Did the Movie Emperor Blow His Cover Today? - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

In response to the trending topic, Wu Yue directly presented evidence through Unruly Entertainment’s official Weibo account:

First, he released surveillance footage from the hotel elevator and hallway, showing Han Buji, Tao Hui, and Wu Yue together throughout. The footage then showed Gao Meng standing at the door of room 806 after it was knocked open, proving that Tao Hui and Han Buji had never been alone together.

You’re going to seduce a man with two witnesses present?

Next, he released video testimonies from the production crew’s medical staff and other crew members. Several staff members testified that Tao Hui had fallen into the lake during filming that day. Despite feeling unwell, she insisted on continuing to film to avoid delaying the schedule, working until the end of the day. The medical staff’s records showed her temperature readings within an hour of her fainting: 39°C, 38.5°C, 37°C, 37°C, 36°C.

You’re going to seduce a man with a 39°C fever and a deathly pale face? Are you cosplaying as the White Impermanence or a space heater? Does any man have such bizarre tastes?

Finally, Gao Meng, Han Buji’s chief assistant, released indoor surveillance footage from her own room. The footage showed Tao Hui lying pale on the bed, while Han Buji and Wu Yue left after speaking with the medical staff.

All of this evidence proved that the marketing accounts were spreading baseless rumors and stirring up trouble.

Unruly Entertainment V:

[There are limits to seeking attention. Please don’t discourage dedicated actors. ]

Previously, the marketing accounts had primarily targeted Han Buji’s fans, but after the official clarification, the fans erupted in fury.

[ ~Our Brother is so kind and always helps others! How dare they twist his good deed into a scandalous affair with a female star?! Fucking hell, these marketing accounts are just bored out of their minds! This account is dead! ]

In less than an hour, the marketing account’s Weibo was torn to shreds. Overwhelmed by the Han Meimei fan group’s relentless attacks, the account was deleted, leaving no trace behind.

The entire internet was filled with praise for Han Buji and condemnation of the marketing account.

A much smaller fraction—less than 30%—praised Tao Hui’s dedication, then transformed into jealous “lemon spirit,” envying her for receiving Han Buji’s princess carry after fainting.

An even tinier group quietly chanted, “Han Buji and Tao Hui are such a perfect match! Aaaaaah!”

The next day, Tao Hui had no filming schedule. She lay on her hotel bed, scrolling through online comments. Amidst the sea of “Han Buji” mentions, she finally spotted her own name: “Tao Hui.”

[ ~It’s always the female stars who cling to male stars! Always the female stars who throw themselves at them! Always the female stars who want to create drama! Always the female stars who get the blame! Tao Hui insisted on filming despite her fever—what did she do wrong?! ]

Well said!

Tao Hui mentally applauded, then used her anonymous Weibo account to give a “like” to the girl named “Martial Arts Cutie.” Curious, she clicked on the girl’s profile for a quick glance.

Just one look nearly dislocated Tao Hui’s jaw.

Every single post by this girl was about her—no, to be precise, every post was about her and Han Buji.

[ ~Han Buji is 186 cm tall, while Tao Hui is 164 cm. This height difference is perfect! Tao Hui can just bury her head in Han Buji’s chest! ]

Who wants to bury their head in that guy’s chest?!

[ ~The Best Actor and Tao Hui are such a perfect match! He’s devastatingly handsome, and she’s breathtakingly beautiful! Oh my god, I’m shipping them so hard! ]

’Shipping them’? What shipping? I’m not shipping anything! Han Buji and I are not a match at all!

[ ~OMG, the way the Best Actor is holding Tao Hui is so swoon-worthy! So full of affection! ]

Stop making things up! Han Buji’s eyes always look like that! He doesn’t just look at me that way—he looks at the crooked tree by the Film and Television Base entrance the same way!

Tao Hui mentally retorted to each post as she scrolled through them. Suddenly, she came across one with a picture—a meticulously edited, high-definition photo.

It was the photo of Han Buji carrying her in a princess carry.

As if guided by some unseen force, Tao Hui’s thumb and forefinger moved, zooming in on the photo.

In the picture, Han Buji was dressed in a tailored suit, his feet clad in handcrafted leather shoes. A solid-colored tie was coiled around his pale fingers, one arm cradling the crook of her legs while the other wrapped around her back, his hand gripping her shoulder tightly.

His brow was slightly furrowed, and he strode forward with long, purposeful strides.

Tao Hui stared at Han Buji for a long moment. So that’s the expression he wore that night.

Perhaps because they’d been working closely together recently, Tao Hui no longer saw the deep affection in his eyes that everyone else claimed to see. Instead, he looked angry.

But why was he angry?

Was it, “Tch, this Tao Hui is such a nuisance!”

Or was it, “Tch, this Tao Hui, still filming while she’s sick!”

For some reason, Tao Hui found herself leaning toward the latter.

She flopped back onto the bed, her arm brushing against something stiff and papery. Reaching behind her, she pulled out a signed photo of Han Buji, defaced with three large turtle drawings.

This must have been from when she first joined the production crew, Tao Hui thought, scratching her head. Had her impression of Han Buji become… somewhat positive lately? She couldn’t even bring herself to casually draw turtles on his photo anymore.

Her phone lit up with a message from Sister Xun:

[ Miao Miao is returning to the hotel this afternoon. Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t eat any more of that junk food! ]

Tao Hui replied to Zhou Xun, climbed out of bed, and headed to the bathroom.

The hotel had plenty of hot water. Tao Hui closed her eyes in the steamy mist, carefully recalling every day since joining the Sheng Jue production crew.

Miao Miao had undergone blood tests and stomach content analysis at the hospital, but despite vomiting repeatedly, the specific source of her food poisoning remained unidentified. The doctors only suggested it might be fungi like mushrooms or wood ear.

Ironically, Miao Miao had shared a self-heating hot pot with Tao Hui that very afternoon.

If not for Han Buji’s warning, Tao Hui wouldn’t have clearly realized the string of misfortunes that had plagued her since joining the crew. She would have simply assumed Miao Miao had eaten something bad.

The scalded arm, the coffee incident the day Miao Miao was hospitalized, the shove into the lake, and the two leaks of internal production crew photos in quick succession.

Without Han Buji’s help, either of those trending topics could have become her second career-ending disaster.

Tao Hui slowly opened her eyes, her long lashes glistening with condensed steam.

She gazed at the peach-scented shower gel on the shelf. It was a gift from Han You shortly after joining the production crew. Han You had knocked on her door with a sweet smile, saying, “Sister Tao Hui, this shower gel smells amazing! I wanted to give it to you.”

Why would a girl with such a sweet smile do this?

The peach shower gel landed in the trash can. Tao Hui lowered her gaze and sighed softly.

Her suspicions about Han You were just her own speculation. She couldn’t tell Zhou Xun, let alone Miao Miao.

If she did, Miao Miao’s impulsive nature would lead her to confront Han You directly. That would be slander, smearing the reputation of a female celebrity. If things escalated, Miao Miao, as just an assistant, would likely be fired by the company to quell the situation.

Tao Hui took a deep breath. Miao Miao had suffered because of her coffee, and she couldn’t shake the guilt.

After drying her hair, Tao Hui applied a thick layer of concealer to her neck. Skipping makeup, she threw on a bomber jacket, skinny jeans, and a pair of combat boots, ready to go out and buy something delicious for Miao Miao.

The nearest supermarket to the Film and Television Base was a membership-only store with an annual fee of 260 yuan. This fee only granted entry; Tao Hui hadn’t planned to renew her membership this year, having just bought a house.

Miao Miao used to happily follow Tao Hui around, borrowing her membership card to pick out imported fruits and other treats.

Remembering Miao Miao’s pale face before she fainted that day, Tao Hui renewed her membership for another year and slowly strolled through the aisles with her shopping cart.

As she reached for a large bag of imported potato chips from the top shelf, her phone buzzed in her jeans pocket. The falling bag of chips hit her, and she quickly adjusted her oversized sunglasses, which covered half her face, before answering the voice call.

“Teacher Tao, are you busy?” a voice raspy as an old man’s crackled through the phone.

Tao Hui froze, bent down to toss the chips into her cart, and glanced at her phone.

It was definitely Little Fanboy’s voice call, but what was with this hoarse, aged voice?

“Little Fanboy? What happened to your voice? Are you sick?” she asked.

A moment of silence hung in the air, followed by a sudden “beep.” When the voice spoke again, it had returned to Little Fanboy’s usual sunny, gentle tone. “Sorry, that was my roommate.”

Roommate? Tao Hui thought. Why does your roommate sound like your dad? So old?

Or maybe it was just some kind of joke between the boys?

Tao Hui pushed her shopping cart, chatting casually with her Little Fanboy.

Suddenly, she remembered seeing the words “Sunshine Junior” somewhere recently. But where was it?

“Teacher Tao, are you still there? Where are you? It sounds lively,” Little Fanboy said.

“Ah? Oh, yes, I’m listening, I’m listening.” Little Fanboy’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Tao Hui grabbed two boxes of mangosteens and tossed them into the cart. “I’m at the supermarket. A friend is being discharged from the hospital today, so I’m getting her some snacks and fruit.”

“Oh,” Little Fanboy replied, then suddenly asked, “How’s that colleague who gave you the burn cream doing?”

“Him?” Tao Hui paused, then answered honestly, “He’s been helping me out a lot lately. I used to avoid him, but things have been better recently. I’m starting to think he might not be the person I thought he was. You know, before, he seemed like exactly the type I hate most.”

Little Fanboy asked slowly, “Teacher Tao, what type do you hate most?”

Tao Hui, busy selecting yogurt, replied without hesitation, “Temperamental. I hate temperamental people. I absolutely, absolutely hate them.”

“Short-tempered?” Little Fanboy repeated, chuckling softly. “Oh, right, Teacher Tao, a friend of mine designed a necklace for me. It looks a bit feminine, so I thought I’d give it to you.”

“Ah? That’s not necessary,” Tao Hui replied, surprised. “We’ve only played games together. I’d feel awkward accepting a gift.”

Little Fanboy laughed. “It’s just a handmade trinket from a friend, nothing expensive. Besides, you’ve carried me for so long! Without you, I’d probably still be stuck in Bronze.”

Tao Hui recalled their early days playing together—his suffocatingly bad positioning, his heroic charges under enemy towers only to be killed by minions, his remarkable ability to give first blood to jungle monsters…

Those memories are too painful to revisit!

She stopped protesting. Little Fanboy clearly meant well, and handmade items couldn’t be too pricey. She could always send him something in return later.

She gave him the name of her residential complex but withheld her exact address, instructing him to have the security guard accept the package. Little Fanboy readily agreed.

They chatted casually until Tao Hui finished paying at the checkout, at which point they ended the call.

It had been a while since Tao Hui had gone shopping alone, and she’d accidentally bought too much. Clutching her baseball cap, she huffed and puffed as she lugged two massive shopping bags, already regretting her impulsive purchase of two large coconuts.

After getting out of the car, she continued to struggle with the bags into the hotel, her hands feeling numb from the plastic straps digging into her skin.

She set the bags down and flexed her fingers, which were red and sore from the pressure.

It was just past 10 a.m., and the hotel was quiet. Historical dramas with action scenes were exhausting; at this hour, most of the production crew were either on set or catching up on sleep. Tao Hui leaned against the elevator wall, waiting alone.

Having skipped breakfast, she suddenly realized she was hungry.

She reached into one of the shopping bags and pulled out a green apple, casually wiping it with her hand before taking a crisp bite.

“Mmm, so sweet,” she murmured contentedly, her eyes squinting in pleasure.

When she was a child at the orphanage, there had been an apple tree in the courtyard. It rarely bore more than a few fruits each year, and after the worms had their share, the remaining two or three apples were always given to the younger children first.

Xiao Tao Hui was at that awkward age, not quite young but not yet old enough to get her share. At five years old, with younger siblings aged four and three, she was always the last to eat.

One day, a younger sister let her have a bite. The Qing Youyou apple, so green and crisp, tasted surprisingly sweet.

Tears welled up in Xiao Tao Hui’s eyes as she clenched her fist and vowed, “Someday, I’ll earn a lot of money! I’ll buy a whole basket of apples and eat them all! Apples are the most delicious thing in the world!”

More than a decade had passed. Now she could buy as many apples as she wanted, and no one would snatch them away.

Lost in memories of her childhood, Tao Hui stood holding the apple, momentarily dazed. She didn’t notice the elevator doors had opened long ago, and, since no one entered, they closed again with a lonely sigh.

She felt as if she were back in that small, dilapidated courtyard, overgrown with weeds that released a fresh, earthy fragrance after the rain.

Tao Hui sniffed, suddenly catching a faint scent of cedar sandalwood that snapped her out of her reverie.

As she whirled around, the Qing Youyou apple vanished from her hand. Turning, she saw Han Buji standing there with a faint smile, holding the apple she had just taken a bite from.

Tao Hui raised her hand, palm facing outward, and greeted him, “Hi, good morning.”

Han Buji seemed to be in a good mood. He glanced at her, then suddenly held up the apple, turned it around, and took a bite near her teeth marks with a crunch.