Chapter 65
After the release, the simple touch of skin became tender. The two slept from the afternoon till the next morning, their breathing entangled, their hair messy, and the room filled with ambiguity.
Xiao Ziyu opened his eyes and saw Yuan Heng’s chest in front of him, with faintly visible ravines. He was being lazy and rubbed his face against it unconsciously.
"Looking for milk?" A voice came from above his head, but it did not stop him.
Xiao Ziyu paused, then slowly woke up. In the morning light, his face was flushed from sleep.
He was a little embarrassed, so he moved his body a little and took the initiative: "You pressed my hair."
The two of them were so close together that it would be strange if they didn't get squeezed. Yuan Heng raised his arm, picked up a few strands of hair, and then immediately pulled the person back into his arms: "Does it still hurt?"
Xiao Ziyu felt it and found it was much better than yesterday. The sour and numb feeling that made him want to die was gone. The two long legs were twisted together and rubbed against each other. When he spoke again, his tone was a little unnatural: "Did you apply medicine to me again yesterday?"
Yuan Heng woke up once last night, took another shower, wiped off the thin layer of sweat on Xiao Ziyu, and applied medicine. He admitted, "It's shiny and swollen, otherwise you would be in pain today."
The heat surged, and Xiao Ziyu could no longer say anything clever. The lights were not on that night, and Yuan Heng still saw him naked when he was unconscious. He said angrily, "I'd rather be in pain."
"Don't be shy," Yuan Heng kissed his earlobe, and the words flew into his ear along with the hot breath, "I would feel bad if that happened."
After brunch, the two packed their luggage and prepared to catch the afternoon flight.
After the in-depth communication, they seemed to be particularly affectionate. Xiao Ziyu sat sideways on Yuan Heng's legs and picked out clothes together.
"When were you informed about the guest star?" Xiao Ziyu asked.
Yuan Heng is arrogant and busy with his work, so the director team contacted him before filming began. Yuan Heng said: "The day you filmed the game business."
Xiao Ziyu thought about it and realized that Yuan Heng was dressed neatly that day. It turned out that he had not just finished a meeting, but had gone to meet the film crew. He was not happy: "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Who told you to get hurt by trying so hard?" Yuan Heng said, "You were so scared that I forgot about it."
In order to prevent Xiao Ziyu from pursuing the issue further, he changed the subject: "When will your entries be announced?"
"Twelve o'clock noon," Xiao Ziyu looked at the time, it was just a few minutes away.
"Is it also a gift for me?" Yuan Heng asked.
"Yeah," Xiao Ziyu nodded in response. He was very confident when he promised on the phone, but felt ashamed when they met face to face: "I hope you like it."
After packing their luggage, the two sat on the sofa, ready to watch the final works announced by the program team.
Ranked first is Eric's "Into the Wild", he really combined krump and Chinese fitness dance, using strength to make up for the technical deficiencies, and with the accompaniment of drum beats, people can't help but twist their body in front of the screen.
"He is very suitable for the stage," Xiao Ziyu said, "If it is live, the atmosphere will definitely be great."
Yuan Heng leaned on the backrest with his elbows folded, not commenting, otherwise he might say something harsh.
Lu Yan's style is similar to Eric's. There was even a segment in the middle where he asked Eric to record together. The two of them acted funny and antics in front of the camera, turning serious homework into a show.
When it came to Wen Ci's dance, the style suddenly became traditional. The dance was called "Halmala Chakra" and there was a beautiful tranquility when the music started. He was wearing a wide robe with long sleeves and his posture was relaxed, completely different from the stiffness he had when he was practicing dancing before.
As he watched, Xiao Ziyu gradually felt a sense of familiarity. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and was surprised to find that the movements in the second section were almost the same as the first four sections of "Moon over the Long Bridge".
Yuan Heng noticed that something was wrong with him: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Ziyu was so shocked that he was speechless and stared at the screen. "Root Chakra" broke down his movements and reassembled them into another completely different style, but even an outsider could see that the basic rhythm of the two was the same.
On the night of the cultural festival's opening ceremony, he saw that Wen Ci was in a bad mood, so he took the initiative to challenge Wen Ci to a dance contest. He danced the first four acts of "The Moon over the Long Bridge" without reservation, but he didn't expect that his work would be plagiarized completely.
Yuan Heng felt something vaguely. The progress bar of "Root Chakra" had ended and began to automatically play the finale "Long Bridge Moon". He could see the similarities between them with just two glances.
It was originally an entertainment project focusing on light-hearted interaction, but similar works have appeared. Regardless of who plagiarized whom, the seriousness of the matter has risen to a new level.
Not long after the work was announced, a fan of Wen Ci pointed to another Weibo post under the official Weibo account of the program team.
It was a video taken from the chat history.
On the first day they arrived at Qinglan Garden to learn dance, Wen Ci posted a short dance video in the fan group, saying that he planned to use it as inspiration to organize a class work.
Fans have been looking forward to it for a week, with their expectations raised to the highest level, only to find that their own work is similar to that of others.
This video was recorded too early, and the plagiarist and the plagiarized seemed to have been clearly distinguished, unless Xiao Ziyu produced an earlier video evidence. But he was so excited that day under the moon that he jumped and didn't even think of recording a video.
Yuan Heng watched the entire video calmly and asked only one question: "When?"
"I danced in front of him on the night of the opening ceremony of the cultural festival." Xiao Ziyu murmured, unable to tell whether he was angry or disappointed, but rather felt a little empty and dazed.
The comment section has been invaded by Wen Ci's fans, with big fans taking the lead. In their mouths, Xiao Ziyu has become a thief who steals other people's things, and they are shouting at him to get out of the program crew. Xiao Ziyu's fans are still in confusion, and the few sporadic voices supporting the investigation have been drowned out by criticism.
Xiao Ziyu was scrolling through the comments, and it seemed like he didn't recognize simplified Chinese characters anymore. That was the story he wanted to tell, a sketch of his two lives, and also a gift he wanted to give to Yuan Heng, with a hint of affection. He suddenly became a little flustered, as if he was eager to prove something: "I didn't copy him."
"I know," Yuan Heng pulled the person in front of him and hugged him tightly.
Xiao Ziyu didn't know much about the entertainment industry, but he could see that this was not a simple plagiarism case, but essentially a siege against Xiao Ziyu.
From the time the program team published the work to the time Wen Ci's big fan came to the comment section with a fan group video, it only took a few minutes. The official Weibo and Xiao Ziyu's personal Weibo were collectively overwhelmed, and the hot searches directly landed. There was no need to figure out the whole story. In the eyes of passers-by, Xiao Ziyu had already been accused of plagiarism.
Yuan Heng called Qi Huai directly and asked him to change his flight to an earlier one: "Don't worry, we will go back early to meet the production team, and also meet Wen Ci."
"Wen Ci has no reason to do this," Xiao Ziyu suddenly said. Although Wen Ci has transformed into an idol actor, his desire and yearning for classical dance are not fake. Even if he hasn't practiced for a long time, he is still able to choreograph his own dance.
Yuan Heng had never met Wen Ci before, so he just listened to his analysis quietly. Xiao Ziyu continued, "Wen Ci is not an arrogant person. He would not do such a controversial thing in a light-hearted entertainment project and throw dirty water on both sides..."
He seemed to remember something and suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at Yuan Heng. The secret that he had accidentally seen could no longer be concealed. Xiao Ziyu said in a trembling voice: "On the day of the opening ceremony, I saw Wen Ci and Wu Xianyong together."
It took about three hours to fly from Yunjing to Shucheng. Along the way, Yuan Heng gradually figured out the whole story.
According to what Xiao Ziyu said, Wen Ci's fear and avoidance when facing Wu Xianyong, as well as the scars on his body that were tightly covered, the two were most likely not in a normal sponsorship relationship.
Recently, Yuan Qi'an's condition has worsened. He began to purge the company's directors who had secretly infiltrated the company, and by the way, he investigated Long Yue, which to a certain extent touched the old man's sore spot.
Qi Huai has asked someone to send Zhang Mei to the city center hospital, and her condition has improved. Lao Wang received a message in prison and also clamored to change his confession.
For Wu Xianyong, what he did was like covering himself with a fragile piece of white paper. Once there was a flaw in any link, all his evil deeds would be exposed. Xiao Ziyu's refusal to comply at the opening ceremony of the cultural festival completely infuriated him, so he did not hesitate to let Wen Ci take the lead, both to vent his anger and as a warning to Yuan Heng.
After getting off the plane, they turned onto the highway. Yuan Heng roughly told Xiao Ziyu about his guess and finally apologized in a deep voice: "If it is really Wu Xianyong's plan, his ultimate target may be me."
If that's really the case, the story should start from when he married Yuan Heng and joined Yuantai. Who could have thought of the intricacies at that time? Xiao Ziyu didn't want to bring up the past, he just wanted to solve the problem: "I want to meet Wen Ci."
However, the program team was told that Wen Ci had not returned to the town after his vacation. The studio was quiet, with no intention of making any announcement.
"This should be handled coldly." Luo Li was unusually calm. Ever since the video was released on the show, he has been receiving news non-stop.
The official Weibo account of the program team stated that because it was an entertainment project, the videos were not reviewed after being collected, which led to the failure to discover the similarities in time.
This reason is too far-fetched. Contradiction means topics and discussions. Ordinary video assignments are certainly not as eye-catching as entertainment stars getting involved in plagiarism scandals.
Luo Li had been angry for a while, but now he was calm. He was not too shocked to see Yuan Heng coming as a guest. After all, it was still unclear whether he could continue the recording, and the penalty for breach of contract involved was another matter.
"Have you looked for Wen Ci's studio?" Yuan Heng asked.
"We tried, but they ignored us," said Luo Li. He made more than a dozen phone calls and contacted classmates and teachers in the circle, but he couldn't get in touch with Wenhua Entertainment at all.
The arrogant attitude represents the strong capital behind it. Unless they can produce more powerful evidence, Xiao Ziyu will have to pay the penalty and leave before the official broadcast tomorrow.
Due to an emergency, tonight's live broadcast was suspended. In the evening, Xiao Jinchuan called and asked him where he was.
"Come back to Qinglan Garden," Xiao Jinchuan's voice was unyielding, "We won't record the show for now."
Originally, they had other plans in Qinglan Garden. After the incident, Wen Ci's studio pretended to be dead and the program crew gave up. Xiao Jinchuan directly refused the plan to continue recording and made it clear that the program crew was not allowed to set foot in Qinglan Garden again before finding out the truth.
"Brother, I'm fine," Xiao Ziyu whispered, "Yuan Heng came with me."
Hearing that name, Xiao Jinchuan snorted, "Then where do you plan to live? There are media and paparazzi everywhere in the town and the filming location. Do you want to create ready-made hype for them?"
"Who's calling?" Yuan Heng asked from the side.
"Our dance teacher," Xiao Ziyu said, holding his phone, "he told us that we can live in Qinglan Garden, where there are no media."
Yuan Heng had already taken into consideration that he might be secretly photographed, and had already arranged a car to go to the nearby town for accommodation, but the journey was long, and he didn't know if Xiao Ziyu had the energy to withstand it, so it would be better to have a ready-made place. He nodded and said, "We'll go over there now."
Qinglan Garden is not far away, but it is hidden away. The private road is closed, so not even a fly can fly in.
When they were about to reach the door, Yuan Heng asked, "What's your teacher's name?"
Since Yuan Heng didn't remember anyway, Xiao Ziyu simply told him: "My surname is Xiao, and my name is Xiao Jinchuan."
Before he finished his words, a moon-white figure appeared behind the screen. When Yuan Heng and the tall and cold man looked at each other, they were both startled.
He almost instantly determined that Xiao Jinchuan was also a reborn person and still held hostility towards him.
How could it be such a coincidence that Xiao Ziyu participated in a reality show and the filming location happened to be in Qinglan Garden, which meant that Xiao Jinchuan was also secretly observing their movements.
Yuan Heng stood half a step behind Xiao Ziyu calmly, almost covering him in front of him, and at the same time stretched out his right hand towards Xiao Jinchuan: "Mr. Xiao, sorry to bother you."
Xiao Jinchuan shook his hand indifferently, then turned around and said, "You two, follow me."
After removing the pan/tilt head and camera, the main hall returned to its original layout. The main table was already filled with dishes. Yuan Heng took a quick look and saw that they were all Xiao Ziyu's favorites.
The three of them sat down, each taking one side, in strange silence, and no one started eating first.
"Try it and see if it suits your taste," Xiao Jinchuan stood up and scooped a bowl of shrimp and tofu soup for Xiao Ziyu.
"This bamboo shoot looks okay," Yuan Heng picked up a piece of stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots and put it on Xiao Ziyu's plate, "Don't force it if it doesn't taste good."
Xiao Ziyu couldn't stand this weird atmosphere, and he didn't have any appetite at all: "What should we do next?"
Yuan Heng and Xiao Jinchuan interrupted in unison: "Let's eat first."
Xiao Ziyu: “…”
After finally finishing the meal, Xiao Jinchuan asked someone to clear the plates. Xiao Ziyu drank some tea to relieve his greasiness. He had just eaten too much and had hardly touched any of the food. The two men were competing to pile food on his plate. One was his senior brother who was teaching him, and the other was his lover with whom he had just established a relationship. He couldn't afford to offend either of them, so he ate his fill without noticing.
Xiao Jinchuan was afraid that he was in a bad mood, so he took the initiative to mention during the meal that he was going to ask his friends for two thrush birds to cheer him up. Xiao Ziyu swallowed the words "senior brother" and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Xiao. I am not a child anymore."
The internet was filled with a foul mix of insults, with bored netizens taking advantage of their lunch breaks to join in the trial, with even comments like "I've long disliked Xiao Ziyu, why does a grown man have long hair?" popping up.
Only the gurgling water in Qinglan Garden maintains a clear and tranquil atmosphere.
Xiao Jinchuan asked, "Did you leave any draft materials when you were choreographing?"
Xiao Ziyu shook his head. This dance was not improvised. It was his long-cherished wish that he wanted to fulfill in his previous life. Due to health reasons, I only edited the first four chapters. I have no idea where to find the draft. Even if I had it, it would have been burned in a fire long ago.
Yuan Heng pondered: "Have you ever performed this dance, or similar movements, anywhere else?"
Xiao Ziyu still shook his head, but suddenly stopped halfway through. When he looked up, he happened to meet Yuan Heng's eyes, and then he said as if he didn't believe it himself: "It seems... that there was."
Two questions rang out at the same time: "When—where?"
Xiao Ziyu didn't know who to answer, so he said a name first: "Chen Churan."
"When she was filming 'The Jade Case', she needed to do classical dance in the play. I taught her a piece, which was the first four movements of 'The Moon Over the Long Bridge'."
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