TF01 43

After saying those words, Shi Yi’s mind went completely blank for a while.

The only sound in the car was the radio. Their gazes met, hazy and indistinct. Across from him, Ying Ming grinned. It wasn’t until Shi Yi suddenly snapped out of it and realized what he had just said that he felt a faint chill creeping up his back.

Ying Ming sized him up for a long moment, then smiled and said, “Given your build and looks, I won’t return the compliment. Let’s just take it as flattery.”

Shi Yi could only let out an awkward chuckle. He turned the steering wheel and headed straight for Ying Ming’s place.

When they arrived, neither of them bothered with pleasantries.

They simply waved at each other, and Shi Yi honked the horn once as a farewell before reversing and driving off.

Ying Ming stood by the door, watching until Shi Yi’s car disappeared completely. He lingered for a moment before finally stepping back inside.

Since he had been busy filming lately, he had given Smoke ring to Haozi to take care of. The empty warehouse felt cold, the air carrying a lingering chill. Ying Ming casually turned on the lights, sat on the sofa, and stared blankly ahead, not moving for a long time.

Shi Yi’s words just now had actually startled him.

If it was a joke, it was a pretty damn cold one. And judging by Shi Yi’s reaction afterward, it really didn’t seem like something he had said offhand.

If he didn’t catch on in this situation, he’d have to be pretending to be clueless. But if he seriously entertained the idea, it was honestly kind of ridiculous.

Neither he nor Shi Yi was into men.

Sure, he hadn’t had a long-term girlfriend over the years, but he wasn’t exactly lacking in company either. It was just that things never worked out. In Ying Ming’s view, if it was just fooling around with no real feelings involved, then it was pointless. He didn’t want to waste his time, nor did he want to waste the other person’s.

But in the end, he liked women.

Shi Yi and Liu Li were practically common knowledge. There was no way in hell Shi Yi would be into men.

Wang Yiqi and Wang Le were their friends, but this kind of thing wasn’t contagious, right? Just because their friends were, didn’t mean they’d turn gay over time.

Picturing himself and Shi Yi together, Ying Ming couldn’t help but chuckle.

What a load of bullshit!

It felt just like one of those absurd plot twists in a parody drama.

Maybe Shi Yi just had a momentary lapse. Everyone has those times when their brain and mouth aren’t in sync, spouting words even they don’t fully register.

Ying Ming finished his cigarette, got up to take a shower, but just as he reached for his shirt, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a message from Shi Yi.

It was just one sentence. I asked you out today because I wanted to tell you I broke up with Liu Li.

He stared at the screen for a long time, turning the message over in his mind.

Not replying didn’t seem right, but if he did, he had no idea what to say.

Shi Yi had seemed a little out of it earlier, too.

After hesitating for a while, he settled on a simple Mm, just to acknowledge that he’d received the message. His phone remained silent after that, and he figured Shi Yi wouldn’t be replying. Taking a sip of bottled water, he brushed it off and went to take his shower.

After that day, the two of them didn’t talk for a while.

It was usually Shi Yi who called Ying Ming more often, but now that he wasn’t calling, Ying Ming was just busy filming as usual. Even Wang Le hadn’t been dropping by the set lately. One day, when Ying Ming asked about it, he found out that Wang Le had gone to the U.S. with his family for some business and wouldn’t be back until the end of the year.

At the time, Wang Yiqi let out a relieved sigh. “Finally, some peace and quiet!”

By the time Wang Le returned, the movie would already be finished.

Ying Ming didn’t say anything, but inwardly, he felt a slight sense of relief too. It wasn’t that Wang Le caused trouble, but having him constantly hanging around was kind of exhausting. Yet, there wasn’t much he could say. After all, Wang Le was Shi Yi’s friend, and the guy was a bit dense. There was no need to make a fuss over it.

The film was already in its final stages. A few scenes had been cut, but it didn’t really affect his character’s arc. In this industry, more footage was shot than used anyway. After months of filming, only about half of it would actually make it into the final cut. If they got a particularly ruthless director, two-thirds of it could end up on the cutting room floor.

A lot of footage would never see the light of day.

At first, he couldn’t understand why they went through the effort of filming scenes that wouldn’t be used. But over time, he realized that as an actor, his job was simply to provide material. The actual storytelling came down to the director’s vision and editing choices. Eventually, he got used to it.

The only real surprise was that they finally received the finalized script at this stage of filming.

Flipping through the remaining scenes, about ten days’ worth, Ying Ming paused when he saw a particularly highlighted one.

A bed scene.

“…Why is there a bed scene?”

When they first discussed the film with the director, the impression was that nothing this explicit would be required.

Originally, they had hoped to get the film into a second-tier domestic theater chain.

Wang Yiqi, on the other hand, looked absolutely thrilled as he held the script. His face was full of anticipation. “Damn, they actually added this in!”

Later, when the director explained the change, he said the investors had requested it. Since the film was unlikely to get an easy release domestically, they planned to submit it to an international film festival as an opening film, where certain scenes could also serve as a promotional gimmick.

With a reason like that, there was nothing anyone could say.

The director, knowing this scene had been added late, gave them some time to prepare. It was scheduled for the final two or three days of shooting so that they could first wrap up the other scenes. This way, the crew could be minimized during filming, making things less awkward.

Unexpectedly, word of the scene got out.

First, a film industry magazine published an article about it. Then, as if setting off a chain reaction, the news spread across the internet. That same day, both Wang Yiqi and Ying Ming received calls from the media asking if the rumors were true.

Their responses were identical. “We’ll follow the director’s arrangements.”

Because of the leaked information, the bed scene, originally planned for the end, had to be moved up. After checking with both actors and confirming they had no objections, the director decided to shoot it with minimal preparation.

It was awkward.

Ying Ming had filmed plenty of bed scenes before, but this was his first time doing one with a man. Worse yet, it was with his best friend. Wang Yiqi wore a mischievous grin the entire time, clearly enjoying the chance to mess with him.

In that moment, Ying Ming suddenly recalled the time he had set up Shi Yi.

What goes around comes around.

Originally scheduled for two days, the scene ended up taking three and a half to complete. They reshot many takes. At first, both of them were visibly uncomfortable and out of sync, but as the process went on, they adjusted to the rhythm. Since it was work, they focused on their roles, and by the end, it no longer felt like a big deal.

When the director finally announced that the scene was complete, Wang Yiqi let out a long breath and rolled off the bed.

His assistant rushed over with his clothes. He threw them on without hesitation, then turned back to glance at Ying Ming. “Man, good thing Wang Le isn’t here.”

“Hm?” Ying Ming didn’t quite get what he meant. He was still leaning against the bed, a sheet loosely draped over him.

“If that guy were around, he’d have made sure the whole world knew about this.”

Wang Le had the nerves of a porcelain teacup. He could blow the tiniest thing out of proportion like the sky was falling.

Ying Ming sat up slowly and gestured for the crew to hand him his clothes. He wasn’t particularly bothered as he replied, “What, you afraid he’d go around ruining your reputation?”

As if any of them still had a thing like that.

Actors had no room for modesty. There was nothing they wouldn’t sacrifice for art.

But Wang Yiqi only raised a brow. “I’m afraid he’d tell Shi Yi.”

Hearing that name at this moment, Ying Ming instinctively paused. “What do you mean?”

Strangely enough, Wang Yiqi looked even more clueless after saying it out loud.

He scratched his head. “I don’t know… Just think it’s best if he doesn’t find out.”

Last time, a stupid joke of a kiss had already stirred up a mess. Who knew what kind of trouble this would bring?

Even if these were two completely unrelated things, they somehow felt linked.

Ying Ming didn’t respond right away. He took the clothes handed to him and got dressed. As he stood up, he instinctively reached for his cigarettes, but before he could light one, the nearby cameraman called out. He quickly stepped aside.

At that exact moment, his assistant walked over. “Your phone’s ringing.”

For a brief second, Ying Ming froze.

It was that guilty conscience thing. When something was weighing on your mind, you couldn’t help but assume the worst. Wang Yiqi’s casual remark had left him feeling oddly flustered.

Thankfully, it wasn’t Shi Yi.

It was Kou Jing.

Seeing the caller ID, Ying Ming let out a quiet breath and pulled himself together before answering. “Kouzi?”

“Ying Ming, let me ask you something. That Weisai incident, did you ever tell anyone about it?”

Kou Jing’s tone was tense. Hearing him bring it up out of nowhere, Ying Ming frowned slightly. “No, I haven’t told anyone. Why?”

“Shit. We have a problem. Dong Xiao’s incident has blown up, and now everyone knows about it. It didn’t just hit print media, it went straight to television. They’re saying Weisai’s cars have quality and technical issues. Yingzi, I told you over and over that this must not get out. How the hell did this happen?”

Ying Ming stepped aside with his phone. “I really have no idea. I’ve been stuck in closed-set filming these past few days. I haven’t even turned on the TV.”

“Well, it’s a mess now. Be careful. I have a feeling this is going to get big.”

For a car manufacturer, an incident like this was a blow beyond imagination. The nature of the issue made it even worse. If they failed to contain it, there was no telling how Weisai would react.

Back then, Ying Ming had been the one who refused to sign the papers no matter what. Now that Kou Jing was calling to ask him, it was obvious others would suspect him too.

Wang Yiqi noticed the change in Ying Ming’s expression and walked over. “What happened?”

But the other man simply hung up and frowned. “Nothing.”

Anyone could tell that was a lie, let alone someone as familiar with him as Wang Yiqi. Just as he was about to press further, Ying Ming’s phone rang again. This time, it was Shi Yi.

“Ying Ming, have you seen the news?”

“I haven’t, but Kou Jing called me. I still don’t know the full situation.”

His expression was unusually serious. He knew just how much trouble this would cause now that the matter had been exposed.

Shi Yi paused for a moment before explaining. “I had someone look into it. This was likely orchestrated by Weisai’s competitor, but the exact source of the leak is still unclear. The public pressure is huge right now. Since Weisai’s new model has already launched, people are demanding the release of the original investigation report. I have a feeling we’re all going to get dragged into this.”

By logic, no one would dare go after Shi Yi.

He was also not the kind of person who would leak something like this.

That left only Ying Ming.