Did the Movie Emperor Blow His Cover Today? - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The “No Way CP” hashtag, fueled by Han Meimei’s furious campaign, had been trending on Weibo for days. The Han Meimeis, determined to prove that their idol, Han Buji, wasn’t close to Tao Hui, even pushed the clip of Tao Hui’s interview—where she admitted not having Han Buji’s phone number—to the top of the trending list.

In that video, though most of the Sichuan-Chongqing dialect curses had been censored with “bleeps,” Li Sijin’s friends recognized his voice on the other end of Tao Hui’s call.

Thus, Li Sijin—the 30-year-old tycoon who owned seven publicly listed companies, drove a different sports car every day, and whose maternal and paternal grandfathers both owned vast mineral wealth—was utterly bewildered to discover that the actress he idolized had once called him, only to be met with a barrage of his curses!

The revelation nearly gave the young CEO a heart attack. He immediately spruced himself up, recorded a video, and even paid for a trending hashtag to declare himself a “Rabbit Fur” and express his desire to “play friends” with the “Rabbit” (Tao Hui).

In truth, Tao Hui barely understood Sichuan-Chongqing dialect. She had only learned the meaning of the curses hurled at her back then by searching them up online. Beyond those vulgarities, she remained unfamiliar with everyday Sichuan-Chongqing expressions.

Play friends? Does that mean “make friends”?

She called Zhou Xun: “That hot-tempered, clueless tycoon wants to ‘play friends’ with me? Does making friends require bragging about his companies, cars, and villas?”

Zhou Xun scolded her, “Hui-ah! Are you stupid? He doesn’t want to be friends with you—he wants to date you! First, tell me where this guy came from and why you called him!”

Tao Hui, having finally pieced together the situation herself, painstakingly explained it to Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun and the Curry Entertainment Public Relations Department collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect! Someone’s paying for trending searches—let Tao Hui ride the wave! More followers for me!

Miao Miao even called, “Sister Huihui! A tycoon is pursuing you! Don’t forget us when you strike it rich! Remember the oden I bought you yesterday!”

“I don’t like hot-tempered types,” Tao Hui said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Go ask him if he likes you. Oh, and don’t forget us when you strike it rich!”

After the commotion subsided, Tao Hui hung up and collapsed onto the sofa, her eyes glazed over.

In her blacklist still lay the phone number she had once paid a staggering 130,000 yuan for.

But! This damn thing! It wasn’t even Han Buji’s real number!

Back then, the seller had sworn, “If this isn’t the Best Actor’s number, I’ll do a handstand and shit myself!”

Tao Hui took a deep breath. So much for Han Buji’s “genuine friends and family”! So much for “transactions built on sincerity and trust”! So much for “130,000 yuan being a steal—you can’t lose out on this deal”!

Bald old man! Old liar!

Tao Hui clutched her chest, her heart aching over the 130,000 yuan she’d lost.

A wave of helpless anger washed over her, though she didn’t know who to direct it at. After all, she’d been foolish enough to blindly trust a phone number.

Poor Han Buji, she’d been drawing turtles on his photos for years, all for nothing.

Tao Hui sat curled up on the sofa, her long hair tucked into a shower cap and her body wrapped in a bathrobe. She hugged a fluffy cushion, her expression listless.

All her animosity toward Han Buji stemmed from that 45-second phone call years ago. Now she realized he hadn’t been the one who’d insulted her back then. In fact, he might actually be a gentle gentleman, a true Beijing native who couldn’t handle spicy food.

She cringed at the memory of her daily lectures to him: “Stop pretending! I’ll keep your secret!” And then there was that fiery Sichuan hot pot feast she’d enthusiastically treated him to…

I can’t think about it anymore. I’m going to have a heart attack.

Tao Hui closed her eyes in despair and howled at the ceiling, “What kind of colossal idiot am I?!”

When buying perfume, Tao Hui always went to a familiar shop assistant. As a female celebrity constantly targeted by marketing accounts, appearing in public was always a hassle. One wrong move, and the tabloids would run headlines like “Tao Hui Buys Two Different Men’s Perfumes—Is She Two-Timing?”

The store was located in Beijing, and the clerk used same-city express delivery, so the perfume arrived that evening.

Perhaps assuming she was buying men’s perfume as a gift, the clerk packaged it in a lavish gift box, adorned with wide, 9cm satin ribbons tied into elaborate bows.

Tao Hui held the gift box, her mind racing. Her life was about to undergo a profound transformation.

She would no longer be able to name stray cats “Little Bu Bu,” “Aji,” or “Han Han.”

She could no longer recklessly doodle on Han Buji’s posters.

She could no longer complain to her Little Fanboy about “that ridiculously pretentious colleague of mine.”

To show her sincerity, Tao Hui applied light makeup, changed into a wool dress, and left with the gift box.

Standing before Han Buji’s door, she took a deep breath.

Don’t chicken out, Tao Hui! It’s just an apology and a thank you for his help! Don’t back down! Let the storm rage on!

She raised her hand and knocked.

“Just a moment,” Han Buji’s voice called through the door.

Waaah, how could someone so polite be such a pretentious show-off?!

Click! The sound of the security lock disengaging echoed from inside.

It felt like ages since she’d last spoken to Han Buji. As Tao Hui was thinking this, the door swung open.

Han Buji was dressed in loose black loungewear, exuding an air of relaxed allure.

This combination of ease and seductiveness was an illusion created by the contrast between his cool, pale skin and the soft black fabric. Tao Hui, ever perceptive, sensed that Han Buji seemed to be in a less-than-good mood.

“Um, hi?” Tao Hui awkwardly raised the gift box in her hand, about to apologize, when she suddenly sniffed the air and asked in surprise, “Did you change your cologne?”

Coconut, rice, and mango base notes? This—this is the ‘Sunshine Puppy’ cologne I picked out for Little Fanboy!

Han Buji is almost 30 and still likes this kind of scent?!

Did I completely misjudge his taste? What do you do when you give a gift that misses the mark? Waiting for advice online, urgent!

Han Buji’s gaze fell on the gift box in Tao Hui’s hand, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. “Here to give a gift?” he asked. “Trying to curry favor with your new neighbor?”

“No! Not at all!” Tao Hui instantly hid her hand behind her back, muttering in frustration, “If I’d known you liked this ‘puppy’ scent, I would have bought two bottles and given you one too. This one cost several hundred yuan more!”

Several hundred yuan wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but Tao Hui had just discovered she’d been scammed out of 130,000 yuan. Now, even an extra yuan would sting!

“Hmm?” Han Buji didn’t quite catch what Tao Hui was mumbling. He lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable. “Is the 72 hours finally up?”

“Huh? What?” Tao Hui looked up blankly, only to see Han Buji pull out his phone from his pocket and unlock it.

Then, in a measured tone, he said, “Good thing Gao Meng has a habit of setting up cameras in her apartment.”

“What…”

Han Buji held up his phone, displaying the screen to her, and pressed play.

In the video, Tao Hui’s mascara and eyeshadow were smeared across her eyelids, making her look like a panda. She was clutching Han Buji’s finger, sobbing, “Three days, just three days! We’ll be friends again after three days. You won’t play with me, and I won’t play with you. After three days, we’ll make up. Three days, you know? Seventy-two hours. Not a minute more…”

Tao Hui stared in shock as she watched the entire video, then forced a dry laugh. “Ha ha ha, who’s raising this panda? It’s… it’s actually quite…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the word “cute.” Instead, she abruptly turned and bolted toward home.

I’ll apologize later, she thought. Today, the timing, the place, and the mood are all wrong!

She turned around, and Han Buji snatched the gift box from behind her back. His voice came from behind her: “What’s wrong? Still haven’t passed the 72-hour mark?”

Tao Hui reached out to grab it back, but Han Buji grinned and held the box high above his head. The 20-centimeter height difference meant Tao Hui could jump all day without retrieving it.

Clutching Han Buji’s collar and straining on her tiptoes, she protested, “This is for apologizing, not some gift to suck up to the new neighbor! I haven’t even apologized yet—give it back! If you’re not going to forgive me, I’ll keep it for myself!”

“Oh, keep it for yourself? Not for the Sichuan-Chongqing tycoon?” Han Buji asked casually.

The mention of the tycoon reminded Tao Hui of her failed 130,000 yuan investment, and she roared indignantly, “I wouldn’t give him the time of day!”

Such crude language was unbecoming of a female celebrity. Tao Hui immediately regretted her outburst, but Han Buji seemed amused, the icy edge in his expression melting away as the corners of his lips curved upward.

“How would I know if you won’t forgive me if you don’t even apologize?” Han Buji leaned casually against the doorframe, one hand in his pocket and the other holding the gift box high. “So, what are you apologizing for?”

“I haven’t even said I’m giving it to you yet! Who just snatches a gift like that? What happened to being a gentleman?” Tao Hui protested, jumping up and down, her fingertips barely brushing the ribbon, unable to grab it.

Han Buji’s gloomy mood, which had lingered for days, finally lifted. He chuckled, “Didn’t you say my ‘gentlemanly’ act was just an act? Since no one else is around, I don’t need to keep up the pretense. Weren’t you here to apologize? What happened to that?”

Tao Hui gritted her teeth, silenced by his words. During filming, she had indeed spent ages nagging him about his “character persona” to anyone who would listen.

She hadn’t planned how to start, but this commotion had broken the ice. Tao Hui blurted out, “When I was 18, I bought your phone number online after we were rumored to be dating. The person who answered cursed me out, and I thought it was you, so I developed a terrible impression of you. My attitude toward you was because of that, and drawing turtles on your photos was because of that too! I’m sorry!”

Han Buji found this amusing. “How much did it cost?”

Tao Hui was taken aback by his immediate question. After a moment’s hesitation, she reluctantly admitted, “Just… 130,000 yuan.”

Han Buji laughed. “A bargain. Wu Yue said my phone number could sell for 500,000.”

Well, I don’t understand the world of you rich people.

The atmosphere seemed relatively harmonious. Tao Hui cautiously asked, “So… do you forgive me?”

“Two questions,” Han Buji said, extending his index and middle fingers, then retracting his middle finger, a smile still playing on his lips. “First, have your 72 hours passed?”

Tao Hui’s gaze swept over Han Buji’s slender, well-defined fingers.

Am I imagining things? Han Buji’s tone made her feel like she was the one calling the shots in their relationship.

Look at him! Such a gentleman, so magnanimous! He even takes my drunken ramblings seriously!

Was I blind before? How could I have ever thought Han Buji was a short-tempered, petty man?

Tao Hui nodded quickly. “Yes, they’ve passed!”

Han Buji wagged his index finger. “Second, how long do you plan to stay in this position?”

His words reminded Tao Hui that she was still in the position she’d been in when she snatched the phone: one hand gripping Han Buji’s shirt, their faces pressed close together. No wonder the scent of his body wash or shampoo was so strong in her nostrils.

Tao Hui smiled awkwardly, released Han Buji’s collar, and was about to step back when he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Your posture just now made me think you wanted to kiss me.”

“!” Tao Hui’s eyes widened, and she stared at Han Buji with a complex expression.

Had he just flirted with her? Had he really said she wanted to kiss him?

Tao Hui couldn’t quite describe her feelings—perhaps anger. Raising her voice, she roared, “Han Buji! You—” There’s a limit to narcissism!

Before she could finish, a gust of wind swept through the room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang!

The sudden noise cut off her words. Tao Hui’s face paled instantly as she whirled around in terror. Sure enough, her wide-open door had slammed shut, leaving no gap at all.

Tao Hui stared at the door in despair, her soul crying out, “I didn’t bring my key!”