He Li sat alone in the hotel café, staring blankly at the menu without making any move to order.
The server had also heard what had happened on set that day. Instead of rushing him, they brought him a glass of warm water.
"He Li?" a sweet voice called.
He Li looked up sharply and saw Meng Tian approaching with a script in her hand.
She gave him a warm smile. "Why are you sitting here alone? Would you like me to keep you company for a while?"
He Li hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Meng Tian sat down across from him. "After something like this, it's best to stay with other people. I wanted to keep Xiao He company yesterday, but she turned me down. Today she stayed in her room alone again. I have no idea what she's doing... Ah, sorry. Am I talking too much?"
He Li shook his head. "Not at all. Miss Meng, I-I'm really grateful that you're willing to talk to me."
He was rather introverted to begin with, and his looks were thoroughly average. After years of playing bit parts on film sets, he found that those glamorous stars treated him much the same as they did any other crew member.
Only Meng Tian had always been so kind to him!
She... could she actually be interested in me?
He Li felt giddy, yet at the same time, his conflicting feelings and low self-esteem told him it was probably impossible.
He couldn't help stealing glances at Meng Tian, watching her idly pinch a corner of her script.
She had covered the edges of the script with notes. Curious, He Li asked, "May I take a look?"
Meng Tian paused, then handed him her script with a slightly embarrassed look.
...She really was a meticulous girl. She had even written a character biography for a third-rate film like this.
Hmm? Wait... why were these highlighted lines for An Ya, the female lead?
Seeing where He Li's gaze had landed, a flicker of sadness crossed Meng Tian's face.
He Li immediately remembered the rumor-
The female lead in "The King of Hell Is Here" had originally been Meng Tian, but the investors had parachuted An Ya into the role!
It was An Ya! An Ya had stolen his goddess's leading role!
He Li's gaze turned cold.
He thought he ought to do something for his goddess, to repay her for the special attention she had shown him.
The cast and crew lounge.
Li Qing leaned against the wall in the kitchenette, his eyes fixed on He Li's livestream while he listened to the conversation on the other side of the wall.
A somewhat deep male voice said gently, "Whatever the case, we really owe you for today. Otherwise, who knows how many people would have been hurt or killed."
The other man's voice no longer sounded so cold. There was even a hint of apprehension in it. "It just suddenly occurred to me..."
His voice faded. After a while, he added, "By the way, when the explosion happened, I saw you shield that production assistant. Are you... all right?"
"I'm fine," the deeper voice replied with a chuckle. "We were quite far away. But whenever I think that it could have been Li Qing checking the hood, I still get a chill."
The other man hesitated. "You care about him a lot?"
"Hmm... this might not be the best way to put it, but I know him better than the other production assistant."
"...That's understandable. People are like that. If you absolutely have to choose..."
His voice gradually trailed off.
At the same time, Li Qing's gaze sharpened slightly on the other side of the wall.
Then He Li walked into the kitchenette.
He glanced at Li Qing, looking a little guilty.
Then he poured several cups of coffee before turning his back to block Li Qing's view.
-That was useless, of course. His every movement was clearly visible on the livestream.
He Li took out a tiny glass bottle and poured its contents into one of the cups of coffee.
Li Qing made no further move. He merely took a slow sip of coffee and watched the King of Hell circle He Li excitedly.
...He really did look like a dog, he thought at a rather inappropriate moment.
He Li glanced at Li Qing again. Once he was sure Li Qing knew nothing, he carried the tray out.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Caught off guard, He Li collided with Bai Cha as he rushed in, spilling scalding coffee over them both.
He Li cried out, and the coffee cups crashed to the floor.
His face went pale. He hurriedly bowed in apology, then ran out.
Li Qing's gaze followed He Li until he disappeared through the doorway. The King of Hell floated back, looking crestfallen.
Gong Yao followed close behind, having heard the commotion.
"Bai Cha?" he asked in surprise. "Are you all right? What happened?"
Bai Cha ignored him. Instead, he strode up to Li Qing, stared into the eyes behind his glasses, and asked, enunciating every word, "You saw everything, didn't you?"
Li Qing raised one eyebrow slightly, silently expressing his confusion.
Bai Cha spoke quietly but with utter certainty. "You saw He Li poison the coffee! Why didn't you stop him?"
Li Qing didn't deny it. He asked instead, "Why should I stop him?"
"You-you're hurting people!"
His voice rose a little. Gong Yao stepped forward with a frown. "What's going on?"
Agitated, Bai Cha shook Gong Yao off.
Li Qing leaned closer, looking straight into Bai Cha's eyes, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Am I?" he said mildly. "But how did you know He Li was going to poison the coffee?"
Bai Cha froze.
Li Qing blinked, but no answer came from Bai Cha.
He probably wasn't ready to answer him yet.
So Li Qing stepped back and said calmly, "Mr. Bai, you should go change first. The coffee was very hot. I think you need to tend to that."
Bai Cha stared hard at Li Qing. After a long moment, he spun around angrily and left the kitchenette.
Gong Yao looked at Li Qing in confusion, at a rare loss for what to do. "When did you get here? What... happened between you two?"
Li Qing shook his head, took the broom from behind the door, and swept the broken cups into the trash.
Perhaps feeling awkward, Gong Yao stayed beside him without saying a word.
Li Qing washed his hands, then went over Bai Cha's behavior once more in his mind.
Then he looked at Gong Yao.
Gong Yao immediately straightened, ready for him to speak.
Although Gong Yao no longer remembered his own identity, Li Qing trusted Gong Yao's intelligence enough to put his question to him.
"I feel as though Mr. Bai is paying a little too much attention to me," he said with a slight frown. "Not the sort of attention people give out of curiosity, affection, or other normal social motives. Why would that be?"
Gong Yao thought for quite a while, then suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Li Qing: "?"
Gong Yao said, "Uh, is it possible-I mean, it's pretty tasteless to talk about someone behind his back like this..."
Li Qing said, "Just say it. No one but me will hear you."
Oh, right. There were also the livestream viewers, but that didn't matter.
Gong Yao said, "Well... could he be a little jealous of you?"
Li Qing: "?"
"Look, male celebrities can actually be pretty competitive. You and he are both the pretty type, but you're a little better-looking, and you're always right in front of him. It's only natural that he'd feel some hostility."
Li Qing had never considered that angle.
His brain scrambled for a moment. He tilted his head in confusion. "Then why isn't he jealous of you?"
Gong Yao paused. "Are you saying I'm more handsome than he is?"
Li Qing: "..."
Gong Yao smiled, then said as though it were obvious, "Why would he be jealous of me? We're not even in the same category."
Li Qing gave it some serious thought.
Then he concluded that this definitely wasn't the reason for Bai Cha's attitude toward him.
He gave Gong Yao a complicated look, said nothing, and slowly left the kitchenette.
...In this Dungeon Instance, he had better not trust Gong Yao's intelligence for the time being.
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