Did the Movie Emperor Blow His Cover Today? - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The room was adorned with dark gray solid-color wallpaper and minimalistic furniture.

Tao Hui stood before Han Buji, holding a voice changer. “Do you often trick people into sleeping with you online?” she asked.

The moment she spoke, the silence in the room became so profound that one could hear a needle drop.

Han Buji had been leaning forward with his arms resting on his legs, his expression serious. After hearing Tao Hui’s words, he fell silent.

After a long pause, the Best Actor suddenly let out a snort from his nose. He leaned back against the chair, his lips curling as he repeated with interest, “Trick people into sleeping with me?”

His tone carried a hint of sophistication, reminiscent of a high-class villain from a TV drama—the type who could never be killed or defeated.

“Then what’s this thing for?” Tao Hui asked, waving the voice changer in her hand.

Han Buji narrowed his eyes, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. “Tao Hui, do you think I need to trick people to get dates?”

Does the Best Actor need to trick people to get dates? Of course not!

Recent entertainment gossip had reported even small-time influencers with a million followers daring to exploit their plastic surgery-enhanced faces to manipulate fans. If Han Buji wanted, he could snap his fingers and have women lining up at his door.

Though his house didn’t even contain a pair of spare lady’s slippers.

Under Han Buji’s narrowed gaze, Tao Hui felt like a cat caught by the scruff of its neck. Her hands slowly dropped from her hips as she mumbled, “I suppose… you probably… don’t need to…”

Perhaps unwilling to argue with her, Han Buji simply took the voice changer from Tao Hui’s hand. He methodically coiled the earphones before asking, “Is that all you could think of?”

“Yes.” Tao Hui gave him a bewildered look. “Aren’t there always these weird news stories online? About men buying voice changers to pretend they’re women, then tricking other guys into meeting them for… you know… I was just curious…”

As she spoke, Tao Hui felt a twinge of guilt. The news story she’d mentioned didn’t quite fit, did it? If someone was being tricked into meeting for that kind of thing, wouldn’t that make it… gay?

“Tao Hui.” Han Buji called her name, tossing the voice changer between his palms. “If I’m not mistaken, the kind of scenario you’re describing—where someone uses a voice changer to trick others into meeting them for… that… isn’t that usually between people of the same gender?”

“Ah ha ha…” Tao Hui forced out a nervous laugh. Her brain had misfired, and she’d blurted out something without thinking. “So… you’re not into that, then?”

Han Buji laughed in exasperation. “Do I look like someone who’s into men?”

Truth be told, Tao Hui hadn’t given the voice changer much thought when she first saw it. She’d just woken up, her mind still half-asleep. Besides, she’d never seen a real voice changer before…

By the time she finished speaking, Tao Hui already regretted asking. She hadn’t expected Han Buji to actually engage with her, let alone steer the conversation down such a bizarre path.

He didn’t look like someone who liked men, but Tao Hui stubbornly refused to admit she’d misspoken. She forced herself to mutter, “Well, I’ve never heard you have a girlfriend either.”

“So you think I’m some gay guy who can’t get a boyfriend and has to use a voice changer to trick people into bed?” Han Buji nodded, summarizing her implication.

This wasn’t Tao Hui’s intention; she’d simply been curious about why Han Buji would own a voice changer.

But Han Buji’s expression had been so serious that she’d foolishly nodded along with him.

The nod was slight, but the moment Tao Hui moved, she knew she was in trouble.

Sure enough, as soon as she nodded, Han Buji suddenly stood up.

Tao Hui: “!”

They’d already been standing close together. With Han Buji now standing, Tao Hui felt her nose practically touching his chest, the rich scent of cedarwood and sandalwood enveloping her again.

She instinctively tried to step back, but Han Buji caught her by the shoulders.

“A gentleman should speak, not act!” Tao Hui closed her eyes and shouted.

Han Buji smiled. “A gentleman… should speak?”

Why did those words sound so lecherous?

Tao Hui suddenly lifted her head. The two were standing too close; she could clearly see Han Buji’s long, straight eyelashes and the slight furrow between his eyebrows. The hand he pressed against her shoulder carried an unfamiliar warmth that made Tao Hui’s heart flutter with sudden anxiety.

“I…” Tao Hui began, but Han Buji’s soft sigh cut her off.

“Don’t keep getting mad at me,” he murmured.

Tao Hui desperately wanted to pull back. This closeness was making her heartbeat erratic. She tried to struggle gently, but the hand on her shoulder held firm. Instead of letting go, Han Buji leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “It’s true I don’t have a girlfriend, but I do have someone I like.”

With those words, Han Buji finally released Tao Hui. He stepped back, picked up his phone from the table, and turned to meet her panicked gaze.

He added with a smile, “A woman.”

I have someone I like. A woman.

Tao Hui nodded in confusion. “Oh, that… that’s good then.”

That afternoon, Han Buji went to Unruly Company headquarters. The company’s manager had apparently recruited a new Chinese singer from abroad—one said to be a musical prodigy with high praise.

None of this had anything to do with Tao Hui. She wandered aimlessly through Han Buji’s house, clutching a cup of delivered bubble tea she couldn’t bring herself to drink.

A strange restlessness had settled in her chest.

Han Buji’s home was spotless, having been recently moved into. The living space felt almost uninhabited, especially compared to her own walls covered in family photos. This place was so empty it might as well have never been lived in.

After pacing around twice, Tao Hui sank into the sofa in boredom. Her peripheral vision caught an ID card resting on the coffee table.

Few people could manage to look good in ID photos. Her own picture made her want to avoid looking at it ever again.

She remembered a time when she, Zhou Xun, and Miao Miao had checked into a hotel. When they produced their IDs, they’d all burst into laughter. Zhou Xun had been particularly vehement about others seeing his ID.

With this thought, Tao Hui grinned mischievously and picked up the ID. Her hand froze when she saw the photo on the back.

ID cards issued after age 16 have a ten-year validity period. The Han Buji in the photo was still a teenager, his lazy phoenix eyes exuding a youthful arrogance. He looked thinner than his current self, with a sharper, more intense aura.

Tao Hui stared at the photo in a daze, feeling an uncanny sense of familiarity about Han Buji’s youthful appearance.

Her fingertips traced the contours of his eyes in the picture. The words he’d spoken before leaving resurfaced in her mind, even the lingering scent of cedarwood and sandalwood from his body threatening to overwhelm her senses.

Unaware, Tao Hui’s smile gradually faded.

Han Buji had someone he liked but no girlfriend?

Why would he have someone he liked without a girlfriend?

Unrequited love? One-sided affection? Did the other person not return his feelings?

So, Han Buji truly liked this person he claimed to have feelings for?

Tao Hui’s thoughts twisted into a verbal labyrinth as her phone vibrated, startling her. It was Zhou Xun.

“Hello?” she answered, her voice flat.

“Hui ah, still at that… person’s place?” Zhou Xun’s voice came through muffled, the background noise making him carefully avoid mentioning Han Buji’s name. “I’m in Imperial Capital City today, having lunch with a variety show director. They’re inviting actors from the Sheng Jue production team to promote the show. Director Chen recommended you.”

Tao Hui finally mustered some energy. “Sister Xun, you finally understand the emptiness of wanting a romance but not being able to openly pursue it through traditional matchmaking!”

“What nonsense is this? Didn’t you tell Miao Miao you just want to focus on acting for the next decade and become a movie star?” Zhou Xun retorted.

Desperate for a topic to spark her enthusiasm, Tao Hui ignored Zhou Xun’s words and muttered to herself, “It’d be perfect if it’s one of those reality shows where you pretend to be a couple. If only I had a mother, she might nag me afterward about which male contestant she liked.”

On the other end of the line, Zhou Xun fell silent. He knew his artists well—Tao Hui always resorted to this self-talk when feeling down. Moreover, she might not realize it herself, but whenever she was particularly unhappy, she’d start daydreaming about having a mother and a family.

Zhou Xun felt genuine concern for Tao Hui. The young girl had been only 18 when she entered the industry, courteous and sweet with everyone. He’d taken care of her, but later learned she’d grown up in an orphanage.

Though she looked like a wealthy flower from a fairy tale, she was truly a pitiful little creature.

At this thought, Zhou Xun’s maternal instincts flared up again. “Hui ah, what’s wrong? Feeling down? This variety show isn’t one of those pretend-couple ones, but if you want to do that kind, I’ll definitely arrange it after the New Year. We’ll watch every episode with Miao Miao and discuss which male guest would suit you best.”

“It’s fine if you want to date too. Our company’s management can be stingy and unreasonable sometimes, but we don’t have strict rules about artists dating. Tell me what type you like, and I’ll keep an eye out. With Huihui’s beauty, there’s no need to worry about finding good men…”

Zhou Xun’s affectionate chatter continued for half an hour before they hung up, leaving Tao Hui’s mood still gloomy.

When Zhou Xun asked about her ideal man, Tao Hui’s mind inexplicably flashed with Han Buji’s enigmatic phoenix eyes—those half-smiles that seemed to hold untold secrets.

Tao Hui couldn’t understand what had come over her. This sudden despondency felt inexplicable and overwhelming.

She had no desire to move or think.

Tao Hui curled up on Han Buji’s wide sofa with a cushion, oblivious as the sky darkened. The cup of bubble tea she’d held all afternoon finally reached her lips.

The bubble tea had long gone cold, but Tao Hui continued sipping through the straw as if in a trance. Only when the empty cup began to emit a hollow sucking sound did she finally come back to her senses.

Han Buji returned from the office, jiggling his key in the lock. The sight that greeted him upon entering was his favorite girl sitting on his sofa, her face in a daze, her bun hairstyle resembling a bristling little cactus.

How adorable.

All the afternoon’s fatigue vanished from Han Buji’s body. He smiled and asked, “Did you fall asleep?”

Tao Hui’s eyes were unfocused as she looked at him, her silence stretching awkwardly.

“Tao Hui?” Han Buji waved the large box of crayfish he’d bought in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

The dazed girl before him stirred. A hand emerged from her wide sleeve to grab the crayfish bag. “Han Buji,” she blurted out, “do you really have someone you like?”