Chapter 21 - My Costar Causes Trouble For Me

Yao Shen gets himself together enough to return to set and finish shooting the scene without any more issues.

Even Xin Hulei is oddly quiet, instead of imparting on him his usual 'professional actor' takes. Probably due to residual awkwardness of what happened between them. Either that or Yao Shen has finally nailed down Yan Shuyi's character -- enough to meet Xin Hulei's exacting standards.

That seems less likely.

He's relieved when he gets another break, but not to see Bi Jialu approach him with a phone in hand.

"No, not again," he says, shaking his head in denial. "I don't care if my sex tape is trending on weibo, I simply don't want to hear it."

Bi Jialu goes deathly pale. "Laoshi, it's a conference call, HuaHua higher ups are on the line," she says covering the speaker with her hand.

Something that would have come in handy when Yao Shen was screaming about sex tapes.

He takes the phone from Bi Jialu's and holds it to his ear. "Hello," he says, making it sound like a question and grimacing into the screen.

He hears a series of loud coughs from the other end of the line, and then a woman's voice.

"Yao laoshi, for future reference, when you're told to build a good rapport with a fellow actor, that doesn't mean jumping into bed with them," she says, tone clipped.

"I didn't-"

A man's gruff voice cuts him off. "This is very troublesome for us, we don't want to be implicated in any scandals..."

Right, they're probably worried Yao Shen is going to air the dirty laundry online and say he was somehow pushed into sleeping with Xin Hulei by his agency.

They can rest easy on that front, Yao Shen has had enough online public exposure to last him a lifetime. He just wants to be recognized as an actor, he can leave all the drama for the idols and the traffic stars.

"I can guarantee-"

Another voice chimes in. "And what talk was that about sex tapes? Is that something we need to worry about, too?"

Yao Shen lets out a silent groan. "No, that was nothing just me venting over how uncomfortable this situation makes me feel."

It's a good thing he isn't expecting sympathy because he doesn't get it.

"Frankly, laoshi should have thought about that before doing things he can't take back," the woman says, in that same clipped tone. "We won't be issuing any statements or trying to have the photos scrapped, as that will only draw more attention to it. The best is to ignore it and not say anything."

One of the men, the one who sounds like a smoker cuts in, "Of course, Xin Hulei's management can do whatever they want...," he trails off, non-too discreetly.

The woman picks the thread back up. "But it would be best if we were all in agreement..."

Yao Shen tightens the phone against his ear. The implications are obvious, 'since you're literally in bed with him, put in a good word so his agency will follow the same PR line as us.'

"Sure, I understand," Yao Shen says, through gritted teeth.

There's an exchange of more contrived platitudes that he barely hears, and then the call is over.

He returns the phone to Bi Jialu without another world and makes his way towards the next shooting location, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

---

Yao Shen is getting himself ready for another lunch on his own, walking towards his trailer with a tray from the canteen in hand when he bumps into Gao Wu, coming in from the same direction.

"Gege, I'm so glad I found you, I was wondering if we could have lunch together," he asks, an infectious grin pulling at his lips.

Yao Shen is actually relived he won't have to spend another lunch hour on his own, and since they'll be eating in his trailer, there's no chance of Xin Hulei barging in and making things awkward.

He's even more relieved as it becomes apparent, over the course of the meal that Gao Wu has no idea of the whole mess with Xin Hulei and the photo leaks on weibo.

He allows himself to relax and just enjoy his meal in the company of a fellow actor.

"I'm looking forward to having more scenes with gege," Gao Wu says, smiling softly. "I've seen some of the dailies, and I think gege is great as Yan Shuyi."

Yao Shen colours slightly at the praise. Gao Wu might have been in the industry for a shorter time, but he's already well regarded by many, his previous roles got a lot of recognition, so to hear his appreciation of Yao Shen's acting makes him a little flustered.

"Thank you, I look forward to that too," Yao Shen says, picking at his food a little distractedly.

If he had to have an ill-advised one-night stand with a cast member why couldn't it have been Gao Wu instead? At least he knows things wouldn't be that awkward between them.

"Oh right, there are two other production crews filming in Hengdian at the same time as us, and one of them is throwing a little after hours wrap party." He smiles. "Does gege want to come?"

Meeting the combined cast of two other dramas sounds a little intimidating, but then again, there will be so many people around, no one will probably pay him any attention.

It would be nice to relax and get his mind out of all the craziness of the last days.

"Sure, why not."

Gao Wu's infectious smile widens. "Then, gege, I'll give you a ride from the hotel."

---

They're leaving the trailer together when they stumble into none other than Xin Hulei, his hand raised as if to knock on the door.

"I was looking for you," he says, staring at Yao Shen with an unreadable expression.

Yao Shen lowers his eyes. Why is he feeling guilty for being caught alone with Gao Wu? There's nothing going on between them, and even if there was, how would that be Xin Hulei's problem?

"Get in then," he says, stepping back into the trailer so Xin Hulei can step inside.

"I'll take our trays back gege," Gao Wu says, taking the tray from Yao Shen's hand and stacking it on top of his own. "I'll see you later."

Yao Shen says his goodbyes too. Relieved Gao Wu hasn't told Xin Hulei about the party -- he hopes he doesn't go.

"What is it?" he asks sitting down on the small cot, and rubbing his nose bridge with a long-suffering expression.

"My agency wants us to do a joint statement denying any rumors of a relationship and explaining away the content in the photos," Xin Hulei says, leaning his hip into the counter as if he's completely at ease in Yao Shen's trailer.

Yao Shen stiffens at his words. The HuaHua bigwigs specifically told him they didn't want to go that route.

He swallows dryly, his throat clicking. "Uh, can you talk them into changing their minds?"

Xin Hulei gives Yao Shen a quiet once-over and crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Why would I do that? What's in it for me?"