Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 63

Chapter 63: I Miss You

Yin Chengjue never expected that his simple act of curiosity—meeting Fei Zhengqi, would lead to hearing so much news, and that it would actually involve Rong Yu.

After thinking it over, it was probably because of the Blood Mist audition incident. Qin Linlin ultimately chose Rong Yu and didn't give Liu Huan the opportunity. Liu Huan found out from somewhere and, knowing Qi Le couldn't do anything to Qin Linlin, decided to take his anger out on a newcomer like Rong Yu who had no backing.

Fei Zhengqi noticed Yin Chengjue's unhappy expression and quickly added, "Qi Le seems to have dug up some things about Rong Yu and plans to release it all at once during the later stages of this voting period to affect Rong Yu's votes, President Yin. I've told you everything I know. You can prepare in advance."

Yin Chengjue sat back down, his eyes sharply fixed on Fei Zhengqi's. "Specifically what?"

"I'm not too sure about that either, but I can go back tonight and help you look, then find a way to send it to you, as long as you agree to the deal." Fei Zhengqi tapped his finger on the card.

Yin Chengjue keenly caught the key point: "Tonight? So you live with Qi Le? Then how do I know which side you're really on? How do I know you're not lying to me?"

Fei Zhengqi sighed. "The matter between me and Qi Le... it's a long story. Anyway, I'm very tired now and don't want to continue maintaining this kind of relationship with him anymore. I want out."

Yin Chengjue wasn't interested in how a playboy like Qi Le toyed with his lovers' feelings. Seeing that Fei Zhengqi seemed inclined to continue, he tapped the table. "Deal. But I need to see the materials first... including the detailed contents of the transaction between Feng Chengda and Qi Yangtian you mentioned earlier. Send it all to me."

"Okay!" Fei Zhengqi adjusted his mask, pulled down his hat brim, cautiously glanced around, and then got up to leave.

Yin Chengjue asked the server for another cup of hot tea and some pastries, his thoughts racing.

If what Fei Zhengqi said was true, these matters were indeed troublesome.

First, Feng Chengda and Qi Yangtian had reached some kind of agreement. Yin Chengjue suspected this deal involved more than just the relatively minor matter of investigating a DNA test. Qi's Pharmaceuticals was a major, thriving company within the industry, enjoying a prestigious reputation. Qi Yangtian himself was a shrewd and smooth operator, making him a difficult target with no obvious weaknesses to exploit. Furthermore, while Qi Le was indeed an uneducated and ineffectual playboy, his older brother was a genuinely capable and formidable figure who could reliably manage any situation. This made the Qi family a significantly tough opponent to confront.

As for the evidence Fei Zhengqi sent to Assistant Guan about Qi's Pharmaceuticals selling substandard medicines, its authenticity needed further verification. After all, whether Fei Zhengqi was telling the truth remained to be seen.

It would be one thing if Feng Chengda had found someone else to cooperate with, Yin Chengjue could find ways to apply pressure and ensure his efforts failed. But he had to choose Qi Yangtian.

This was somewhat troublesome. The Qi family was a tough nut to crack.

And then Rong Yu...

Yin Chengjue rubbed his temples.

He hadn't forgotten that in his previous life, Rong Yu's path to fame was controversial, fueled by a flood of online smear campaigns, a mix of true and false, hard to distinguish. In his previous life, he hadn't paid much attention to Rong Yu and couldn't remember the specific scandals, making it difficult to preemptively guard against them.

He still needed to wait for Fei Zhengqi to send over more specific information...

As evening approached, Yin Chengjue put down his laptop, pressed his temples, and turned on the TV.

The latest episode of Hey Brother, Let's Debut! aired at 9 PM. Even though he could watch replays online, Yin Chengjue didn't want to miss it.

Of course, Yin Chengjue believed many people weren't willing to miss today's episode either.

First, Rong Yu's stage play The Clown had made a deep impression in yesterday's preview, building everyone's anticipation. Second, Rong Yu's advertisement from the morning had attracted a large wave of new fans drawn to his looks. Finally... the show producers were stirring things up by scheduling the start of this voting period for midnight tonight. Naturally, everyone wanted to see the trainees' performances as soon as possible to inform their voting.

Of course, each fan group would vote for their own favorite, while those trying to vote based on the trainees' skills were mostly casual fans and viewers who followed the Hey Brother, Let's Debut! variety show.

The production team did not disappoint expectations and didn't make everyone wait long, placing Rong Yu's stage play third.

On the screen, a red curtain opened behind Rong Yu, who sat on a snow-white bench placed center stage, wearing exaggerated clown makeup.

He held several red balls, juggling them upwards, facing the direction of the audience.

However, this wasn't a real theater stage, just a small room with red curtains drawn open. The space before Rong Yu wasn't filled with an audience but was an empty room.

His face was painted with a large smiling makeup, the red nose being the most prominent feature.

He performed various humorous skills—juggling balls, throwing rings, balancing items on his head, and walking in a comical way—all aimed at making people laugh joyfully.

While doing this, music played around him. As the music progressed, he sang a cheerful song, interspersed with internal monologues.

A large part of The Clown was a monologue, requiring the actor to use exaggerated movements and expressions. Both the way of walking and speaking were different from usual, but Rong Yu managed to portray it smoothly.

For a moment, Yin Chengjue felt as if he were really in an amusement park, watching a clown bringing laughter to people.

Then the scene changed. A clap of thunder sounded, the lighting quickly dimmed, rain and thunder intertwined. Supporting actors playing tourists took out black umbrellas and scattered, leaving the clown alone on the stage again.

The clown hurriedly put away his props used for entertaining and returned to the white chair. He stuffed his tools under the chair, sat on the chair himself, took off his clothes to tightly cover the chair with gaps, trying to protect all his belongings.

Finally, he chose to sit on the chair himself, glanced at his soaking wet self, shrugged his shoulders, and magically produced a rose from his hand, acting as if talking to the rose in a soliloquy.

The flower couldn't withstand the storm's battering, until only a bare stem remained.

The heavy rain gradually stopped. What remained on the clown's face was unknown whether it was rainwater or tears.

The exaggerated makeup was also washed into a mess by the rain, sliding down the clown's face in colored streams.

"Clown, clown, bring laughter to everyone, keep the tears for yourself…" the background music sang this final line.

The red curtains fell, completely covering the lonely figure sitting on the long bench.

Due to time constraints on the show, each trainee's performance was edited, so Rong Yu's The Clown wasn't complete either. Hey Brother, Let's Debut! very thoughtfully stated on its official blog that the full versions of each trainee's performance would be released gradually later, asking everyone to look forward to it.

However, even just an incomplete broadcast of the performance touched the audience's hearts.

Several comedy actors reposted this segment of Rong Yu's performance with reflective comments.

Liu Qingling V: Our existence is to bring laughter to everyone, but behind the laughter are always tears and sweat, as well as the fear and worry that our jokes might not land. I believe every comedy actor goes through this psychological journey. I believe Little Fish's performance will resonate with many people like me.

Yang Ji V: The younger generation is to be feared. I saw myself in it, it was like seeing myself. Ah, it's a pity I'm not as handsome as Little Fish [cry][cry][cry].

Under Liu Qingling's comment were a group of people sharing their own emotional reflections. Under Yang Ji's comment were a bunch of haha. Even while reflecting, Yang Ji didn't forget to mock himself a little, giving everyone some laughs.

This was also a truth. Rong Yu wore exaggerated clown makeup, but it still couldn't hide the handsomeness of his well-defined face. Fans started frantically taking screenshots, the Yuxiang Rousi super topic was already flooded with lots of meticulously edited wallpapers.

Yin Chengjue quickly clicked to save the pictures, his movements already very proficient.

Then, Yin Chengjue chose a picture that had half of Rong Yu's face with usual makeup and half with clown makeup as his own wallpaper.

Staring at the wallpaper for a long time, Yin Chengjue couldn't help but reach out his finger, wanting to poke the long eyelashes on that face. Only when his fingertip touched the screen did he suddenly wake up, put away his phone with a somewhat guilty conscience, and silently reflect on his stalker-like behavior just now.

Poisonous! Really poisonous!

Yin Chengjue kicked his phone further away, leaned back on the sofa, wanting to think of other things to clear his mind, but found Rong Yu's clown-made-up face floating up in his mind.

Logically, that kind of exaggerated makeup shouldn't reveal the face underneath, but Yin Chengjue could clearly visualize the face hidden beneath that makeup.

Rong Yu usually smiled gently. When he was sad, would he be like the clown, crying in a corner without anyone, mingling with the rain?

The more Yin Chengjue thought about it, the more restless he became. He went to pick up his phone again, dialed a string of numbers, and only when he heard a busy signal did he remember that Rong Yu was still in closed training and couldn't access his phone.

But this sudden urge to see the other person was too strong. Even knowing Rong Yu couldn't reply now, Yin Chengjue still sent a WeChat message to Rong Yu.

Digging Three Feet Deep: I Miss you

Yin Chengjue, thinking the other couldn't see it now and that he could still delete the messages, couldn't help but send a few more.

Digging Three Feet Deep: Were you really crying when you performed as the clown?

Digging Three Feet Deep: Seeing you cry was heart-wrenching. Isn't that strange? Hahaha.

After sending three messages in a row, just as Yin Chengjue was about to delete the messages, an incoming call notification popped up, covering the screen. Yin Chengjue's hand slipped, and he answered it directly.

Just as Yin Chengjue was hesitating whether to hang up, Qin Ke's loud voice came through the phone: "Juezi! Get out here! The variety show Don’t Look Back in the Dark is a huge hit! Linlin invited us out to discuss the official start of filming!"