Chapter 154 - My Costar Gets A Mysterious Call

The speculation under that dubious "news" post is absolutely wild. Yao Shen's blood cools as he reads through every comment, watching in horror as all the previous rumours and online gossip about him and Xin Hulei coalesce into the driving force behind the new wave of speculation.

While before only a few avid shippers and fans of the original novel were really invested in the possibility of him and Xin Hulei being in a relationship, now, everyone online seems to take it as a fact that they are. Those rumours and fan wishful thoughts are now taken as proof that there is something between Xin Hulei and Yao Shen. 

Their relationship is believed to be the reason behind Gao Wu's death. A claim so wild and unsubstantiated that Yao Shen can't understand how ten people would believe it, let alone thousands of them.

Apparently, Xin Hulei was so overcome by jealousy that he just had to kill Gao Wu.

[Simply Sweetie: It all makes sense! Remember all those photos of him with Tan Liansi and with his blond Personal Assistant, that was him trying to make Yao Shen jealous!]

[Your daddy: You guys are being very naive about all this. Treating it like some romantic melodrama. Yao Shen has probably been in a relationship with Gao Wu from the start. Those first pictures of him and Xin Hulei must have happened after XHL asked him out for a dinner, just as colleagues, but his real intention was to get YS drunk to see if he got lucky. Which he did. Not a surprise, YS looks easy haha]

[Yummy melons in my tummy: We're all thinking XHL did it, but what if it was YS to prevent GW from telling everyone what a two-timing cheating whore he is hahaha?]

[Anglerfish: this is serious, a person is dead. We're not supposed to be making jokes about it.]

[Yummy melons in my tummy: stop being so sanctimonious, we don't know any of these people, so don't pretend to feel sympathy when you don't. Anyway, the entertainment industry is so sordid anyway, they get what they deserve]

[Canned Sardine: I don't know, all of this seems like a big reach. I mean, YS and XHL went together on that tv show to expose actual criminals. You'd think that if they were hiding something, they wouldn't expose themselves so publicly]

[Eager beaver: or maybe they just did that so that everyone would be like you and think such good people couldn't possibly have committed a crime. Don't be an idiot, these people know everything about manipulating public opinion]

[Canned Sardine: do they? does this look like it? you guys are just addicted to conspiracy theories, get help]

[Butterfly: At least if they get arrested my two babies will still be together in jail <333]

Yao Shen can't handle any more nonsense, and throws the phone away in disgust.

Xin Hulei pulls him against his chest on the sofa and wraps him up in a tight hug. 

"Don't let it affect you. Those people don't know you."

Yao Shen closes his eyes and tightens his fingers on the back of Xin Hulei's shirt, inhaling his crisp clean scent in the hopes of settling is frayed nerves.

"They sure talk like they do."

"Neither of us is responsible for Gao Wu's death. The police won't find any clues. The court of public opinion still can't send anyone to jail."

Everything Xin Hulei said is true, but only technically. There are several variables they couldn't control.

But one thing did reassure Yao Shen. "Even if they send us to jail it's not like they can keep us there. We'll always have Youdu."

Xin Hulei let out a huff of amusement, and cradled Yao Shen's head against his neck. "We'll always have Youdu."

Not that Yao Shen wanted to go to Youdu and take up the mantle of ghost king. All the manoeuvring he did was exactly to ensure he didn't have to. He has worked so hard to get where he is, and now all of that could go up in smoke.

"Stop that," Xin Hulei says kissing Yao Shen softly on the side of the head. "This will blow over, everything does."

Yao Shen nods, and follows Xin Hulei when he walks towards the bedroom, but personally he doesn't think it will be that easy.

Nothing has blown over ever since they've started shooting the drama. If anything, the rumours have only grown in intensity staying dormant for a while before the next one brings everything to the surface like a chain reaction.

That night, sleep doesn't come easily for Yao Shen, and once again his plans to spend some quality adult time with Xin Hulei are ruined by external forces.

He has some more nightmares. This time he's standing in a dark room, all by himself as one by one giant eyes start opening all around him, staring him down intently, until the weight of their joined gaze crushes him awake.

---

Xin Hulei is making breakfast when his mobile rings. That's the first sign of alarm for Yao Shen, who lifts his head at the sound like a well-trained dog. Xin Hulei always leaves his phone on silent. Which means that despite his reassurances to Yao Shen yesterday he isn't as optimistic as he claims.

Yao Shen watches Xin Hulei's face change as whoever called him talks on the other end of the line. His expression goes from neutral-apathetic to neutral-reserved, which doesn't mean anything good.

"I'll get back to you," it's all Xin Hulei says before disconnecting the call.

"Who was it?" Yao Shen asks, trying to sound casual but vibrating with anxiety.

"I'll tell you when we get home later," Xin Hulei says, just as casually but much more believably.

Yao Shen tries to plead with him, but he only gets a peck on the forehead, and a whispered. "We'll be late."

---

That day on set is awful. 

Everyone already knows about Gao Wu's death, and worst of all, about the rumours. 

Yao Shen comes very close to understanding how a leper in medieval Europe must have felt. All conversations hush the minute he approaches. He tries not to take offence to any of it, but it's hard when he can feel himself being excluded.

Even Director Chen is particularly curt with him, as if it's his fault one of his actors is dead, and couldn't Yao Shen and Xin Hulei have waited until filming was over to settle their romantic disputes?

At lunch he sits with Ye Fang and Tan Liansi, who at least are supportive.

Perhaps too supportive, in Tan Liansi's case.

"Those basement dwelling dog bastards, of course they have nothing better to do than spend their days talking shit and spreading it on social media," she growls over a bowl of lukewarm lamian in the middle of the mess hall, loud enough for everyone in the nearby tables to hear. "There's so much to do online, but instead of being productive, studying a new language, or reading, those dogs only know how to pull conspiracy theories out of their asses."

A few people on the next table over are giving them odd looks, but for once Yao Shen doesn't mind Tan Liansi's loudness. She's ruining her public sweetheart, cute girl, persona but it doesn't look like she gives a shit. Somehow Yao Shen is oddly touched by that.

Ye Fang looks touched too, but in different ways. She looks up at Tan Liansi with wide eyes. "Jiejie is so cool. "Basement dwelling dog bastards", I would never have come up with such a cool insult."

Yao Shen cringes into his bowl. Having a crush is so embarrassing, he's feeling very powerful waves of second-hand embarrassment for Ye Fang. 

He's glad he's way past that and fully in love with Xin Hulei now.

Which reminds him. "Have you seen Hulei?" he asks, interrupting Tan Liansi's tirade in the middle.

"I just saw him while we were filming, I thought he was coming to lunch too."

Xin Hulei doesn't come for lunch, and since Yao Shen doesn't have any scenes scheduled with him he doesn't see him for the rest of the day.

---

Finally, Xin Hulei shows up at the hotel room to take Yao Shen back to the apartment. His face is more shuttered than usual and there's a knot of tension between his eyebrows that Yao Shen isn't used to seeing.

Yao Shen holds in the questions bursting out of him until they arrive in the middle of the living room, at which point he blurts out: "Ok, what's happening? Where have you been all day, what was that call about?"

Xin Hulei gives him a look. "I've been trying to do damage control all day between shots. That was my manager earlier this morning. He says this situation has attracted too much attention to our agency, and that we can't handle a police investigation since none of our fake identities will hold up to that kind of investigation."

That's the most Xin Hulei has said at once in a long time, and it makes Yao Shen nervous.

"Ok, and what does that mean?" 

"They want me to make a post publicly denying our relationship."