Chapter 22

Six years ago.

Inside the dim KTV, after walking through the long corridor, the two stopped at the door of the private room.

"Hey, you're lucky this time." Ye Xiaoming put his arm around his neck. "Many people want to act in Director Cao's movies, but they can't even get in line."

Yan Huai nodded, quite grateful: "Thank you, Brother Ye, I will act well this time."

"Okay, come in." Ye Xiaoming raised his chin, "I'm going to smoke a cigarette."

Yan Huai gripped the doorknob with his right hand, feeling a little nervous. He wiped the sweat from his palms on his clothes. In recent years, the scripts the company had given him had all been for TV series, and occasionally supporting roles in movies, but this was his first time playing the lead in a film directed by a major director.

"What are you standing there for?" Ye Xiaoming urged, "Come in."

He reached out and pushed open the door of the box, pushing Yan Huai in with one hand.

In the box, men and women were rolling dice, drinking, and singing. Four or five good-looking and plump women were acting coquettishly around Cao Wei, the producer, and the assistant director.

"Hello, Director Cao." Yan Huai walked over and quietly looked at the big director. He looked serious and majestic, and not a good-tempered person.

Cao Wei responded.

The curly-haired woman beside him handed Yan Huai a goblet and leaned into his arms with a smile: "Handsome boy, you'll have to drink three glasses of wine as a punishment for being late."

Yan Huai looked at Cao Wei with the wine glass in hand, but Cao Wei did not react at all.

The people around him kept urging him on, their laughter was piercing, and the colorful lights shone on his face. Yan Huai bit his lip, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

“Cough cough cough…”

Yan Huai wiped the wine that overflowed from the corner of his mouth. He thought there was champagne in the glass, but when it entered his mouth, he found that it was spicy and bitter white wine.

"Go on, handsome boy," the curly-haired woman urged. "Drink."

Yan Huai reached out and swallowed the remaining two cups.

Cao Wei then spoke: "Okay, come sit next to me."

The curly-haired woman was very considerate and made room for Yan Huai. As they passed by, she touched Yan Huai's waist with a smile, winked at him, and picked up the microphone to sing.

"Director Cao," Yan Huai said, his face flushed from drinking. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely do my best."

Cao Wei stared at his face for a long time, then reached out and pinched his chin.

Yan Huai was startled and hid behind.

"What are you hiding from?" Cao Wei said impatiently.

"I..." Yan Huai was terrified, worried about offending this famous director. He didn't dare move his body and leaned stiffly on the sofa.

Cao Wei murmured to himself: "What a beautiful face."

"I will make you my muse, my source of inspiration."

Yan Huai should have been feeling smug about this statement, but he was terrified and his body was shaking.

The film started shooting smoothly, and the actors acting with him were all very good, but Yan Huai always felt that there was a pair of eyes hidden in the darkness on the other side of the camera staring at him.

When the film was one-third finished, Yan Huai stared at the completely altered script in his hand and angrily found Cao Wei.

"Director Cao, this was not the version of the script you gave me originally." Yan Huai handed the script in his hand to Cao Wei.

Cao Wei didn't answer, but just looked at him coldly.

"It's common to change the script. The previous version was not approved, so I had no choice but to change it. I also don't want my work, which I worked so hard on, to be changed beyond recognition," said Cao Wei.

Yan Huai clenched his fists and questioned, "Why are there so many large-scale shots? Why am I the only one who wants to shoot these?"

Cao Wei stood up, approached Yan Huai, and reached out to straighten his collar.

"Yan Huai, this is a sacrifice for art."

"Is it for art, or to satisfy your own selfish desires, Director Cao?" Yan Huai angrily pushed Cao Wei's hands away.

Cao Wei was not angry, but just laughed strangely.

Yan Huai tore the script to pieces and yelled, "I'm not filming anymore!"

"Not filming anymore? Fine, I'll let you go as soon as you pay the penalty for breach of contract." Cao Wei's face was gloomy.

"Two hundred million, what are you going to use to compensate?"

Yan Huai was so angry that he was shaking all over. "You are blackmailing me! You liar! I will expose you! I will expose you online! You are not worthy of being a director!"

"Pa!" Cao Wei slapped Yan Huai hard.

Yan Huai's right ear kept ringing and he felt dizzy. He struggled to get up from the ground and wanted to pick up the recorder that had slipped out of his pocket. However, Cao Wei slapped him again.

This time, he could not hear any sound in his right ear. Yan Huai's eyes were blurred with tears, and he saw Cao Wei pick up the recorder.

Yan Huai went to the company to make a scene, saying that he didn't want to make this movie anymore no matter what.

The reality is that the company forced him to continue filming and was unwilling to pay the high penalty for breach of contract. Even worse, if he did not film Cao Wei's film, he would have to face the penalty for breach of contract with the company.

On the set, if Yan Huai made the slightest mistake in his next scene, Cao Wei would slap him in front of the entire crew.

In addition to being humiliated and beaten, the other crew members began to unite to isolate Cao Wei in order not to offend him.

At that time, he was acting with Gu Shu.

He is one of the few people who talks to him.

Yan Huai was isolated and helpless, and dared not tell his parents or friends. He could only cry alone under the quilt.

The company took away his mobile phone and account, changed his password, and arranged for a male assistant to watch him 24 hours a day.

Yan Huai asked Ye Xiaoming for help, but got no help.

Cao Wei kept urging and pressuring him to shoot explicit scenes.

"Take it off!" Cao Wei yelled into the intercom. "There are so many people waiting for you here, do you have the nerve to do that? Take it off!"

Yan Huai took off his short-sleeved shirt and khaki pants.

Even though he had compromised to this point, Cao Wei continued to pressure him: "Take off your underwear too!"

The staff member carrying the camera looked back in surprise, wanted to say something, but finally kept his mouth shut.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" Cao Wei said, "I told you to take off your underwear."

He stared through the screen at Yan Huai pinching the edge of his underwear with both hands, and he suddenly became excited.

Then Yan Huai let go and quickly put on his trousers and T-shirt.

"What do you mean?" Cao Wei's voice became sharp.

Yan Huai grabbed the high-legged stand beside him and smashed it hard at Cao Wei.

"You're crazy!" Cao Wei covered his bleeding forehead.

There was chaos and uproar at the scene.

Yan Huai was stopped by the bodyguards. He gritted his teeth and said nothing. He pushed the crowd away and ran away from the crew.

He hid back in the house. Yan Huai locked the door tightly. He didn't dare to go out. He had no cell phone, no money, only a small amount of cash in the safe.

Yan Huai only dared to go out secretly in the early morning, dressed warmly, and bought some food and wine at the supermarket in the community.

The company soon found out about this and slammed his door.

"Open the door! Yan Huai!"

"If you don't open it now, I'll get someone to saw the door open!"

Yan Huai ignored him and hid in the bedroom, getting drunk.

Many people in the circle knew about this. Some were waiting to see him make a fool of himself, while others couldn't wait for him to fall. He didn't have a single true friend after four years of debut.

Shang Zhier learned about this from a friend. He booked the earliest flight and flew back from abroad, exhausted.

He stood at Yan Huai's house, staring at the combination lock.

He entered the year he graduated from high school, the code was correct, and the door opened.

Shang Zhier pressed the switch on the wall, and the messy and decadent atmosphere in the room hit him. There was a leftover instant noodle bucket and empty beer bottles on the coffee table.

There was no sign of Yan Huai in the living room. Shang Zhier turned the doorknob of the bedroom and locked it.

"Yan Huai, open the door."

After waiting for five minutes, Shang Zhier took out a bank card from his pocket, swiped it against the door lock, and pushed open the door.

The curtains blocked out all sunlight, and the room was pitch black.

"Who are you? Are you here to arrest me?" Yan Huai was awakened by the glaring light. He was confused because of being drunk.

Shang Zhier squatted down and asked, "Why are you sleeping on the floor? How about sleeping on the bed?"

"Are you going to take me to film a movie?" Yan Huai shrank into his collar, like a snail that was hurt, and immediately retracted into its shell quickly.

Shang Zhier reached out and hugged him in his arms with a heartache, "No, we are not making a movie."

"Really?" Yan Huai held the can and took a sip of wine. He obviously didn't believe what Shang Zhier said.

“You don’t have to do things you don’t want to do.”

"So can I just not make a movie if I don't want to?"

"Can."

"But I can't afford the penalty."

"I have money."

"But if I hit someone, the company will freeze me out and ban me."

Shang Zhier asked: "Do you still want to make movies in the entertainment industry?"

"I don't want to do it anymore," Yan Huai shook his head. "I hate it so much. I don't want to act anymore. I'm so tired."

Shang Zhier ruffled his hair and said, "Then we won't perform."

Yan Huai said, "But I feel sorry for those who like me. If I disappear from the entertainment industry, they will be very sad. Every fan comes from afar to pick me up at the airport, support me, and promote me. Every year on my birthday, they prepare all kinds of surprises. Love someone without asking for anything in return."

"Even if it's for them, I will persevere." Tears flowed from Yan Huai's eyes, wetting Shang Zhier's shirt.

Shang Zhier sighed helplessly. He wished Yan Huai could be more selfish and think more about himself.

Time passed by minute by minute, and Yan Huai fell asleep in Shang Zhier's arms.

Shang Zhier picked him up and gently placed him on the bed. He brought water and a hot towel from the bathroom and helped him wipe his arms.

He stood on the balcony with his cell phone and started negotiating with Cao Wei.

"Yan Huai will not continue to star in your movie. You set the conditions." Shang Zhier took a puff of his cigarette.

There was a sneer on the other end of the phone: "Shang Zhier, this isn't your business. Why do you have to get involved?"

"I'll take care of this," Shang Zhier said. "I'll compensate your crew for their losses, but I won't pay for breach of contract. You know exactly what you did. I remember you shot this year aiming for awards. Tell me, if you were caught evading taxes at this stage, would you still be able to continue making films in the domestic market?"

Cao Wei was silent for a long time. "Shang Zhier, you are so cruel."