Chapter 27 – She’s just a little excited

 

“… I’m scared.” Since she was caught, and she had to act out the whole scene, Su Yi decided to strike first to gain the initiative. “Your arm is too hard.”

When she hit, it hurt so much that Su Yi could not help letting out a muffled yell; the couple in front immediately turned around to look.

Chu Ying said, “I’m sorry, she’s just a little excited.”

Su Yi blushed to the tips of her ears.

When the movie was over, after leaving the Cineplex, Su Yi grabbed the door to the shotgun and asked, “Can I drive?”

Chu Ying walked in front of her and stuffed her into the shotgun seat.

This time they did not drive into the parking lot, instead stopping at the main entrance.

Su Yi sat there, asking, “When are you going back to Beijing?”

“In a while,” Chu Ying said. “When is the off day?”

Su Yi took out her phone to check, then turned her face and said honestly, “This Saturday and next Wednesday, I can take days off normally too.”

If Li Min were to hear this, she would probably die of anger.

Chu Ying nodded. “I’ll come pick you up on Saturday.”

“Okay.” Su Yi agreed with a smile, not asking where they would go as she turned around to get  off the car. She had just put her hand on the handle when she stopped, swallowed some saliva and turned around to discuss, “… how about a goodbye kiss?”

Knock, knock, knock!

The security guard knocked on the window. Through the glass, his voice was a little fuzzy as he said, “Sir, you cannot park here for too long.”

Su Yi, subconsciously, turned to look out of the window, when the person beside her caught her face and planted a light kiss on her lips.

Only when the car drove away did Su Yi come back to herself and walked back to the hotel covering her lips.

She was barely a few steps in when she saw a familiar person in the hotel lobby – the person who insisted on making news with her for more than half a month, how could she not find him familiar?

Liang Bo was obviously waiting for her. When he saw her, he started walking towards her.

“Su Yi, we need to talk.” Liang Bo’s voice was harried, clearly annoyed but not daring to blow up at her.

Su Yi stopped and turned around, smiling. “Sure.”

Liang Bo thought that the other would reject him and paused for a second. A while ago his studio had spent time putting up news about him and Su Yi, even contacting a lot of commercial bloggers. But these few days, a few of the big ones were sued and had come to find them to ask for a reason. They even threatened to send out the chat logs and voice recordings if they did not settle this properly.

The previous scenario was easy to deal with, the most they had to do was to explain what had happened and let it be such that this was over. But now that the commercial accounts wanted to bite them back, if they did not settle this, he would be in serious hot water.

“Let’s talk in your room, it’s a little complicated.” He was about to go to the elevator as he finished speaking.

“No need.” Su Yi did not move, standing there. “If you have something, say it here.”

Liang Bo gritted his teeth. His temper was not the best, it was all thanks to the company gift-wrapping him up that he managed to become famous. When he arrived, his agent kept reminding him to keep his temper in check and discuss this properly with Su Yi.

“Alright,” he said. “I won’t beat around the bush, tell me, what would you consider an end to this?”

Su Yi pretended to be confused. “What?”

Liang Bo said, “… attempting to garner attention.”

“Oh – that’s not something you should come ask me,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you make that happen? Cooking up the news, getting a bunch of people to make it big news, that was all service you bought out by yourself.”

“You…” Liang Bo frowned. “Just tell me, what do you want, money or resources? Though, my resources would not be as good as your boyfriend’s.” When he reached the end, there was some ridicule in his tone.

If it was someone else, he would not be as worried, but the other was Chu Corporation. He had no idea how Su Yi had got onto that ark.

Su Yi sneered. “I’m sorry, I lack neither. I never participated in this, it’s useless for you to come find me.”

Liang Bo said, “Bringing me down, what good does that bring you?”

“Don’t, I have nothing to do with you, no relationship at all. If someday you fall through, I’m not taking the blame.” Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to continue talking with him and prepared to leave.

She did not expect the other to suddenly, roughly, grab her arm.

There were paparazzi following Su Yi all around so he could not act rashly. All he did was sneer. “I came to find you because I intended to give you face, to give you a way out… do you think I can do nothing else? Once this is out, all I stand to lose is some fans, maybe I’d have to give away some money, but you should know – in this industry, it’s too easy to tarnish a woman’s reputation. Particularly a woman like you, hailing from a poor family, who managed to make it to the second female lead of some huge IP for your first show…”

Slap –

A loud slap resounded in the lobby.

Even the receptionists still helping the guests check in and the other staff were attracted by the sound.

Liang Bo’s face was still tilted, his cheeks burning and his expression surprised, as if he had yet to react.

In a moment, he turned his face back, raising his voice a few degrees. “You dare hit me?!” As he finished speaking, he raised his hand, prepared to return the hit.

Slap –

Another slap.

This time, both sides of his face were a matching pair of red. Liang Bo was completely dumb smacked.

He did not expect Su Yi to suddenly get angry, even less that she would dare hit to him a second time.

Su Yi did not hold back both times, using all the strength in her body. Her hand still hurt from hitting him.

Liang Bo came back to himself and raised his fists up high. “You…”

His fist had yet to come down when his arms were caught by a person behind him. His shoulders were immediately twisted, and he was forced to turn around, but before he could see the person clearly he was thrown to the floor. He had yet to get over that when he was kneed on the back, hurting him enough to scream in pain.

Su Yi watched the person in front and paused. “Why did you come back?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she understood it, because the man who was suppressing Liang Bo was carrying a small white pommel sling bag, one that horribly clashed with his image, yet somehow made him look cute in a funny way.

Chu Ying did not let up on his hands. “You left your bag in the car.”

Soon the security guard came over. Chu Ying got up, Liang Bo still screeching on the floor.

The security guard had found Su Yi very familiar just now, but now that he saw Liang Bo he understood what was going on. He helped Liang Bo up, asking in a low voice, “Are you okay, do you need me to call the police for you?”

Liang Bo was incensed. Without a second word, he tried to punch Chu Ying’s face, but was intercepted by his agent who had rushed over.

 Despite raising his hands thrice, Liang Bo had not managed to punch anything. It was possible to just imagine how upset he was.

The agent was smiling as he apologised. “Excuse us Director Chu, he just had some alcohol and is drunk, forgive us! I’m taking him away now!”

Liang Bo had taken many hard photos. He had all the six packs a guy would want, but he’d got all of them through training with fitness trainers before each photoshoot for the sake of looking good. As long as he did not train, it never took long before they went back down, and on the whole, they were about the same level as pretty embroidered pillows. A huge guy like that was just dragged away by the agent who was still speaking.

Chu Ying turned around, removed the bag and hung it on Su Yi.

Su Yi came back to herself and, trying to suppress laughter, asked, “Why did you wear it?”

“It’s not convenient to hold it.”  When beating someone up.

Su Yi laughed again, her laugh crispy, with the sort of gentleness a girl would have.

She was always like that. She would finish scolding someone while looking menacing, then turn around and smile at him like a little girl with her first crush.

Both these sides of her were appealing.

Chu Ying walked to the front and pressed the elevator.

Su Yi stopped smiling and asked, “Where did you park your car?”

That reminded Chu Ying that he had gotten off the car too hurriedly. It was still parked at the hotel entrance.

He turned around. As expected, the security guards were frantically looking for the car owner.

“Alright, you go back,” Su Yi said. “I can go up by myself.”

When she finished speaking, she entered the lift and waved at him. As the doors closed, she hastily added, “Remember to pick me up this weekend!”

Chu Ying replied, “Okay.”

…

When she left the elevator, Su Yi opened her phone, it was almost twelve and there were no notifications.

She took a moment, and instead of going to her room went to Wu Xue’s.

Before she’d even pressed the doorbell, the door opened. Wu Xue was still dressed as she was just a while ago. Holding a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, when she saw Su Yi she paused. “What is it?”

“I should be asking you that.” Su Yi eyed the Zhong Hwa [1] in her hand.

The production team arranged accommodation only for the actors, the staff they brought along had to fend for themselves. Wu Xue and An Xuan were sharing a double room.

She softly closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar. “An Xuan is sleeping, let’s go talk by the window.”

Wu Xue’s room was at the end of the corridor, right next to the window.

She lit a cigarette, took a long drag and puffed the circles out of the window. “Had fun?”

“It’s okay,” Su Yi said. “Talk about it, what’s up? Usually, if it’s after ten, you would want to rush to the streets to haul me home.”

“Isn’t it because I’m afraid of ruining someone else’s shot at marriage?” Wu Xue laughed. “If even Director Chu doesn’t mind, why would I be scared? Even if there were photos taken it would not be our problem.”

Wu Xue had sidestepped the important parts and seeing that she did not want to say more, Su Yi did not ask.

She reached out and patted Wu Xue’s head. “Little Xue Xue, if there’s something you need to tell me, I’ll have your back.”

Wu Xue was entertained. “Drop it, isn’t it usually me who has your back? All those dos in the past that you didn’t show up to and the times you did as you pleased, I had to apologise a ton to appease the company. It’s good that you’re good, now the company daren’t arrange things for you as they please anymore.”

Su Yi hugged her, a little choked by the smoke. “Yes, yes, yes, you are my goddess, Buddha, saviour of my world; I’d worship you rather than Buddha!”

“Pei, pei, pei,” Wu Xue scolded her. “Can’t you say something better, I’m still living well, why would you pray to me?”

The two of them chatted for a while more as Wu Xue finished this cigarette. After she stubbed it out and tossed it into the bin by the side, she asked casually, “You didn’t cause any trouble just now when you went out, did you?”

A guilty Su Yi she shook her head. “No, we just went to watch a movie.”

Wu Xue nodded and shooed her away. “Go back, you’re filming tomorrow and sleeping so late. Don’t drink too much water at night lest your face bloats by morning.”

Su Yi agreed and hurriedly returned to her room.

…

The next morning, Su Yi was putting on make-up on the set when her phone notified her of two headline news on Weibo.

[Heartless! Su Yi slapped Liang Bo hard!]

[Shocking news! Liang Bo visits Su Yi at night and was beaten up by a mysterious man!]

 

[notes]

 [1] zhong hwa is a brand of cigarettes

this chapter was edited by larkspur!