CH 416

Crowds were everywhere outside the movie festival’s main hall. This was just a preliminary event but there were already so many reporters. There were cheers everywhere. The actors hurried towards the main hall. Under the spotlight, everyone showcased their best side.

“Xia Yilan!”

“Big sister, look this way!”

“How can a person be so beautiful?”

Not only her fans, even the pedestrians and event workers were shocked at how time left no trace on Xiao Yilan. Her skin was still as smooth as a young girl’s. She smiled sincerely at everyone. Compared to 10 years ago, Xia Yilan now was loved even more. She not only possessed impossible beauty but also an air of maturity. Standing in the spotlight, she was like a flawless goddess. Every movement she did captured people’s attention. Gentle, beautiful, mature, sexy, she exposed herself as much as possible before the cameras like she couldn’t wait for people to see her beauty. Seeing the shock and admiration in the fans and pedestrians’ eyes, Xia Yilan was very satisfied.

“Hello, I’m Han Fei.” A voice began behind Xia Yilan. The voice was light with a chilling undertone. Xia Yilan was awakened from the cheers of her fans and turned to look beside her.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” After the very direct self-introduction, Han Fei was about to continue his questioning when he was stumped. He saw Xia Yilan’s face up close. The face was incredibly beautiful and there was no flaw but Han Fei shivered. For a fleeting moment, Han Fei saw Xiayi. These two women’s faces overlapped and they were bound together by little worms that looked like ropes.

With his nose twitching, when Han Fei was near Xia Yilan, he also picked up a scent of decomposition. The scent was very weak and it was covered up by the expensive perfume. Han Fei couldn’t tell exactly where it came from.

There were security guards everywhere so Xia Yilan was not afraid, she just didn’t like other people getting too close to her. There was annoyance in her eyes but when she saw Han Fei, her expression changed immediately.

Han Fei stopped talking, it was like he was charmed by Xia Yilan and stood there dumbly.

‘Perhaps he has not seen someone so beautiful before?’ Xia Yilan couldn’t be faulted for thinking that way because she had experienced many incidents like this in the past.

“Han Fei? I’ve seen you in Twin Flowers. Among the young actors, you are the best.” Xia Yilan had a very melodious voice too. Her compliment was kind. The annoyance in her eyes disappeared. Before the cameras, Xia Yilan was perfect. She very naturally reached out towards Han Fei as if trying to create the impression that they were friends and was going to enter the venue hall together. Xia Yilan believed that if they were shot walking into the main hall together, it would get people talking.

As the senior in the industry, she had to be gentle and kind to her junior. Xia Yilan’s face was full of smiles but when her hand was about to reach Han Fei, Han Fei stepped involuntarily backwards. The smile froze on Xia Yilan’s face, she had never experienced something like this before.

‘Is he serious?’ It would be so awkward if she left her hand hanging in mid air so Xia Yilan forced herself to take one more step forward and then patted Han Fei’s arm as if trying to smooth out the creases on his suit. When Xia Yilan came close, Han Fei got a clearer whiff of decomposition. It came from Xia Yilan.

“Do you have something to ask me? Let’s walk and talk.” Xia Yilan looked at Han Fei’s confused face. She still didn’t understand the severity of the situation. Han Fei touched his nose lightly. He picked up the scent of the cryptic world on Xia Yilan. He thought that this unique scent of decomposition would only exist in the cryptic world.

Walking beside Xia Yilan, Han Fei kept glancing sideways to study Xia Yilan. This woman was like an apple created by the witch. She looked perfect on the outside but rotten on the inside. To preserve her beauty, Xia Yilan probably had to pay some kind of price.

Han Fei took a deeper sniff and he realized the scent on Xia Yilan was rather unique. It didn’t give Han Fei a sense of danger but it made him feel uncomfortable and nauseous. Maintaining a fixed distance between them, Han Fei kept his fingers behind his back, ready for any nasty surprises.

Xia Yilan had no idea what Han Fei was thinking but she knew that Han Fei was sneaking glances at her. She didn’t expose him. In fact her lips curled upwards. Being stared at by a handsome, incredibly young actor with great potential, it satisfied her sense of ego. She thought Han Fei was charmed by her beauty.

Both of them carried different thoughts as they headed into the main hall. Bai Xian who followed behind them appeared awkward. He didn’t anticipate Han Fei, who had social anxiety, to get so close to Xia Yilan so soon. There were reporters everywhere so the actors didn’t dare to act out of place. Han Fei didn’t speak again until they almost reached the entrance to the main hall. As Xia Yilan prepared to leave, he stopped her. Seeing Han Fei hold himself in until the last moment to stop her from leaving, Xia Yilan chuckled to herself. “This is your first time attending an event like this, right? Don’t be so nervous. This is my virtual name card. Let’s be friends.”

“Are you sure?” Most of Han Fei’s friends didn’t know how to breathe and had body temperature lower than 0.

“This season’s best new actor award is definitely yours. Plus Director Zhang values you greatly, it’s only a matter of time until you become an A-list actor. By then, I wouldn’t be able to get close to you anymore.” Xia Yilan smiled very gently. However, just as she was about to say something more, someone else walked over.

Xia Yilan said goodbye to Han Fei. She didn’t even glance at the newcomer. The way she treated Han Fei and others was totally different. Her smile was only reserved for those who were useful to her.

“Brother Han!” Zhan Yueyue hurried to Han Fei’s side. Behind him were the crew members from Twin Flowers. “Long time no see! How is it working with Director Zhang? Let me tell you, Director Jiang kicks himself daily from regret. He is so afraid that you won’t work with him anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Director Jiang walked over. He was gratified to see Han Fei. Han Fei was his student, he always thought Han Fei had the potential to go big and he was proven right. “I’ve seen the concept promo for Thriller Novelist several times already. Your acting skill has improved again. When you were in school, I had no idea you were so good.”

Director Jiang was certain that with Han Fei’s talent, he would gain greater popularity after Thriller Novelist was released officially.

“Director Jiang, do you still remember the series of real cases adaptation we’ve discussed earlier? I’ve already come up with a few ideas. After this thing is over, we can start shooting immediately.” When Han Fei was down on his luck, Director Jiang resisted the pressure and gave him the chance. Han Fei knew how to repay other people’s kindness.

“Oh, I don’t think I will be able to afford your hiring you as an actor.” Director Jiang joked. But in reality, he didn’t want to hold Han Fei back from flying high.

“That’s no problem. We’ll just replicate the contract from Twin Flowers. I’ll take a share from the box office. If it fails, we’ll share the burden together; if it succeeds, we’ll all earn.” Han Fei still hadn’t joined any agency. His plan was to find people whom he could trust and open his own agency. The company would make movies for the victims. Han Fei didn’t have confidence in himself in the past but after becoming the building manager, convenience store owner, security guard, teacher, butcher and so on, he believed he could be a successful entrepreneur.

Han Fei chatted with Director Jiang and Zhan Yueyue until the event was about to start. The actors slowly entered the venue. Han Fei took out his phone to look at the time. He was certain that there were some problems with Xia Yilan. The woman’s similarity in appearance to Xiayi was not a coincidence. She was probably related to her death too.

‘Xia Yilan is a public figure. It’ll be hard to get close to her. I better go through law enforcement.’ Han Fei stood outside the hall. He was about to call Li Xue when an annoying voice came from afar.

“Isn’t this Han Fei? I thought you wouldn’t attend events like this. Getting too close to fame and it’ll ruin your persona.” Ah Cheng and the male lead from Secret Urban Romance walked over. Their boss followed behind them talking on his phone. His expression was dark. Han Fei didn’t dignify Ah Cheng with a response. And to be honest, he had forgotten about the names of the other two. He would not waste time on these people.

“You look quite confident. Do you really think the award is yours?” The male lead smiled slickly and then walked past Han Fei into the hall.

“The show is about to start. Those without ‘wings’ will fall hard once they are shot down.” Ah Cheng seemed to know something. Something was definitely planned.

After the two left, their boss was still standing there in the hall. He spoke faster and faster, his expression getting more annoyed. “I’m not coming home tonight, there’s a very important event tonight. If you’re that afraid, move out!

“There is no ghost! You are just scaring yourself. I’m hanging up now, the event is going to start. I’ll repeat myself one last time, the white shoe has nothing to do with me, throw it out now!

“What nonsense! I didn’t bring it home again! It was you who didn’t throw it away. How would I know why it had appeared under the bed? What does that have to do with the boy you saw in your nightmare? I’ll bring you to see the psychiatrist tomorrow! I’m hanging up!” The man hung up but immediately another call came in. The man gritted his teeth and his face turned uglier. “What is it that you want? I’m warning you one last time, stop creating problems for me!” The man held the phone and walked towards the toilet. Veins popped on his forehead, he didn’t look like his usual self at all.

Han Fei glanced at the man. They had met several times, he gave Han Fei a bad impression. Furthermore, based on the clues provided by Jin Jun, Han Fei suspected this was the man who hired Star Shooters to attack him.

‘He aged years even though I haven’t seen him for days only.’ Han Fei was investigating Xia Yilan so he didn’t want to find extra trouble but he was intrigued by something the man mentioned on the phone—the white shoe. In the last selfie Xiayi took of herself, there was a white shoe in it too.

‘A white shoe has appeared at his house?’ The event was about to start. The actors were moving into the hall. The toilet was at the end of the corridor so it was deserted. Han Fei followed the man silently but when the man entered the toilet, Han Fei saw a worker with a paint bucket enter the toilet too. Han Fei frowned, he was certain there was no one else on this corridor before.

‘This venue has no working site so why is there a painter here?’ Han Fei realized the problem immediately. He opened the recording function on his phone and walked towards the toilet. The closer he got, the more unsettled he felt. Perhaps it was the faulty heater, or something else, the temperature at the end of the corridor was very low. Nudging the door open, Han Fei saw no one inside the male toilet. He went to check on the individual stalls, when he reached the 3rd stall, he heard a scream from the female toilet!

‘He’s in the female toilet?’ When Han Fei walked out from the male toilet, he saw Ah Cheng’s boss standing before the mirror in the female toilet. Like a woman, he caressed his face gently. Then his fingers pulled at the edges of his face like he was trying to tear his face off. His cheeks were bleeding but the man didn’t seem to notice it. His expression was coquettish as he studied himself in the mirror. His lips kept repeating the same sentence. “Have you seen Mr. Garden Butterfly in Number 24? A boy wearing white shoes is looking for it.”

The word Butterfly caught Han Fei’s attention immediately. Han Fei walked to accost the man but at the moment, the man inside the female toilet snapped back to normal. He looked at the scars on his face and his expression darkened. “God damn it, what is going on?”