Did the Movie Emperor Blow His Cover Today? - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Tao Hui gently tugged the curtain open, sending fine dust particles swirling into the air. Outside, snowflakes drifted down, and when she saw the lights strung on the pine trees in the residential complex, she suddenly remembered it was Christmas Eve.

The past few days had been blissfully carefree. Tao Hui glanced at the work schedule Zhou Xun had sent, confirming there were no urgent tasks before New Year’s Day. With a sense of relief, she settled back into her routine of taking it easy.

Yet fragments of the previous night kept flashing through her mind: Han Buji’s eyes, their corners flushed red; the beads of sweat dripping from his forehead; the hoarseness that laced his deep, sensual voice; the burning heat where their skin had touched…

Tao Hui patted her cheeks, which were growing warmer, and shook her head, trying to shake off the vivid images.

To distract herself, she even put on rubber gloves and grabbed a damp cloth to wipe the dust from the table. But the effort proved futile. As she crouched to wipe the table legs, Han Buji’s low groan suddenly echoed in her ears.

Her hand jerked, the cloth falling to the floor. She sighed softly.

Tao Hui, get a grip! What are you thinking about so early in the morning?!

Maybe I should go out and catch some of the Old North Wind. It might clear my head.

Brainwashed by extreme visuals, Tao Hui diligently put on a short down jacket, a mask, and a baseball cap. She went out and joined the long queue to buy two egg pancakes and two cups of soy milk.

Beijing is a fast-paced city. Only Tao Hui’s neighborhood, with its predominantly elderly residents, retained a slower pace. Across the street, the neighboring complex housed office workers who walked with the wind at their backs. One young man even glanced at Tao Hui, who was standing at least ten people back in the egg pancake line, his eyes faintly tinged with envy.

On her way back, Tao Hui stopped by the neighborhood supermarket and picked out two of the largest apples, tucking them into her down jacket pockets.

This was her first Christmas Eve where she could share apples with someone!

Being a girl, she still cherished a sense of ritual. Even minor holidays filled her with joy. Clutching the two apples, Tao Hui skipped happily into the elevator.

Inside, she found a figure even more bundled up than herself—a genderless “bear” swathed in layers of thick clothing. Tao Hui instinctively tugged down the brim of her cap with her thumb and forefinger, lowering her head to watch the elevator numbers flash by. She sensed, with heightened sensitivity, that the bear behind her had raised a phone.

Tao Hui frowned. Instead of waiting for the 15th floor, she pressed the “8” button. A few seconds later, the elevator stopped on the 8th floor. Without looking back, Tao Hui stepped out and climbed the stairs.

When she reached Han Buji’s door, she raised her hand to knock, but the door swung open. Han Buji stood in the doorway, a towel draped around his neck.

His damp hair was still fluffy, likely from a recent shower. Tao Hui, exhausted from climbing seven flights of stairs, collapsed into his arms, panting. She stood on tiptoe to ruffle his hair and whined, “I’m so tired!”

Han Buji wrapped his arms around Tao Hui, who was bundled in thick layers, and took the breakfast she carried. Teasingly, he said, “When I woke up and didn’t see you, I thought you’d run away.”

Tao Hui asked softly, “Why would I run away?”

“I don’t know,” Han Buji mused, feigning seriousness. “Maybe you got scared? Or… maybe you just wanted to sleep with me and then leave?”

The moment he brought it up, Tao Hui’s face flushed crimson, and the ache in her wrists intensified. She raised her hands. “Han Buji, I can’t eat. You have to feed me. My hands are so tired.”

Han Buji kissed Tao Hui’s forehead and chuckled as he carried her toward the bathroom. “Alright, I’ll feed you. But first, wash your hands.”

“Okay!” Tao Hui raised her arms, commanding Han Buji to help her remove her down jacket. “Xiao Hanzi (Little Eunuch Han), assist your empress with her wardrobe.”

Feeling the bulky pockets of Tao Hui’s jacket, Han Buji asked, “What’s in your pockets?”

“A little surprise,” Tao Hui replied with a mischievous grin. “Don’t peek!” She lathered the hand soap into a foam, then suddenly sniffed the air. “Han Buji, is this hand soap in your bathroom also cedar-scented? What brand is it?”

Han Buji’s voice drifted from the walk-in closet: “It’s custom-made by a perfumer friend. I’ll introduce you to her sometime.”

Tao Hui picked up the soap bottle—a mint-green glass vessel embossed with a cherubic angel, its neck tied with a dark green satin ribbon. “This person has such a delicate touch.”

Hearing her comment as he returned to the bathroom doorway, Han Buji lowered his gaze and chuckled softly. “She’s the daughter of my father’s lifelong friend.”

Tao Hui, hearing his soft laugh, jabbed the glass bottle playfully under his nose, feigning anger. “The daughter of your father’s lifelong friend? Come on, is she your fiancée or something?”

Han Buji took the glass bottle from Tao Hui and placed it back on the vanity. He glanced at her, her head tilted like a curious child, before slowly saying, “When we were little, Uncle Jiang might have hinted at something like that.”

He’d said this hoping to make Tao Hui jealous, but the girl in front of him showed no such awareness.

“And then? And then? And then?” Tao Hui completely forgot she was supposed to be a little jealous, her eyes sparkling with excitement as if she were dying to hear some juicy gossip about the wealthy elite.

The next moment, Han Buji pulled her into his arms, gave her two playful kisses as punishment, and finally said, “And then what? I have you now.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Why would she still make perfume and hand soap for you?” Tao Hui’s eyes darted around, her imagination running wild. “I’ve got it! She must still be deeply in love with you, wanting to stay by your side no matter what—whether as a lover or a friend! No wonder her cedarwood scent is different from everyone else’s!”

The cedarwood in other perfumes Tao Hui had smelled was dry and woody, with a hint of sweetness, like the shavings from a pencil sharpener in her school days. But the cedarwood scent on Han Buji was unique—clean and soft like a snow-covered plain, yet profoundly deep.

Han Buji gazed at the radiant woman in his arms, helplessly reaching out to ruffle her hair. “You figured it out again?”

Tao Hui tilted her chin defiantly. “So, her unique cedar scent—could it be because she shed tears of deep affection during the perfume’s creation? The tears mixed with the fragrance, making it so captivating? Am I right, Han Buji? Did I guess it?”

Han Buji: “?”

What does this girl’s little head think about all day? he wondered. First, she thinks I’m inadequate, then she’s arranging a fiancée for me, and now her imaginary fiancée is making perfume with her tears?

Han Buji pressed his fingertips to his temples, tapping twice as he pulled her toward the dining room. “Wrong,” he said as they walked. “The girl didn’t even like me. She said I didn’t meet her aesthetic standards.”

“Huh? What does that mean? She thinks you’re ugly?” Tao Hui protested, pouting as she defended her boyfriend’s looks. “Her taste must be terrible! My boyfriend is so handsome it’s practically a crime against humanity!”

As expected, Han Buji fed her breakfast. Tao Hui leaned back in her chair like an empress dowager, enjoying the egg pancakes and soy milk he offered. Just as she was savoring her meal, her phone rang.

Zhou Xun’s call.

“Hui’er,” Zhou Xun’s voice rumbled heavily through the phone.

Tao Hui usually answered calls on speakerphone when she was with Han Buji. In the quiet living room, Zhou Xun’s voice echoed, adding a somber note to the morning air thick with the aroma of egg pancakes.

Zhou Xun’s tone startled Tao Hui. She hadn’t heard him sound like this since she was eighteen.

That year, after security guards had driven away the uninvited paparazzi from their Reykjavik hotel, Zhou Xun had called her with the same opening line.

As if the topic were difficult to broach, Zhou Xun hesitated before continuing, “…Hui’er, check the trending topics. Someone photographed your birthmark again.”

Tao Hui barely reacted to the mention of trending topics. She’d been trending so often this year that one more time hardly mattered.

But what did Zhou Xun mean? Someone had photographed her birthmark?

She jolted up from her chair, nearly knocking over the soy milk in front of her. Han Buji’s phone rang—it was Wu Yue, his voice tinged with urgency. “Boss, Tao Hui is trending? Should our company intervene with PR?”

Han Buji glanced at Tao Hui, who stood frozen beside him, then pulled her into his arms. He exited the call interface, opened Weibo, and said to Wu Yue, “Hold on a sec.”

Tao Hui, nestled in Han Buji’s embrace, peered at his phone screen and immediately spotted her name:

[ Tao Hui’s Years-Long Affair Exposed! Partner’s Bizarre Fetish and Cover-Up Involving Best Actor! Who Is the Man Behind Her? ]

[ This morning, our reporters received an anonymous package from an insider claiming Tao Hui was kept by an older man even before her debut. The man reportedly enjoyed leaving hickeys on her neck, one of which was photographed years ago. At the time, Best Actor Han Buji was falsely blamed to protect her. Actress Tao Hui, who debuted at 16 and was once hailed as the Nation’s First Love, has a shockingly scandalous romantic life… ]

[ [Image] [Image] [Image] ]

The first image was a screenshot from a video of Tao Hui taken three years ago, with her neck deliberately zoomed in to clearly show a pink “kiss mark.”

The second image was a screenshot of a Weibo post that had gone viral back then, with every word of the comments accusing Tao Hui of chasing after Han Buji highlighted in sharp detail.

The third image was a candid photo of Tao Hui, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, looking refreshed and energetic as she drew the curtains while wearing a man’s casual loungewear.

The fourth image showed Tao Hui carrying breakfast for two, her head bowed as she looked at the elevator buttons. The birthmark on her neck was once again zoomed in, making it unmistakably visible.

If it had been just Tao Hui trending, it wouldn’t have reached the top spot. Whoever leaked this gossip clearly had a grudge against her, dragging in Han Buji—a name guaranteed to generate buzz—and framing him as the scapegoat. The Han Meimeis were the first to protest.

In a short time, the Weibo post had already garnered over 10 million views. The comment section was a chaotic mix of questions and insults, with clear signs of paid trolls deliberately stirring up conflict.

[ ~Who’s powerful enough to make Han Buji take the fall? Someone like him? He must have volunteered, right? The entertainment industry is truly rotten to the core! ]

This comment was clearly baiting Han Buji’s fans, and over 100,000 replies had already erupted in anger.

[ ~Tao Hui is disgusting. It’s not uncommon for female celebrities to have sugar daddies, but selling herself at 18 and flaunting “love bites” on her neck? Vomit. ]

If the previous comment aimed to provoke Han Buji’s fans, this one was designed to enrage Tao Hui’s Rabbit Fur.

[ ~Who’s the sugar daddy behind all this? Who has the power to make someone like Han Buji take the fall? ]

Comments like this were deliberately stoking public curiosity, driving up the Weibo’s trending status.

The rest of the comments ranged from the bizarre to the predictable:

Some were from obscure celebrities trying to ride the wave of attention, while others wildly speculated about powerful figures pulling the strings. There were those cursing Tao Hui as shameless and demanding she leave the entertainment industry, and others gleefully devouring the drama.

Tao Hui remained silent, her fingers pressed against the birthmark on her neck—the mark falsely labeled as a love bite—lost in thought.

Han Buji spoke first, turning to Wu Yue. “Suppress the trending topics, suppress the comments, and give Tao Hui’s company time to draft a response.”

“I’ll get on it right away,” Wu Yue said. “What’s the budget?”

Once a trending topic gains momentum, it’s nearly impossible to suppress, potentially requiring a sustained and massive financial investment.

“No expense spared,” Han Buji replied.

Zhou Xun, who had clearly overheard Han Buji’s voice, first thanked him before tentatively asking, “Hui’er, the Boss wants you at the company for a meeting. Should I come pick you up?”

Han Buji gently patted Tao Hui’s back and firmly stated, “No need. I’ll take her.”

The young woman in his arms remained quiet and still, as if utterly frightened. Han Buji tenderly patted her head and murmured, “Don’t worry, I’m here. It’s not a big deal. Trust me.”

Tao Hui held her phone, scrolled to a particularly vicious comment attacking Han Buji, and pointed at the abusive language. Her voice barely a whisper, she said, “I’m sorry… I should have worn concealer when I went out…”

Before she could finish, Han Buji gently kissed her lips and playfully squeezed her wrist to cheer her up. “You were tired yesterday. A little oversight is perfectly normal. Tao Hui, you’re not the one at fault. It’s these ignorant keyboard warriors who think they know everything.”

Tao Hui’s eyes instantly reddened. She lowered her head and obediently put on her down jacket, then wrapped her scarf and pulled on her hat before following Han Buji to the underground garage.

“If you’re tired, take a nap. I’ll talk to your boss about whatever’s going on. Don’t worry,” Han Buji reassured her as he started the car.

In stark contrast to his calm and gentle tone was the sudden roar of the engine as he slammed his foot on the accelerator, the deafening noise echoing through the silent garage.

“Mm,” Tao Hui murmured, secretly wiping away a tear. She pulled two large apples from the bulging pockets of her down jacket, keeping one for herself and offering the other to Han Buji.

Han Buji was about to pull out when he turned to see Tao Hui’s outstretched hand holding the bright red apple.

He looked up and saw his little girl’s eyes glistening with tears, yet she forced a smile and said, “Merry Christmas Eve. I’m fine. Drive carefully, okay?”