Chapter 39

"Is the competition among male actors that fierce too?"

"Why ask me? You should know that better than anyone."

Xie Yibai said, "Movies and web dramas are different, though, aren't they...?"

Zou Yan said, "Yeah. It's more complicated for male movie stars. Famous film directors have established their positions through their achievements and awards. Their names carry more weight than actors', and they have enormous sway. With good scripts in their hands, they can cast whoever they want, and they're more willing to discover new faces than use old acquaintances. Some male movie stars get older and don't want to take roles as uncles or grandfathers, so they have nothing to act in. They'll put together a production themselves, promote themselves, and help develop new directors while they're at it."

"So even if you become a best actor, you might have no roles by the time you're middle-aged?" Xie Yibai worried needlessly. "Things are really tough."

"Winning an award doesn't mean much." Zou Yan pinched his ear. "Someday, when every good script comes to you first, and only goes to other people after you've had your pick, and you can make your own decisions-what to act in, whether to act, and how to act-then you'll be a top actor whose name goes down in film history. Besides, male actors have a long prime. Plenty don't make it until their thirties or forties. You're still young, so no more discouraging talk."

Xie Yibai thought deeply and smiled without realizing it. It was a curious feeling. He had been looking ahead to the end of his life as an actor, yet Zou Yan was telling him that his career had yet to begin.

A tiny spark ignited deep in his soul, and a new light appeared in his eyes.

Xie Yibai had spent a full and happy week, and he had set aside Sunday evening to rest.

For him, resting meant going nowhere, lounging at home, playing with the dog, and scrolling on his phone.

That was his plan, but once again things changed before he could carry it out. At seven that evening, Xing Zhanyun came to his door.

He first called Xie Yibai's cell phone. When Xie Yibai didn't answer, he sent a message: I'm downstairs at your place.

Xie Yibai knew he couldn't cut off all contact with Xing Zhanyun just like that, but they should already have drawn a clear line between them.

What had Xing Zhanyun come to see him for? Had he regretted his investment? Was he trying to get the sixty million back?

He typed a reply: I'm not home. Do you have business to discuss? You can contact my agent.

Xing Zhanyun: I'm here to see you.

I'm not home.

Xing Zhanyun: I know you're home. Let me up. There are things you have a right to know.

What things?

Xing Zhanyun: About Zou Yan.

Xie Yibai hesitated for five minutes before calling the property management downstairs, however unwilling he was.

He was afraid Xing Zhanyun had come to cause a scene, so he told the auntie to stay in her bedroom and not come out later. If she heard any commotion in the living room, she was to call the police immediately, without hesitating.

The auntie pointed at Little Biscuit. "Should I take the dog with me?"

"No, he can stay out here with me," Xie Yibai said.

The doorbell rang just as he finished speaking.

Little Biscuit darted between his owner's calves and followed Xie Yibai to the entryway. As soon as the door opened, he barked at the visitor.

Xing Zhanyun looked calm and composed, unlike someone who had come to make trouble. He glanced down at Little Biscuit and ignored the dog's excited antics.

Xie Yibai was getting him a pair of slippers, but he paid no attention and stepped into the living room, tossing a brown paper document envelope onto the coffee table.

Xie Yibai held his tongue. Little Biscuit, meanwhile, ran excitedly toward Xing Zhanyun and pounced on his shoes.

The little dog was a contrary one too. Last time Xing Zhanyun had tried to play with him, he had ignored him. Now that no one was paying attention to him, he was eager to get noticed.

Only a few months had passed, yet things had changed. Xing Zhanyun was like a different person as he said steadily and with restraint, "Take a look at this first."

Xie Yibai went to the coffee table, suspicious. He undid the string closure and tipped a stack of photographs and photocopies out of the envelope.

He sifted through the photos. They were all complete strangers to him. "Who are these people?"

"Your sweetheart's exes," Xing Zhanyun said. "You didn't know?"

Sweetheart? Zou Yan?

Xie Yibai examined the photos again. They were all beautiful faces, but he couldn't tell anything else. "So?"

Xing Zhanyun patiently picked out a few photos and explained, "This one is Fang Chun, a Chinese-German mixed-race supermodel. He was on a talent show four years ago and gained a little fame. He and Zou Yan had a thing. These were taken by paparazzi-proof that they went to restaurants and tennis courts together."

"And this one, Ren Haocheng, is a nobody actor. He was photographed shopping with Zou Yan in Milan three years ago. This one's called Jian Xin, and two years ago..."

"Stop a moment," Xie Yibai interrupted. "What are you trying to show me their photos for?"

Xing Zhanyun said, "Have you heard of a single one of these people? Can you name any of them?"

Xie Yibai said, "No, I don't know any of them."

"Isn't it obvious, then? What kind of person is Zou Yan? He changes partners every year! He dumps them when he gets tired of them. There's always someone eager for the resources he has anyway. Do you really think he'll promote you? If he were someone who kept his promises, why did all these old flames quietly leave the industry? Xie Yibai, don't be stupid. He's just playing with you. He'll never be serious about you!"

"Brother Yan isn't playing with me."

Xing Zhanyun was so angry he laughed. "You think you're the exception, is that it? Because you're a rare treasure, one of a kind, the playboy will mend his ways for you, and the scumbag will become your simp? Have you acted in so many bad dramas that you've brainwashed yourself? Do you really think things like that happen? Xie Yibai, I know people like Zou Yan better than you do. Before he wins you over, he treats you wonderfully, but once he has you, he turns his back on you. If you don't want to end up like them, come to your senses now. Stop clinging to Zou Yan. Being with him won't do you any good-"

"Zhanyun," Xie Yibai interrupted again, "are you jealous of him?"

Xing Zhanyun's torrent of words abruptly stopped, catching in his throat as though someone had pressed pause. His face was full of shock, confusion, and anger. His handsome features were like a crumpled sketch, pale and twisted.

"You came running here to expose all this so I'd change my mind about him, reject him, hate him, and then come back to you?" Xie Yibai straightened the stack of photos, put them back in the envelope, and handed it to Xing Zhanyun. "Take it with you. I don't need to know what kind of person Zou Yan used to be."

Xing Zhanyun slowly raised his hand, but just as he was about to take the envelope, he suddenly swept it away with the back of his hand. It flew toward the sofa, struck the edge of a cushion, and fell to the floor with a thud. The photos and papers spilled out and scattered everywhere.

Here we go again.

Xie Yibai wasn't intimidated by the rough gesture. Before he could gather his thoughts, Xing Zhanyun broke down. "Why won't you listen? I'm doing this for your own good. Your parents have protected you since you were little, and you've never been through any great hardships. Do you know how treacherous people can be? You don't understand anything! We've known each other so long, but you don't believe a word I say. You always think I'm trying to hurt you. How long have you known Zou Yan? A few words from him and you're completely taken in!"

"I'm the one who likes you most in the whole world, the one who cares about you most! Didn't you say you didn't like people who were drawn in by looks and quick to fall for someone new? So you were lying to me, weren't you? As long as someone's rich enough and sweet-talks you enough, he can win you over! What about me, then? Did I lose because I'm not rich enough, because I'm not as smooth-tongued as he is?"

Xing Zhanyun couldn't rein in his emotions. Tears pooled in his bloodshot eyes, and his voice grew hoarse. "I'm begging you, don't be with him. Even if I'm not as good as him in some ways, I can change. Why can't you give me a chance?"

Waves crashed through Xie Yibai's mind. He wanted to shout at Xing Zhanyun, "Get out, you lunatic!" But if Xing Zhanyun left, who would make up the sixty million?

This wasn't Xing Zhanyun. This was one of his financial backers, who had come to make unreasonable trouble for him only to lose control of his own emotions first.

If he were Xing Zhanyun's father, out of concern for his beloved son, he would surely send the precious boy to a psychiatric hospital for electroshock therapy. Otherwise, keeping him at home would be a real menace.

Xie Yibai braced himself, pulled out two tissues, and went over to wipe Xing Zhanyun's tears.

"Don't cry... I didn't know you liked me so much..." His thoughts were in a jumble, and he could only say things to soothe him. "Just talk to me. Why are you being so fierce? Didn't I open the door and let you in?"

As soon as Xie Yibai's hand touched him, Xing Zhanyun stopped crying. He took Xie Yibai's fingers, examined their tips, and said, "Your nails need trimming. I'll cut them for you."

They had made quite a commotion in the living room. Remembering Xie Yibai's instructions, the auntie crept out along the wall, only to find Xing Zhanyun holding his hand. Apart from the mess on the floor, there had been no serious casualties or damage.

Little Biscuit was wrestling with the envelope, trying to crawl inside. When he couldn't squeeze through the opening, he barked.

The people and the dog were peaceful and unharmed, as though the earlier noise had merely been a trick of her hearing.

"Yibai, are you all right?" the auntie asked.

With the situation under control, Xie Yibai tried to smooth things over. "Oh, I'm fine. Could you get me the nail clippers? I forgot where I put them."

The auntie brought them a nail-care kit, then set out a pot of freshly boiled flower tea and poured them each a cup to cool.

She gathered the scattered photos, stuffed them all back into the crumpled envelope, and put it back where it belonged. Then she returned to her room, with Little Biscuit running in after her at her heels.

In the quiet living room, the hot fragrance of flower tea drifted through the air.

The crisp sound of the nail clippers echoed in Xie Yibai's ears, taking him back to the summer he was twenty.

He and Xing Zhanyun had sat on a carpet like this back then too. It had been a genuine-leather carpet in another apartment, with beautiful patterns crocheted by hand.

Xing Zhanyun hadn't been paying attention and clipped a fraction of a millimeter too deep, nicking his nail bed. He drew his finger back in pain, but Xing Zhanyun was quicker, taking it into his mouth.

That same fine, stinging pain crossed time and overlapped with the present. Xie Yibai frowned slightly as he watched Xing Zhanyun kiss the tiny, inconspicuous spot of blood on his fingertip.

Those deep-set eyes were like black birds with their feathers tucked away, lying docilely in the palm of his hand.