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

Chapter 28

Deep gray solid-colored wallpaper, minimalist furniture.

Tao Hui stood before Han Buji, holding the voice changer, and asked, “Do you often use this to trick people into sleeping with you online?”

The moment the words left her lips, the room fell into complete silence.

Han Buji, who had been leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and a serious expression, fell silent after hearing Tao Hui’s question.

After a long pause, the Best Actor suddenly let out a soft, amused snort through his nose, leaned back casually against the chair, and repeated with a smirk, “Trick people into sleeping with me?”

His tone carried a hint of refined roguishness, like the kind of sophisticated villain you’d see on TV—the kind who’s impossible to kill or defeat.

“Then what else would you use this for?” Tao Hui asked, waving the device dismissively.

Han Buji narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with a hint of danger. “Tao Hui, do you think I need to trick people to get a date?”

Did the Best Actor need to trick people to get a date? Of course not!

Recent entertainment gossip had reported that even minor online celebrities with a million followers were using their surgically enhanced looks to sleep with fans. If Han Buji wanted, he could snap his fingers and have naive girls lining up at his door.

Though his apartment didn’t even have a spare pair of women’s slippers.

Under Han Buji’s narrowed gaze, Tao Hui felt like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck. She slowly lowered her hands from her hips, muttering, “I guess… you probably don’t need to…”

Perhaps too lazy to argue, Han Buji simply took the voice changer from Tao Hui’s hand, slowly coiled the headset, and asked, “Is that all you could think of?”

“Yeah,” Tao Hui replied, giving Han Buji a puzzled look. “Don’t you always see those weird news stories online? Men buying voice changers to pretend to be women, then luring other men out for sex or something. I was just curious…”

As she spoke, Tao Hui felt a pang of guilt. The news story she’d mentioned didn’t quite fit, did it?

If they were tricking men for sex, wouldn’t that make them gay?

“Tao Hui,” Han Buji called out, tossing the voice changer up and down in his palm. “If I remember correctly, those guys who use voice changers to trick men for sex… aren’t they usually gay?”

“Ahahaha…” Tao Hui forced a dry laugh, her mind blanking. “So… you’re not, right?”

Han Buji chuckled in exasperation. “Do I look like I’m into men?”

Tao Hui hadn’t really thought much when she saw the voice changer. She’d just woken up, her mind still hazy. Besides, she’d never seen a real voice changer in person before…

She already regretted asking the question. She hadn’t expected Han Buji to patiently engage in this conversation, much less steer it in such a bizarre direction.

He certainly didn’t seem like he was into men, but Tao Hui stubbornly refused to admit she’d spoken out of turn. She could only force herself to mumble defensively, “Well, I’ve never heard you mention a girlfriend either.”

“So you think I’m a gay guy who can’t get a boyfriend and has to use a voice changer to hook up?” Han Buji nodded, summarizing her words.

That wasn’t Tao Hui’s intention at all. She’d simply been curious about why Han Buji had a voice changer.

But Han Buji’s expression was so serious that she found herself foolishly nodding along with him.

The nod was barely perceptible, but the moment she moved, Tao Hui knew she was doomed.

Sure enough, the instant she nodded, Han Buji suddenly stood up.

Tao Hui: “!”

They were already standing close, and when Han Buji rose, Tao Hui felt like her nose was about to poke his chest. The rich scent of cedar and sandalwood once again enveloped her senses.

Instinctively, Tao Hui tried to step back, but Han Buji’s hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“G-gentlemen don’t resort to violence!” Tao Hui shouted, her eyes squeezed shut.

Han Buji chuckled. “Gentlemen don’t resort to violence? What about gentlemen who resort to… words?”

Why did that sound so lewd?

Tao Hui jerked her head up. They were so close that she could clearly see Han Buji’s long, straight eyelashes and the slight furrow between his brows. The unfamiliar warmth of his hand on her shoulder made her suddenly feel flustered.

“I…” Tao Hui tried to say something, but Han Buji interrupted her with a soft, helpless sigh.

“Don’t always tease me,” he said.

Tao Hui desperately wanted to back away. This close proximity was making her heart race. She struggled gently, but the hand on her shoulder remained firm. Instead of letting her go, Han Buji leaned closer, whispering in her ear, “It’s true I don’t have a girlfriend, but I do have someone I like.”

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

Smiling, he added, “A woman.”

I have someone I like. A woman.

Tao Hui nodded blankly. “Oh, well, that’s… that’s great.”

That afternoon, Han Buji went to Unruly Entertainment’s headquarters. Apparently, the company’s manager had recently recruited a Chinese-American singer from overseas. Rumor had it that the newcomer was highly regarded—a musical prodigy.

None of this mattered to Tao Hui. Alone in Han Buji’s apartment, she wandered aimlessly, holding a cup of takeout milk tea she had no appetite for.

A strange restlessness gnawed at her.

Han Buji’s apartment was spotless, recently moved into and lacking any lived-in feel. Compared to the wall of photos in her own home, this place felt almost uninhabited.

After pacing around twice out of boredom, Tao Hui sank into the sofa. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an ID card lying on the coffee table.

Few people manage to take flattering photos for their ID cards. Her own photo was so unflattering she couldn’t bear to look at it twice.

She remembered once when she, Zhou Xun, and Miao Miao were checking into a hotel. The moment they pulled out their IDs, they burst into laughter. Zhou Xun, in particular, loathed anyone seeing his ID photo.

With a mischievous grin, Tao Hui picked up the ID card from the table. But when she flipped it over and saw the photo, her hand froze.

ID cards issued after age 16 are valid for ten years. The photo showed Han Buji as a teenager, his lazy phoenix eyes radiating a youthful arrogance. He looked slimmer than he did now, his demeanor sharper and more intense.

Tao Hui stared at the photo, lost in thought. Han Buji’s youthful appearance seemed strangely familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Her fingertip traced the lines of his eyebrows and eyes in the photo, and Han Buji’s parting words resurfaced in her mind, even the lingering scent of cedar and sandalwood on him felt like a resurgence of something long buried.

Tao Hui didn’t notice the smile slowly fading from her face.

Han Buji has someone he likes, but no girlfriend?

If he likes someone, why doesn’t he have a girlfriend?

A secret crush? Unrequited love? Does the other person not like him back?

So, Han Buji really likes this person he mentioned?

Tao Hui’s mind raced in circles like a tongue-twister, until the vibration of her phone startled her. It was Zhou Xun.

She answered the call, her voice listless. “Sister Xun?”

“Hui-ah, are you still at that… what’s-his-name’s place?” Zhou Xun’s voice was muffled by background noise, carefully avoiding mentioning Han Buji’s name. “I arrived in Beijing today and I’m having dinner with a variety show director. They’ve invited the Sheng Jue production crew to participate in a major variety show to promote the drama, and Director Chen recommended you.”

Tao Hui finally perked up. “Sister Xun, you finally understand the emptiness of wanting to date but not being able to openly go on blind dates!”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Didn’t you tell Miao Miao you only wanted to focus on acting and becoming a movie queen for the next ten years?” Zhou Xun retorted.

Desperate for a topic to reignite her enthusiasm, Tao Hui ignored Zhou Xun’s words and muttered to herself, “Ideally, it would be one of those fake couple reality shows. If only I had a mom, she might even nag me about which male guest she liked after watching it.”

Zhou Xun fell silent on the other end of the line. He knew his artists well; when Tao Hui was upset, she tended to talk to herself like this.

And perhaps Tao Hui didn’t realize it, but whenever she was particularly unhappy, she would start fantasizing about having a mother and a family.

Zhou Xun felt a pang of sympathy for Tao Hui. The young woman had entered the industry at just eighteen, always polite and sweet-tongued to everyone. Zhou Xun had taken her under his wing, only later learning that she had grown up in an orphanage.

Though she looked like a flower of worldly wealth and splendor, she was truly a pitiful little thing.

With this thought, Zhou Xun’s “motherly instincts” flared up again. “Hui-ah, what’s wrong? You seem down. This variety show isn’t the fake-couple type, but if you want to do one like that, I’ll definitely arrange it for you after the New Year. Miao Miao and I will watch every episode and sit with you to discuss which male guest suits you best.”

“It’s fine if you want to date too, you know. Even though the higher-ups at our company can be stingy and unreasonable sometimes, they don’t have strict rules about artists dating. Just tell me what kind of guy you like, and I’ll keep an eye out for you. With how beautiful our Huihui is, there’s no way you’ll have trouble finding a good man…”

Zhou Xun’s affectionate rambling lasted a full half-hour before he finally hung up. Tao Hui’s mood remained unchanged.

When Zhou Xun asked her what kind of man she liked, Tao Hui’s mind inexplicably flashed to Han Buji’s phoenix eyes, which always seemed to hold a hint of amusement.

Tao Hui didn’t understand what was happening to her. Her sudden and inexplicable gloom was overwhelming.

She didn’t want to do anything, didn’t want to think about anything.

Tao Hui curled up on Han Buji’s spacious sofa, hugging a cushion. As dusk fell unnoticed, she finally brought the cup of milk tea she’d been holding all afternoon to her lips.

The milk tea had long gone cold, but Tao Hui continued to suck on the straw as if oblivious, until the empty cup made a slurping sound. Only then did she snap out of her daze.

Han Buji returned from Unruly Entertainment, unlocked the security door, and was greeted by this scene: the girl he liked sitting on his sofa, looking utterly spaced out, her bun hairstyle resembling a spiky little cactus.

So cute.

Han Buji’s afternoon fatigue vanished instantly. Smiling, he asked, “Did you fall asleep?”

Tao Hui, lost in thought, glanced at him with a vacant expression, remaining silent.

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

The dazed girl stirred, reaching out from her wide sleeves to grab the crayfish bag. Suddenly, she asked, “Han Buji, do you really have someone you like?”