recession

The blackout curtains at home were thick, and when Tao Liyang woke up, he still had the illusion of being in the middle of the night.

Xu Yunqing was no longer by his side, but half of the bed was still warm, and he probably had just woken up not long ago.

"Yunqing?"

Tao Liyang called out, but did not hear an answer.He turned sideways, grabbed the cell phone that had fallen on the carpet, and took a look. It was almost ten o'clock.He slept late yesterday, and it has only been four or five hours until now. His head was still drowsy, so he moved and leaned against Xu Yunqing's pillow, smelling his remaining breath with the tip of his nose, and fell asleep again.

This sleep did not last long.Tao Liyang vaguely heard some noise in the kitchen, it should be Xu Yunqing making breakfast.A smile unconsciously floated on his lips, and he felt like he had forgotten something in a trance.

Tao Liyang raised his hand and pressed his eyebrows, he couldn't think of it for a while, and felt a little uneasy for some reason.But at this moment, the phone rang again.

It was the historical consultant who sent an email last night, telling him that the discrepancies with the historical facts had been sorted out and sent to his mailbox.There are a few places that are not too important, and there are many controversies in the academic circles, and it will not have much impact if they are not changed.

Tao Liyang thanked him and estimated the time. The rest of the script should be revised this week, so he said: "After the entire script is revised, let's find a time to chat in person? It's better to reduce it as much as possible. I have to trouble you in this regard."

"This is what it should be." The other party agreed again and again, and said apologetically, "It's just that the school sent me on a business trip, and I have to leave the day after tomorrow."

"When can I come back?" Tao Liyang drank from the cup beside the bed to make his voice sound clearer.

"The fastest NO.17 at noon. If you are in a hurry, we can meet in the afternoon of the same day. What do you think?"

"NO.17..." Tao Liyang pondered for a moment.

Shining Star NO.17 is going to hold this year's media meeting to announce the arrangements for this year, which can be regarded as a warm-up for the [-]th anniversary celebration of Shining Star next month.Although he has not signed a formal contract with Yaoxing, but he cooperates in several dramas every year.In addition, Tao Cheng is a shareholder of Yaoxing, and there is also his relationship with Tang Ran.Even if there is no actual contact with Tao Liyang, attendance is always required.

"Is it inconvenient?" The other end didn't hear his answer, and asked in deliberation.

"There shouldn't be any problem." Tao Liyang thought for a while. Normally, the media meeting can end at noon and it won't take too long.I’m afraid we’ll have to revise the script after we’ve finished talking about it. Time is really tight, so it’s better to meet as soon as possible, “Then let’s set it on NO.17 first. It’s time to talk directly. If you have other arrangements at the moment, please contact me again?”

The other party readily agreed.Tao Liyang talked for a while, but he really didn't feel sleepy anymore. He drank the remaining half glass of water and got up to change his clothes.

Xu Yunqing was no longer in the kitchen, and the stove was still steaming. There was hot chicken soup in the casserole on the left, and hot hand-rolled noodles beside it.

Tao Liyang opened the door but did not see him, and searched around the house but did not see anyone, Xu Yunqing's slippers were placed in the entrance.I wondered secretly in my heart, I couldn't help but frowned, and made a call: "Have you gone out yet?"

"I have something to do." Xu Yunqing quickly answered the phone, "I made breakfast, you can eat first, don't wait for me."

Xu Yunqing should be in the car, Tao Liyang heard the voice of the navigation broadcast: "When are you coming back? Are you going to Yaoxing?"

"En." Xu Yunqing paused for a second before answering, his voice was very soft, as if he didn't want him to hear.

"Okay, I see." Tao Liyang suddenly remembered what he forgot during this short silence.He didn't mention it last night, but now Xu Yunqing obviously knows it too.He pursed his lower lip, "It snowed last night, and the road is slippery. Be careful when driving."

Tao Liyang hung up the phone and stared at the cold counter for a while.For a moment, he didn't know what to do. After thinking about it, he took two bowls, picked out the noodles, and filled them with soup.He opened the refrigerator again and took two eggs, fried them into soft hearts, and laid them on the surface.

After finishing all this, he took out his mobile phone and opened Weibo.

Sure enough, Xu Yunqing was once again featured in the top trending searches.

Swipe around and scroll down, there are seven or eight trending searches all about him, and of course Li Shuang.

"Long Summer" is in the promotional period. After the film festival, Xu Yunqing has a few more endorsements to discuss... No wonder he has to go to the company early in the morning...

Tao Liyang threw away the phone.He raised his hand and rubbed his face heavily, poured out the prepared noodles, turned around and went back to the study to open the mailbox to check the emails from this morning.

When it was almost noon, Xu Yunqing came back.It was faster than Tao Liyang expected.

As soon as the door rang, Tao Liyang heard it. He was so sensitive that he had to admit that his mind was not on the manuscript.

He walked to the door of the study room, watched Xu Yunqing bend over to change shoes at the entrance in silence, did not speak until Xu Yunqing raised his head to meet his gaze, and his voice was calmer than expected: "Is Shenxi looking for you?"

Xu Yunqing was putting the key on the wooden hook on the wall. Hearing this, he paused for a moment, and after hanging it, he turned around and said, "En."

What can I say to you?Tao Liyang wanted to ask, but after hesitating several times, he didn't say anything in the end.Xu Yunqing didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but also avoided his gaze.

Tao Liyang understood at that moment, he would not ask, and Xu Yunqing would not speak.He knew his reason, but he didn't know what Xu Yunqing was doing.

He couldn't help but think of their conversation in the car last night. Tao Liyang once thought it was a good sign.But obviously Xu Yunqing's frankness at that time was true and limited.And Li Shuang was the part of him that couldn't be honest.

So which part do you count?

"Li Yang." After waiting for a long time for him to say another word, Xu Yunqing called him.

Tao Liyang smiled: "Have you finished talking with Shen Xi?"

"almost."

"That's good." He walked over and held Xu Yunqing's hand, his face was as gentle as usual: "Before you go out next time, tell me, don't let me wake up and find you."

Later that day, the trending searches finally dropped.On various entertainment forums, you can still see discussion posts from time to time.

This situation continued until the second week when Xu Yunqing made a guest appearance in the play.Someone photographed Li Shuang appearing in the auditorium of the theater.I don't know if it was a coincidence, but the next day, Li Shuang happened to be interviewed at a certain shopping mall platform. When faced with the question of whether she would remarry, she didn't answer directly, but just smiled shyly.

The situation that had gradually calmed down once again became lively.As always, neither Xu Yunqing nor Yaoxing gave any reaction to this matter.

Fortunately, when Xu Yunqing got married three years ago, there was already a big earthquake in his fan circle. The mentality of the fans has been tempered enough to make troubles and curses, and to point the finger at Xu Yunqing's end Still a minority.Coupled with the fact that Xu Yunqing's several endorsements were successfully signed in the end, Chaohua occasionally had a few off-fan essays, which were quickly covered up by Xu Yunqing's endorsement listings and drama ticket stubs...

Tao Liyang has never discussed this matter with Xu Yunqing.Several times when they were watching TV together, the entertainment channel happened to broadcast relevant news, and they quickly changed the channel as if nothing had happened, very tacit understanding.

He didn't mention it, and Xu Yunqing didn't mention it, as if nothing happened.

It's just that Tao Liyang occasionally woke up in the middle of the night, reached out and gently stroked Xu Yunqing's face beside him, from the center of his brows to his lips, and remembered what Xu Yunqing said was almost the same.That was an ambiguous answer, but he now understood its true meaning—if not condoning, at least acquiescing...

Half a month passed leisurely, and in a blink of an eye it was the day of the media meeting.

Xu Yunqing got up very early that day, and it was only six o'clock when the alarm rang.

"It's still early, you can continue to sleep for a while." After Xu Yun cleaned and washed, he sat on the edge of the bed and changed his clothes in the dark. When he found that Tao Liyang had also sat up, he said softly.

Tao Liyang was noncommittal, raised his hand to cover Xu Yunqing's eyes, touched the switch at the head of the bed with the other hand and pressed it: "Are you going over now?"

"Yeah." Xu Yunqing nodded, "Shen Xi and the makeup artist should arrive around seven o'clock, I'll go now."

The fact that he moved to Tao Liyang's place was naturally hidden from others. When something happened, Shen Xi had to pick him up or the makeup artist came to the door, he would go back to his apartment in advance.Fortunately, Xu Yunqing is on a half-vacation recently, and most of the activities that need to be attended can be postponed. Occasionally, it doesn't seem too troublesome.

But if Xu Yunqing felt bored one day, would he propose to move back?Tao Liyang would think about it occasionally.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yunqing noticed his expression.

Tao Liyang shook his head: "I'll see you off."

"No need. You continue to sleep, and it's not far away. I'll drive back in half an hour."

Tao Liyang didn't insist anymore after hearing what he said, and turned his body to reach out to button the shirt for him.Xu Yunqing looked down at his fingers slightly, and waited for the last button to be fastened before saying, "I'm leaving."

Tao Liyang didn't speak, but after Xu Yunqing got up, he grabbed his wrist again and pulled him towards him with a little force.Xu Yunqing almost couldn't stand still when he was pulled so suddenly, a little surprise flashed in his eyes and was quickly replaced by a deeper smile. He knelt on the bed with one leg, and held Tao Liyang's neck with the other hand and exchanged a gentle exchange with him. kiss.

"I really have to go." After parting, Xu Yunqing whispered.

This time Tao Liyang nodded, and touched Xu Yunqing's slightly moist lips with his thumb, "I will also go there in the morning."

"I know." Xu Yunqing paused for a second, then replied with a smile.He quickly kissed the center of his brow again, "See you later."

Tao Liyang also smiled and watched him go out of the room, but the soft expression on his face only lasted until the moment the door was closed.

He knew he couldn't fall asleep, so he leaned against the bed for a while, and after his whole body was cold, he finally remembered that he should turn up the heat.Then I fumbled for a book by the bedside and looked at it, and after spending eight o'clock, I got out of bed and took a shower, casually found a suit and changed, and drove to Yaoxing.

He originally planned that the time would be just right, but he forgot that today there will be a large number of press conferences, and the intersection near the headquarters of Yaoxing will be congested.When we arrived in a hurry, the meeting had already started for 5 minutes.Tao Liyang's seat was in the second row. Before he sat down, he subconsciously went to find Xu Yunqing—it didn't take much effort, as Yaoxing's head artist and several directors were naturally on stage.

Xu Yunqing was wearing a navy blue suit, but the shirt inside was not the one that Tao Liyang buttoned up for him this morning.Tao Liyang remembered that the shirt was made of wooden buttons, which felt warm to the touch, but now the button was made of black metal, which seemed much colder.

Xu Yunqing's face was still calm and gentle as usual, he tilted his head and occasionally said a few words to Jiang Ning next to him, with a faint smile on his lips, and most of the time he quietly watched Tang Ran who was sitting in the middle talking .

In the past few years, Lin Yi's health has been poor, and most of Yaoxing's affairs have been handed over to Tang Ran.When Tang Ran's acting career was in full swing back then, turning behind the scenes to become the executive vice president of Yaoxing caused an uproar, and now there are even more rumors, including rumors that he is Lin Yi's illegitimate son.

Tao Liyang once joked with him about this, saying that you are not a son, you are clearly a daughter-in-law.

Son-in-law, Tang Ran corrected him without changing his expression.

Jiang Ning was there that day, and when he heard the words, he nodded cooperatively, saying that Tang Ran did whatever he wanted.

Tao Liyang thought of this, and noticed that Tang Ran was wearing a watch on his left hand holding the microphone, and Jiang Ning, who was two places away from him, had a watch of the same series on his hand.

For fear of not being discovered.Tao Liyang couldn't help shaking his head and smiling, and turned his gaze back to Xu Yunqing.

Most of the media meetings of various entertainment companies follow the same routine, reviewing the past, looking forward to the future, and then talking about the key projects of this year.However, Yaoxing is one of the best entertainment companies in the country after all, and most of the speeches and responses were done by Tang Ran. Although he has not been an artist for several years, his every move still attracts attention, so he looks extra lively.

Tao Liyang didn't listen very carefully all the time, coping with the occasional pleasantries around him, most of them were still looking at Xu Yunqing.He wasn't sure if Xu Yunqing felt his gaze, but he did not look back at him, not even once.

Halfway through the meeting, it was time for the media to ask questions freely.Tao Liyang's cell phone rang, and it was a call from the historical consultant.

He hung up the phone, whispered sorry to the side, and planned to go outside to call him back.

However, as soon as he arrived in the corridor, he heard Xu Yunqing's name mentioned in the conference hall.Tao Liyang was stunned for a moment, and walked back to the door involuntarily. The one who was asking a question was a young female reporter, her voice was very gentle, but the question seemed more sharp.

"Teacher Xu." She asked, "Some time ago, Teacher Li Shuang went to support your drama. Recently, there have been many rumors about your relationship. Everyone is very concerned about this matter. We also interviewed Teacher Li Shuang, you see , would you like to take this opportunity to respond to this matter? What kind of relationship do you have now, friends still have other room for development, can you talk about it? "

There was a brief silence in the audience, and soon more reporters responded.

"Yes, please respond."

"Is it possible to remarry in the future?"

"Why did you get divorced in the first place?"

……

The spotlights kept flickering, the voices were buzzing, but the people in the center of the storm were very quiet.Xu Yunqing had no expression on his face, and slightly pursed his lower lip, as if he didn't hear it at all and was just in a daze, or thinking about how to answer.

But this is really a very simple question, yes or no, yes or no, it doesn't take that long to think about it.

It looked as though silence was the answer itself.

"Everyone." After the noise became louder, Jiang Ning and Tang Ran picked up the microphone almost at the same time, and after looking at each other, Jiang Ning put the microphone down again.

"I can understand everyone's feelings." Tang Ran said, "But today is Yaoxing's media meeting after all. I hope everyone will focus on the projects that the company will carry out this year and the cooperation with other platforms, and pay too much attention to artists. His private life and relationship are really a bit overwhelming..."

A reporter booed: "Then can you pay attention to Mr. Tang's feelings?"

"My relationship?" Tang Ran slightly raised his eyebrows, without changing the smile on his face, "My relationship is very stable, you can take whatever you can photograph."

"I don't dare to expose it after I have captured it." A familiar reporter said half-jokingly.

The few in the know let out a good-natured laugh.

The corner of Tao Liyang's mouth also tugged, even though it was really hard for him to smile.Then he found Xu Yunqing looking at him.

What Tang Ran was still saying, together with other voices around, Tao Liyang couldn't hear clearly.All he could notice was Xu Yunqing's frown.

Tao Liyang subconsciously wanted to smooth the wrinkles between his brows, but the moment he stretched out his hand, he suddenly realized that they were separated by the crowd.

So he dropped his hands again.

How strange, this thought flashed through Tao Liyang's mind.They were so close just now, Xu Yunqing didn't look at him, but now that they are far away, they look at him instead.It turns out that he can see himself, everything just depends on whether he is willing or not.

They just looked at each other like this, Xu Yunqing's expression was a hundred times uglier than when the reporter asked the question just now, Tao Liyang didn't know what his expression was like.He just suddenly felt how cruel this scene was, for him or for Xu Yunqing.

Fortunately, the phone rang again, and Tao Liyang never thought it came so timely.

"Hey."

Tao Liyang pressed the call button, and heard the history consultant on the opposite side call his name twice, asking are you listening?It was only then that I realized that I hadn't actually made a sound smoothly.

"Hey, I'm listening," he said again, this time out loud.

"Teacher Tao, I have already left the airport and am about to enter the city. Have you arrived yet?"

"Sorry, not yet. I'll go now."

The other party hurriedly said, "It's okay. If you have something to do, you can come over later."

"I'm fine." Tao Liyang turned and walked in the direction of the elevator. He only stood there for a while, but his legs were a little stiff, but he still walked quickly, as if he was running away. "I'll be over soon. It's all right."

When he arrived at the appointed place, the consultant had already arrived and was waiting for him downstairs.Seeing it from a distance, he waved to him: "Teacher Tao, here."

Tao Liyang handed over the car keys to the parking officer at the door, and apologized to him: "I was delayed on the road, you must have waited for a long time."

"It's okay, I just arrived." The consultant shook his head, walked upstairs with him, and said, "What happened to your mobile phone? It suddenly stopped working. I was afraid that you couldn't find the location, so I came to the door .”

"Really?" Tao Liyang followed him into the pre-booked private room. After sitting down, he took out his mobile phone and looked: "Oh, it's out of battery. I forgot to charge it before going out."

"It's okay, let's find a mobile power supply." The consultant was eager to get up and call the waiter.

"No more trouble." Tao Liyang hesitated for a moment and stopped him, "Let's do this first."

"Huh?" There was obvious doubt on the consultant's face.Tao Liyang didn't know how to explain it, and he also felt that his behavior was inexplicable, so he just tried to smile: "Let's talk about the script."

Tao Liyang worked overtime to revise this script for a month. He found a lot of materials to read, and compared the official history and unofficial history.He has always been careful about his work. He said it was a revision, but in fact most of it was an original rewrite.As the historical consultant read the manuscript, he also admired it somewhat.

During the communication, the consultant mentioned some interesting details, and Tao Liyang thought they could be added to the script, so he wrote them down.In the middle of their conversation, the producer brought the director here, so we couldn't help having a deeper chat.The venue was changed again, and it finally came to an end when the moon was in the middle of the sky.

On the way home, Tao Liyang drove very slowly. When he got out of the garage of the community, he looked at his watch and found that it was already early morning.

He didn't take the elevator, but walked up from the safe passage, and his steps were very light, so the voice-activated lights didn't turn on, and he just walked in the dark alone.Tao Liyang originally wanted to use this time to think about it, but before he could figure it out, he had already reached the door.

Tao Liyang looked down at the door lock, but couldn't find the key to open the door after a long time.He didn't know how long he stood there, maybe an hour or a few minutes, and then he heard Xu Yunqing's voice.

Xu Yunqing seemed to be talking to someone on the phone, but it was very vague through the door.However, the voice gradually became clear again, and Tao Liyang realized after a moment of reaction that it was because Xu Yunqing was walking towards the door.

"Are you afraid that he will be in trouble, so you come to make things difficult for me?" When the door was opened from the inside, Tao Liyang heard Xu Yunqing say to the other end of the phone in a tone of both helplessness and annoyance, "It doesn't matter if I am in trouble, I don't care. but I……"

Before he finished speaking, he saw Tao Liyang standing outside the door.After being stunned for a second, he quickly hung up the phone.

"where did you go?"

"Who are you calling?"

They spoke at the same time, and neither answered.After standing face to face for a few seconds, Xu Yunqing turned around silently and walked back to the living room.Tao Liyang also went in, and sat on the low stool in the entrance to change his shoes.

"Where have you been?" Xu Yunqing took a glass of water, held it in his hand without drinking, his fingertips were burning red, and asked him again.

"A meeting." Tao Liyang replied.He couldn't help but think that Xu Yunqing's question could be asked again, but he didn't dare, probably because he already got the answer.

"Meeting?"

"Yes, a meeting." Tao Liyang nodded, "Let's talk about the manuscript of "Like a Mirror" with the historical consultant, producer, and director in Jiangxin Building."

Xu Yunqing frowned slightly, his expression could be called weird.Tao Liyang smiled when he saw this: "It's strange, isn't it? I'm also very strange, I can still go to the meeting."

His tone was not turbulent, and naturally there was no accusation, it was just a statement.However, under the light of the living room, Xu Yunqing's face turned pale, his Adam's apple twitched, but he still didn't say a word.

Tao Liyang stood up and looked at Xu Yunqing.He never knew that the distance from the porch to the living room would be so far, and he would not be able to walk it in 12 years.

Inexplicably, he remembered memorizing texts when he was a child.

The reeds are green, and the white dew is frost.He waded across the river, only to find that Yi Ren was not on that side.

To make matters worse, he still harbored illusions.

Tao Liyang felt very tired, and he attributed it to the long meeting in the afternoon.He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, noticing that Xu Yunqing's coat was neatly dressed: "Are you going out?"

"I want to find you." Xu Yunqing said after a while, his voice was very soft, "I can't get through to your cell phone."

"The battery is out." Tao Liyang said calmly.

He lowered his voice: "Really?"

"Yes." Tao Liyang nodded, took out the phone with a black screen and shook it.After a while, he said, "You don't need to look for me. No matter where I am, I'm always by your side, as long as you need it. You don't know this much. It's just Yun Qing." His tone was more gentle "A lot of times, I don't know where you are, and I don't know how to find you."

"I used to think it was my fault. But..." Tao Liyang paused for a longer time this time, and finally said, "Forget it, I really don't know anything. So...so maybe it's my fault."

No one spoke for a long time, and the clock hands in the living room sounded particularly noisy and disturbing.

Tao Liyang pursed his lower lip and walked towards the study. When he passed by Xu Yunqing's side, he heard Xu Yunqing call his name.But it could also be an illusion.

"Go to bed early." When he walked to the door of the study, he found that Xu Yunqing was still standing there.

"Liyang." Xu Yunqing turned his head, and the soft lips he kissed in the morning were drawn into a line. Tao Liyang couldn't see clearly what kind of emotion was hidden in his eyes, and he didn't have the strength to distinguish, but he heard him say: "I didn't... "

"I believe." Tao Liyang didn't want to see his embarrassed look, so he answered quickly.However, nothing, what to believe, he has no clue.

Tao Liyang smiled, he hoped that it looked like a real smile: "I still have to revise the manuscript, I don't know when it will be finished, you don't have to wait for me."

As he spoke, he took a step back and gently closed the door of the study: "Good night."

The author says:

You may be very angry or aggrieved watching it, don't be angry, don't be angry, it's just a story.And this will end soon too...