and add to the billows. If this matter was found out by the elusive real boss behind Yikun Entertainment, he was definitely going to get it.
After taking a drag of his cigarette, Fang Wei’s eyes flashed fiercely and he forcefully snuffed out the cigarette against the table.
Without any evidence, Gu Xi can only hold his nose and behave himself while he gets slaughtered. Paparazzi were all there to take pictures of celebrities at their worst. How could one be so bored as to snap photos of Fang Wei himself?
They were just harsh words Gu Xi threw out to scare him. Even a sharp edge can be worn down to behave after a few lessons on the shooting site.
He was going to see what else that Film Emperor Gu, who was served upon since he was young, could do besides acting.
*
Gu Xi could also memorize his lines.
Worried that Lu Qingzhou might be woken by the noise, Film Emperor Gu cautiously and conscientiously recited his lines for half the night on the balcony. Only when he was sleepy to the point being dazed did he return to the room and sleep on the sofa without even changing out of his clothes.
As an actor, there weren’t very many who haven’t trained themselves to fall asleep anytime and anywhere. The sofa was already comfortable enough. He still had to get up early the next day to get to the set. There was no need to sleep on a bed. If he fell too soundly asleep, he might not be able to get up.
Gu Xi wrapped the blanket around him. He turned off the work lamp, yawned and closed his eyes.
It was a dreamless night.
Early the next day, Film Emperor Gu sat up, awakened by the ringing of his phone. He took off the eye mask he had put on who knows when. He found to his horror that he was actually already lying in bed.
The curtains were half-drawn and his clothes were neatly folded to the side. Probably because he slept so comfortably, he didn’t feel even a trace of the headache he usually had after staying up all night. He had obviously only slept for a few hours but his body felt a lot more relaxed than he had felt in a long time.
Still badly shaken, Film Emperor Gu sat dazedly in bed, starting blankly at the incoming call.
Thanks to this incoming call, not only did he no oversleep but now, he had ample enough time to take a shower, change into his clothes and clean himself up before he needed to rush to the set.
On the screen, it openly displayed “Paparazzo Lu Qingzhou”. It finally confirmed for him that what happened last night was not a dream. But the little paparazzo who was supposed to be sleeping on the bed was missing, gone without a trace. Instead, he himself had gotten himself put to bed. This development still made it a little difficult for him to relax.
With his thoughts still sluggish, Gu Xi’s hand had already well-behavedly picked up the phone and swiped down to answer. “Qingzhou–?”
“Are you awake?”
The voice on the other end of the line was still clear and pleasant to the ear. His tone was still mild as he scrupulously and methodically reprimanded him sternly, “I bought you breakfast. Remember to eat. And it’s a bad habit to not sleep properly on a bed. You will need to change that.”
He then noticed the breakfast on the table. The shrimp dumplings were translucent and glistening. The custard buns were still giving off steam. There was freshly-squeezed soy milk in a glass; a cover had even been especially placed on top of it to trap the heat. Underneath scentless paper napkins had been carefully laid out.
Gu Xi’s chest was filled with silent warmth and his voice softened, “Okay, I won’t forget.”
The other side was quiet for a while, probably smiling. He then said warmly, “It’s not convenient for me to make an appearance right now so I left first. I’ll come look for you later.”
Without waiting for a response, Lu Qingzhou had already hung up.
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Gu Xi held the phone in a daze for a moment. He shook his head, smiled and changed the little paparazzo’s name on his phone to ‘Qingzhou’. He got up and put on his clothes.
No matter how you listened to it, those were the lines delivered by those domineering CEO-type characters that he had played before; those CEO-types who would coaxed the little lady after a one night stand. Unexpectedly, when those lines were set off with a particularly gentle and clean tone, it left only an open and earnest adorableness which made him almost unable to react for a while.
There was still a smile in Film Emperor Gu’s eyes. He held his trousers and had them raised halfway up when he suddenly stopped.
……Something wasn’t right.
Even the plot was alike.
After he fell asleep on the sofa last night, something disasterous must have happened. It was most likely that Lu Qingzhou moved him to the bed, helped him put on the eye mask, drew the curtains and cleaned the room.
He even went so far as to strip him naked.
Film Emperor Gu, who claimed to have led someone to check into a hotel room, pulled up his pants and sat on the bed, falling deep in thought.
He might still have been robbed.
*
With this worry weighing on his mind, Film Emperor Gu ate breakfast. He drove to the set, still a little worried.
The hotel was close and when he arrived on the set, it was still early. As soon as the stage was set up, Gu Xi made his appearance and he was met with greetings made in fear and trepidation.
With a gentle smile, Gu Xi made his round of greetings. Gu Xi was bored and he didn’t linger outside for too long before turning around and entering the dressing room.
He rose to fame early and although he was only a few years older than the current teen idols, he had enough seniority to be given priority on a lot of matters. No matter how Gu Xi tried his best to be kind and amiable, the crew members were still reverent and respectful when they saw him and he couldn’t get them to feel closer towards him.
Mao Chuan had been the one to coax him into accepting this drama. At the time, he’d been going through challenging experiences performing in a semi-sealed off set in a mountainous region. Mao Chuan had been vague on the phone. He said that the schedule for the whole play was only one month and the price was good. Seeing that the script was well written, he casually decided to accept it.
Only after he arrived did he realized that although the script was brilliantly written, it was to be shot by an unknown second-rate team. It’s budget had been used to pay for coffee-positions and the budget for all other aspects of the drama was so tight that pulling the lapels would expose the elbows. The actors they got for the show were well-known but they were all just teen idols that relied on their face to make a living. There were only a scant number of them who could even actually memorize their lines. They constantly couldn’t match up with his level of performance and their acting would frequently end up in shambles.
In the bottom of Gu Xi’s heart, there was a persistent belief in what it was to be an actor. When he encountered a scene that no one could possibly stand, Gu Xi would take the initiative to call out NG and he would take the other party to repeat it several times.
This was how the scandal of “bullying newcomers” and “playing diva” came about.
If it were just trivial rumors, ignoring it would have been enough to make it go away. At this point, Gu Xi too began to simply just concentrate on the task. All he wanted was to act out his role well. He will strive to survive the remaining half month and if he managed to extricate himself from this safely then he would consider that a win.
When he first stepped into the show business circle, this circle still hadn’t been all about amusement above all else.
The makeup artist was busying around but the makeup he put on was lackluster. Gu Xi looked at himself in the mirror, resisting the urge to correct him. No matter how he ruined his make-up, Gu Xi simply closed his eyes and leaned back on his seat.
The more he said, the more mistakes he would make.
He already didn’t have a lot of patience left in him.
The sky was bright, everyone was here, the curtain was about to rise on another busy and bustling day.
Most of today’s scenes were monodramas but this was actually easier than acting together with those two-bit actors.
He’d had a good rest last night and he successfully memorized his lines. Gu Xi got into character very quickly. Under the dazzling sun, he delivered explosive monologues in one go. Sweat was already starting to stain through his shirt.
Since he’d been handed this drama, he will regard his performance as giving his fans something to watch that would be worth the price of their admission.
This kind of explosive performance was extremely exhausting. After the last stage of the performance, Gu Xi could hardly even lift his hands. He dragged his feet back to his seat. He wanted to take a break, only to find that the seats underneath the umbrellas were already occupied.
Gu Xi stood there for a moment and the site manager hurried over. “Teacher Gu! I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We had the wrong number of umbrellas today. I didn’t expect you to finish your performance so soon. We’re already getting a new umbrella. Can you just rest under the tree for a while…”
The sun was especially intense today and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky. Gu Xi was dizzy from just standing under the sun. He gave no verbal answer. He simply nodded and walked towards the deck chair under the tree.
The site manager offered him iced sour plum juice with a smile on his face. He apologized again and again. Gu Xi waved his hand to send the person away. He took one sip of the sour plum juice and set it aside.
The crew’s sour plum juice was made form powdered concentrate. It was so cloyingly sweet and he has never liked to drink this kind of thing. Not to mention, those high-intensity roars in several of the scenes have already strained his vocal chords and drinking this would only cause more pain in his throat.
The leaves couldn’t entirely block out the sun. Dazzling light fell through the gaps and the wind wafting around him was hot.
Gu Xi squinted his eyes, wiped the sweat from his forehead and fanned himself with his copy of the script. From out the corner of his eyes, he could see several people already with taunting sneers on their faces.
This was so senseless.
He was already past the age when he would get angry because of such disgusting tricks. Gu Xi pursed the corners of his lips coldly. He fished through his backpack, wanting to get something to drink. He put his hand in, fishing about, when his movements suddenly stopped.
It’s a plastic lunch box so cold it almost chilled his hand.
Gu Xi was taken aback for a moment. Then, he took out the lunch box and opened it.
It was a whole box of ice cream. It was also filled to the brim with beautifully cut pieces of fruit. When he opened the lid of the lunch box, a small fan sprang up automatically, spraying cool and refreshing water mist. It buzzed as it shifted towards him.
Under the burning hot sun, Gu Xi clearly felt piercing looks turn towards him. Around him came the vague sounds of people gulping down their saliva.
Translator’s note:
Next chapter will be on Friday. orz