Work finished early that evening. Zheng Kunyu had Qi Bailu take his car back, and while Qi Bailu assumed the driver would be there, it turned out Zheng Kunyu was driving himself. Instead of returning to the hotel, they drove all the way to the center of Hangzhou for a quiet Japanese dinner. Qi Bailu was curious why Zheng Kunyu was in the mood to take him out; Zheng Kunyu explained that he had to fly to Yunnan the next day because of a sudden issue with a film crew there, and he might be gone for a few days.
Qi Bailu naturally had no objections. In fact, he almost welcomed the departure; with Zheng Kunyu around, he wasn't allowed to drink too much wine before bed, and he was always at risk of being late the next morning.
After finishing dinner, they took a lap around West Lake before heading back to Hengdian. The car was too warm; sitting in the passenger seat, Qi Bailu accidentally drifted off halfway through the trip. When he woke up, the car was already parked at the hotel, and Zheng Kunyu was nowhere to be seen. In the pitch-black parking garage, the headlights cast a stark white beam. Through the hazy light and the privacy film of the windows, Qi Bailu saw Zheng Kunyu leaning against the door on the other side, smoking. He could see his arm rising and falling.
Qi Bailu checked the time on his phone and was surprised he had slept so long. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he leaned over and tapped on the driver's side window. Hearing the sound, Zheng Kunyu quickly stubbed out his cigarette, opened the door, and leaned in to turn off the lights. Qi Bailu asked why he hadn't woken him.
"You were sleeping deeply," Zheng Kunyu said.
The phrase sounded vaguely familiar. Qi Bailu paused, remembering the previous night. When Zheng Kunyu had asked why he hadn't been woken up, Qi Bailu had given that exact same answer: "You were sleeping deeply." Qi Bailu gave him a look tinged with playful irony. The underground parking lot used voice-activated lights; their footsteps were light, so after a few paces, they were still shrouded in darkness. But Zheng Kunyu sensed his gaze and turned to look at him. There, in the dark, Zheng Kunyu hooked a hand around his waist, leaned down, and kissed him.
The silent darkness felt nearly infinite. The sounds of the kiss and the rustle of clothing became suddenly sharp, and other sensory perceptions were magnified a hundredfold. The bitter scent of tobacco carried a faint, stimulating edge. It felt as if they were standing in the wilderness of the universe, and the person beside him was the only source of light and heat. Qi Bailu let himself be kissed for a long time. He kept his eyes open, watching Zheng Kunyu’s face; the emergency exit lights reflected off Zheng Kunyu’s lenses, two shimmering points of light that flickered slightly. Finding it amusing, he reached out to touch the glasses.
Just as his fingers brushed Zheng Kunyu’s cheekbone, Zheng Kunyu, thinking he was stroking his face, suddenly caught his hand. Qi Bailu’s fingers pressed against his cheek. Even in the dark, he could feel that gaze lingering on his face for a long time. Stripped of expressions and visual exchange, there was only the sound of breath meeting breath, drifting through the air like feathers.
Zheng Kunyu stayed face-to-face with him, only letting go once he had his fill of the kiss. Qi Bailu steadied his nerves and followed him forward; this time, the voice-activated lights finally flickered on. They didn't speak all the way to the elevator. Qi Bailu saw his own face in the mirror, and Zheng Kunyu was watching it too.
He knew his face was flushed. Qi Bailu turned to watch the red numbers jumping on the display. From Zheng Kunyu’s actions just now, he had sensed something dangerous for both of them. But he had no time for regrets; with the atmosphere they had just shared, going back to the room to have sex was a natural conclusion.
By the end of it, as he felt the tremors radiating from his chest under the lights, he found he couldn't focus as intently as he had during that kiss. Zheng Kunyu, however, didn't seem to notice. After the day's exhaustion, Qi Bailu fell into a muddled sleep. This time, he didn't dream of scissors or terrifying things. Instead, he dreamt of his nineteen-year-old self filming *Afternoon Youth* in Lantian County, Xi'an. Back then, he understood nothing and had nothing, but when those eyes looked his way, he could reject them cleanly and decisively, like taking a sharp bite out of a worm-eaten apple.
When he woke up the next morning, Zheng Kunyu was already gone. Qi Bailu went to the set as usual. Looking at the cold, overcast sky from the car, his mind wandered over the events of the past few days. Cai Tongyue certainly didn't have a good temperament, but his emotional volatility was clearly greater than expected. Perhaps he thought Qi Bailu was the one behind his lost endorsement deal. Looking further back, things had been off since the casting news for *Spring Water Raging* first broke.
Cheng Wenhui sat beside him, head down, staring at his phone. He was practically glued to it twenty-four hours a day; there was always something to handle. Qi Bailu turned his gaze toward him and asked out of the blue, "Was it Zheng Kunyu who got Cai Tongyue’s new endorsement canceled?"
Cheng Wenhui, who was mid-type, froze and looked up, then glanced at Lydia and the assistant in the front row. Lydia looked back, saw she wasn't being summoned, and went back to her mobile game. Qi Bailu had spoken in a whisper; they likely hadn't heard.
"How did you... did you guess that yourself?"
It stood to reason; this was exactly Zheng Kunyu’s style. An actor losing commercial resources wouldn't affect the production itself. Aside from necessary publicity stunts, he only cared that the actors in his crew filmed properly. Moreover, this move had only benefits and no drawbacks; Zheng Kunyu had likely redistributed those resources to other artists under his company.
Qi Bailu didn't say another word after that question, and Cheng Wenhui was tactful enough not to press further. If Qi Bailu could figure it out, Cai Tongyue and his team likely could too. It served as a warning; everything should have ended there.
But just as they arrived at the set and finished changing costumes to begin filming, Lydia, who was checking her phone nearby, suddenly let out a cry of surprise. The sound of a video playing came from her phone. Seeing Cheng Wenhui looking at her, Lydia quickly held up the device so both he and Qi Bailu could see.
The scene in the footage was one they knew all too well: the set of *How Much Hate the West Wind Brings*. The video was from yesterday. It wasn't very clear, but the protagonist was unmistakable—it was Cai Tongyue berating the minor actress. The video lasted a full three minutes, capturing Cai Tongyue’s condescending "lecture" from start to finish.
The whistleblower had posted the video only ten minutes ago, and it was already snowballing toward the top of the trending searches. Major media accounts followed suit immediately, pointing fingers at Cai Tongyue with sharp accusations of "acting like a big shot," "bullying newcomers," and being "arrogant and overbearing." Cai Tongyue had always maintained a good public image; though he was known to be a bit young and prideful, it had always been seen as harmless. No one expected that today, the usual process of text-based leaks would be skipped entirely, replaced by a definitive blow dealt by video evidence.
Cai Tongyue’s side had clearly seen the trending topics as well. His manager’s phone was ringing off the hook. With a grim expression, she stepped aside to take a call, while Cai Tongyue slowly stood up from his folding chair. After watching only a few seconds of the video, he suddenly whipped his head toward Qi Bailu. He lunged forward in two or three strides, grabbing Qi Bailu by the collar and snarling, "Was it you?! Was it you people?!"
Cheng Wenhui quickly grabbed Cai Tongyue’s hand to force him to let go. Cai Tongyue’s manager also hung up and rushed over to pull on his arm. Several staff members crowded around to prevent a physical fight.
Lydia said, "Teacher Cai, please calm down. This definitely wasn't Xiao Qi's doing."
Cai Tongyue didn't let go, glaring intensely at Qi Bailu. "Who else could it be? You threatened me yesterday just for this, didn't you?"
"What threat?" Cheng Wenhui looked between them, bewildered.
Qi Bailu didn't explain. He looked at Cheng Wenhui and asked, "Where is Mr. Zheng now?"
"At the airport..."
As Cheng Wenhui spoke, he realized what Qi Bailu meant.
"Call him."
Cheng Wenhui kept his eyes on Cai Tongyue as he reached for his phone. They all heard the prompt: the phone was powered off. Cheng Wenhui said, "He’s already on the plane to Yunnan."
No matter how foolish Cai Tongyue was, he could understand now. This couldn't be Zheng Kunyu’s doing. This attack was aggressive and sudden; Qi Bailu didn't have the god-like power to pull this off alone. Clearly, the opponent had deliberately struck while Zheng Kunyu was away, targeting the entire production. As the lead actor and the main focus of the promotion, Cai Tongyue was naturally the first to be hit.
Cai Tongyue slowly released his grip, allowing his manager to pull him away. Cheng Wenhui patted Qi Bailu on the shoulder and walked over to coordinate with Cai Tongyue’s manager. The manager remained surprisingly calm, frankly accepting Cheng Wenhui’s help. Cai Tongyue was in no state to film today; the director decided to shoot Peng Yiyi and Qi Bailu’s scenes first. He comforted Cai Tongyue for a moment and gave him the day off to go back and rest.
By noon, the "big shot" scandal showed no signs of fading. The person who leaked the video posted another Weibo: *Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock.*
In the comments, indignant netizens speculated that there would be even more explosive material tomorrow night. Some said they couldn't wait and demanded he release it now, while others called for Cai Tongyue to come out and apologize. Like ants scenting sugar water, the discussions under Cai Tongyue’s hashtag were flooded with content related to the video. More ridiculously, several of Cai Tongyue’s biting remarks were plucked out and parodied as "golden quotes." A thousand-mile dike seemed poised to collapse because of a single ant hole.
Since the set had been secretly filmed, the first priority was naturally to find out who did it. They eventually discovered that a crew member responsible for purchasing and distributing meals hadn't shown up. When they checked his address, the place was already empty.
Meanwhile, in front of a long rectangular office desk, a hand reached out to pick up a photograph. A middle-aged man’s voice clicked in wonder. "This is the final straw that could crush Cai Tongyue. How much do you think they’d be willing to pay for this?"
Another voice sounded hesitant. "Don't we need to check the source of this video and these photos? They were handed to us for no reason—isn't this just 'borrowing a knife to kill'?"
"Why bother checking? As long as it's useful, isn't that enough?" The hand tossed the photo back onto the desk. The image showed Cai Tongyue embracing a girl; both were disheveled. The photo had been taken surreptitiously from outside a hotel window.
He admired each photograph, slowly passing judgment: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
蓝田县 | Lantian County | A county in Xi'an where the MC filmed a past project.
《午后的少年》 | Afternoon Youth | A film or series the MC starred in when he was nineteen.
《泉水凶猛》 | Spring Water Raging | A project mentioned in casting rumors.
借刀杀人 | Borrowing a knife to kill | A Chinese idiom meaning to use someone else to do one's dirty work.
千里之堤毁于蚁穴 | A thousand-mile dike collapses because of an ant hole | An idiom meaning a small problem can lead to a great disaster.
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