CH 16

After finishing his last job before the new year, Liang Xincheng was completely relaxed. The next drama would only start in early March, so he could rest for nearly a month.

For Liang Xincheng, the Chinese New Year was not very meaningful except for a long vacation. He had not even had a formal Chinese New Year dinner for many years since his parents died in an accident in the second grade of elementary school.

He was an orphan, and after the death of his parents, he was kicked around like a ball among relatives, living a life of hunger and suffering, barely making it through college on the small inheritance his parents left behind. He studied in a very ordinary second-grade school in Beijing, and his major had nothing to do with acting, but he was determined to enter the industry early on.

From the beginning of his freshman year, he used the summer and winter vacations and holidays to run to major film and television cities and film sets to find opportunities. From the group performance without a line or even a lens at the beginning, to the later, when he was lucky, he could also encounter one or two small roles with names. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue and gradually gained performance experience bit by bit.

It was not that no one wanted to provide him with a shortcut, because he actually had many opportunities with that face, but he refused them all and he offended some people as a result. Fortunately, he met Yu Mingxiu later, and his life experience began to turn around for the better.

Liang Xincheng occasionally recalled the past. He never regretted entering this circle, but the reason for choosing this business in the first place might never be mentioned to anyone again.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Liang Xincheng received a call from a friend, asking him to go to a bar for a drink. He had just finished his dinner and was bored with changing the channel to look for a show, so he agreed without much hesitation. He got up and changed his jacket to go out.

He Tianqi was one of Liang Xincheng’s few close friends. He used to be considered a half-circle insider. The two met when they were working together on a film set. Because he couldn’t make money he quit the industry two years ago and opened a bar with a friend, which was doing quite well. Liang Xincheng would pay him a visit whenever he had time.

Although it was the New Year, the bar was very lively and business was better than usual. There were quite a few familiar-looking peers among them. Liang Xincheng wore a hat and mask to keep a low profile, and only greeted He Tianqi before he found a corner to sit down, and let He Tianqi go to work.

He Tianqi had a good personality. Although he had retired from entertainment, he made a lot of friends in this circle. Besides Liang Xincheng, almost all of them were on the 18th line and behind-the-scenes people. These people would often come here to play, and his bar, which was full of people, was also well-known in the circle.

Liang Xincheng slowly sipped his drink, which was specially mixed for him by He Tianqi to suit his taste. He enjoyed the feeling of drinking alone in such a noisy bar; he was neither alone nor disturbed by anyone.

The men and women at the table next to him were chatting loudly about the gossip in the circle. Among them, Liang Xincheng knew a few people who had worked together before but he was not familiar with them. He was too lazy to go over and be polite so he lowered the brim of his hat even lower, not wanting to be recognized.

This group of people seemed to be drinking too much and were a little bit outspoken, and one of them had insider information and kept talking about it. The topic touched on the WeChat voice message incident that happened before, and everyone started talking about it all at once. However, they didn’t expect Liang Xincheng, who was one of the parties, to actually sit next to them.

“That’s not a big deal at all, okay. The real material is not that at all. Let me tell you, the real material obtained by the paparazzi is Xie Qinfeng kissing the same sex on the set. There are photos. Do you know who the target is? It’s the prince of Shengxing, Ding or something, yes, Ding Yao, but it wasn’t exposed. The photo was bought by Xie Qinfeng with money, and he changed it to block the paparazzi’s mouth. That WeChat record was given to them by Xie Qinfeng…”

The audience was stunned and found it unbelievable. The one who broke the news’ face turned crimson with anger. “Why am I lying to you? My best friend is the editor of that studio. This material is absolutely true. Actor Xie and the prince have that kind of relationship!”

Liang Xincheng took a sip of the wine in the glass and frowned slightly.

A picture of Xie Qinfeng and Ding Yao kissing on the set? Did anyone else take the picture?

If the paparazzi got the one he took, how did they get it?

Although his personal mobile phone had a simple password, which was his birthday and was easy to try out, he almost never left it alone. He even rarely gave it to his assistant. The only time it was left in a public place was in a bathroom when he was recording ‘Raiders of Heaven’ and was found by someone else.

Thinking of a certain possibility, Liang Xincheng’s eyes gradually darkened.

He Tianqi, who had gone to greet a group of guests, came over to drink with Liang Xincheng. When he asked how he was doing, Liang Xincheng smiled: “It’s the same. I’m going to join the group again after the New Year, I’ll be busy.”

“That’s pretty good, you finally got through it.” He Tianqi clinked glasses with him. He hesitated a little before he asked him in a low voice, “I saw the gossip on the Internet. The one you’re with, do you really have a fall out with him?”

“There’s nothing to make a fuss about and it’s not falling out, it’s never been good.” Liang Xincheng said indifferently, shaking his head, obviously not wanting to say any more.

He Tianqi didn’t ask any more questions knowingly and drank a glass of wine with him.

Liang Xincheng didn’t stay for long. Before leaving, He Tianqi couldn’t help reminding him again: “Then…just forget it, don’t be too persistent.”

Liang Xincheng buckled the brim of his hat to cover his eyes. He Tianqi only saw the corners of his lips slightly raised: “It’s not that easy.”

When he came out of the bar, Liang Xincheng put on his mask again and pulled up the big hood of his down jacket to cover himself more tightly. He didn’t take a car, but walked aimlessly along the neon-lit street with his hands in his pockets.

There were very few people on the street. Occasionally, there are pairs of couples and a few families passing by. Only Liang Xincheng, in this cold day, late at night on the second day of the new year, was alone on the road, letting the lights lengthen his shadow.

In the distance, the big screen on the skyscraper’s exterior was scrolling with Xia Yuanhang’s picture. Liang Xincheng stopped and looked up intently. He suddenly remembered that today seemed to be Xia Yuanhang’s birthday. He guessed that this was probably a birthday gift from a fan. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Happy birthday.” He mumbled in his heart, turned around and took a selfie with the skyscraper as the background, holding up his phone.

There was only a dazzling white light on the big screen in the photo and the content could not be seen clearly, but he was facing the camera, and the only pair of eyes facing the camera were smiling. Liang Xincheng was very satisfied. He opened his mobile phone Weibo and clicked the upload, sending fans New Year greetings that were two days late.

After posting on Weibo, he stood in place for a while, watching the photos on the big screen scroll through a round, and then started a new round. He took out the fruit candy in his pocket, and peeled out one before stuffing it into his mouth. He tasted the sweet and greasy peach flavor in his mouth, smiled again, and turned to leave.