The Eye of the Storm

For a moment, Liang Sizhe was in a daze.

In the recording sent by Zhang Minghan, Cao Ye said that he saw Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin go to bed with his own eyes, and the phrase "just like those two dogs", those few words kept playing back in his ears, every word Like a hailstorm, it hit him head and face.

There was probably another urging in the banquet hall. Seeing that Cao Ye had already left, Lin Huan tentatively approached him: "Sizhe, everyone is waiting for you to go over and take pictures. Do you want to..."

Liang Sizhe came back to his senses as if waking up from a dream. He didn't bother to talk to Lin Huan. He stepped forward and raised his hand to press the elevator button. The elevator came up quickly. As soon as the door opened, he took a step and walked in quickly. .

During the few tens of seconds when the elevator descended, Liang Sizhe felt his mind was in turmoil. He didn't know what to say when he caught up with Cao Ye. Cao Ye told him not to accept Cao Xiuyuan's film, but could he really refuse?

But he just felt that he had to catch up with Cao Ye and pull him back. He somehow had an intuition that if he didn't chase Cao Ye back, he would really not be able to find Cao Ye in the future.

After getting out of the elevator, Liang Sizhe strode to chase him out.

Someone in the lobby on the first floor recognized him and exclaimed "Liang Sizhe", and then everyone in the lobby looked at him.

But Liang Sizhe ran very fast, and ran out of the hotel lobby before everyone rushed up to ask him for a group photo and autograph.

Standing on the side of the road, Liang Sizhe gasped for breath, and faced the three-way intersection in front of him in a daze.

On the wide road, several long rows of vehicles were parked behind the zebra crossing and waited for the red light. Pedestrians hurriedly crossed the road, but as far as the eye could see, there was no sign of Cao Ye in the crowd.

Where should I go?Did Cao Ye go left or right or go forward?

The red light changed to green, the vehicles sped by, and the pedestrians on the road disappeared. Only the car lights left afterimages on the retina.

The phone in his hand started to vibrate, probably an assistant or manager called to urge him to go back, but Liang Sizhe didn't answer.He picked up his mobile phone and called Cao Ye, and the cold voice reminded him that the other party's phone had been turned off.

A few people came out from the hotel lobby at this moment: "Liang Sizhe, it's really you! Can you sign me?"

More and more passers-by recognized him, stopped and turned to look at him.

Liang Sizhe was not in the mood to deal with all this. The world in front of him seemed to be full of vehicles, crowds, car horns, and the noise around him, but his chest was empty, as if a very important part had been snatched away suddenly. So much so that he now feels a sense of weightlessness.

He walked through the crowd with no expression on his face. Someone tried to approach him for an autograph, and someone said happy birthday to him. All kinds of voices mixed together and poured into his ears from all directions. For a while, he could only see them Lips that kept opening and closing, but couldn't hear what they were saying.

Liang Sizhe lowered his head and walked quickly through the crowd, passed the hotel lobby, and walked to the staff elevator.

Entering the elevator room, the world seemed to suddenly quiet down, but the sense of weightlessness had not disappeared, so much so that he had to lean his back against the elevator wall to make himself stand firmer.

As soon as the elevator door opened, the assistant stood outside. When he saw him, he immediately felt relieved: "You're back, I'm planning to go down and look for it!"

Liang Sizhe didn't look at him, didn't speak, and walked towards the banquet hall.

After walking a few steps, the assistant touched his arm from behind: "Sizhe."

Liang Sizhe turned his head to look at him, and saw the tissue he handed over.

"You're sweating on your forehead, you're going to take a picture later."

"Thank you." Liang Sizhe took it over and pulled out a tissue. His forehead was indeed sweating a lot, probably because he ran too fast just now, but the strange thing was that he didn't feel hot, but rather cold.

Pushing the door open, everyone in the banquet hall was waiting for him. Seeing him coming in, several people booed and wanted to fine him for drinking.

Liang Sizhe did not refuse anyone who came, and drank all the wine handed over.Someone kept talking in his ear, but he seemed to have some hearing problems, and he couldn't hear anything clearly.

"Si Zhe," someone called his name, "President Xu asked you."

"What?" Liang Sizhe put down his wine glass and looked at the person who spoke. It was a female senior executive of his agency.

"Boss Xu asked you what birthday gift you want," the man said with a smile, "You can just mention it, but you have to talk about it later, don't be soft-hearted."

Mr. Xu, the boss of this banquet hall, is looking at him with a smile at the moment.

Liang Sizhe lowered his eyelashes slightly, and stared at a certain place for a long time, making it hard to tell whether he was thinking or absent-mindedly letting go.

The female executive called him again, and said with a smile, "Haven't you thought about it yet?"

Liang Sizhe raised his eyes: "I want to monitor the hotel tonight."

"What?" The female executive was stunned for a moment, then smiled again, "Hello? We hired the best banquet photographer tonight, Sizhe, Brother Lin will be sad if you say that."

Liang Sizhe ignored what she said. He looked at Mr. Xu, regardless of whether he would agree or not, and continued on his own: "Not only in the hall, but also in the corridor, the elevator, the hall on the first floor, the entrance of the hall. I want them all, and only this, okay?"

Mr. Xu still smiled, and looked at him with great interest: "Yes, yes, but what do you want this for?"

"I have my uses." Liang Sizhe lowered his eyes and said, without answering this question directly.

No one can refuse Liang Sizhe, let alone today is his birthday.

The hotel owner quickly called the lobby manager up, took Liang Sizhe to the monitoring room, and called up the monitoring from 10 minutes ago.

Liang Sizhe looked up at the monitoring screen on the screen wall. In the cramped elevator room, Cao Ye first stood with his back against the elevator wall for a while, then he seemed to be unable to stand, and slowly squatted down against the elevator wall, lowering his head. head, and buried his face in his knees.

The young man curled up in the corner of the elevator, his fingers hanging limply from his knees, looking decadent and helpless.

Liang Sizhe stared at the surveillance screen, his fingers clenched into fists, and his short nails pinched his palms. After a while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Tune the surveillance at the door and show me."

At the entrance of the hotel, Cao Ye strode out of the lobby on the first floor. Just in time for the green light, he quickly ran to the opposite side of the road, and then disappeared at the end of the surveillance screen.

Liang Sizhe asked his assistant to come down with a hooded jacket. After entering the elevator, he put on the jacket and pulled up the hood. The hood was wide enough to cover most of his face, so that many people would not recognize him. out of him.

He chased after Cao Ye in the direction he left. After running for several kilometers, he always felt that Cao Ye might be ahead, but he couldn't find Cao Ye after chasing for several streets.

After running for too long, his legs were so sore that he couldn't run anymore. He stopped and walked a few steps before he felt his throat was so dry that it hurt even to swallow.

Every time he passed an intersection, he hesitated for a few seconds, not knowing whether Cao Ye would turn at this intersection, but he still kept chasing along the main road with a chance.But who knows if he made a wrong decision at the first intersection and missed Cao Ye who turned the corner?

Liang Sizhe stopped, stood where he was, looked at his long shadow under the street lamp, and sighed after a while.

Maybe it was because he drank a lot of wine in the banquet hall just now, but now he was walking on this street, he always felt like he was in a dream, and the weightlessness in the dream was so realistic that it made him a little dizzy.

The phone in his pocket kept vibrating, and he didn't care about it all the way, so he took it out at this moment, lowered his head and swipe the screen to look at it.

Many friends and seniors in the circle sent messages to wish him a happy birthday, while his assistants and managers urged him to return to the banquet hall as soon as possible.

After scanning quickly, he saw Zheng Yin's name.Zheng Yin also sent a congratulatory message: "Sizhe, happy birthday. I haven't had time to contact you these days. If you have time, let's meet and chat tomorrow?"

It should be talking about Cao Xiuyuan's new film, Liang Sizhe thought.He had read the report, and reporter Cao Xiuyuan said that the film would not work without him, and he stared at that sentence for a long time.

In "Thirteen Days", he had to shoot dozens of times to pass the few seconds of the shot. At that time, he was still a rookie who knew nothing about acting. Now he has won the Best Actor award and nominated for the second time for the Best Actor Award. Lord, there are still thousands of movie fans, without Cao Xiuyuan, he would not be the Liang Sizhe who "couldn't do without him".

Cao Xiuyuan is his mentor on the road of acting, now that his mentor is in trouble, how can he stand by and watch?

But what happened to Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin that Cao Ye mentioned?It was absurd to hear it at first, if Cao Ye hadn't said that he had seen it with his own eyes, Liang Sizhe would never have believed it if someone else told him the news.

Cao Xiuyuan and Zheng Yin do have a tacit cooperation, but their tone of voice and actions never exceed the rules, just like a director and producer who have worked together for many years, so that Liang Sizhe never thought of going in other directions.

Is there any misunderstanding?Could it be that Cao Ye misread it?Liang Sizhe thought, he had to ask Zheng Yin to clarify this matter, including Cao Xiuyuan and him, as well as Cao Xiuyuan, Li You, and Zhang Minghan.

Someone on the side of the road seemed to recognize him and turned to look at him. Liang Sizhe lowered his head, pulled the brim of his hat down, and turned into a dimly lit path.

He didn't bring any cigarettes with him, so he bought a pack of Yuxi at the newsstand on the corner of the street, borrowed a fire from the boss, and finished smoking a cigarette in the dark. Most of his emotions calmed down, and he called Zheng Yin.

He didn't say clearly what he wanted to talk to him on the phone, only that he had just met Cao Ye.

Zheng Yin was silent for a moment on the phone, saying that he is at home now and he can go to find him at any time.

Liang Sizhe took two taxis on the street, and half an hour later he showed up at Zheng Yin's house.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, and the door was pushed open after a while. Zheng Yin was wearing a simple T-shirt and slacks, much more casual than usual in the crew. There was no expression on his face, and he just said lightly: " coming."

The room was very big, Liang Sizhe followed him in and sat on the sofa in the living room.

"A cold drink or a drink?" Zheng Yin asked as he opened the freezer door.

"Just drink water," Liang Sizhe said, "Uncle Yin, please sit down, I'll leave after I finish asking."

Zheng Yin took two glasses of water, added crushed ice from the freezer, put one of them on the coffee table in front of him, and then he took another glass of ice water and sat down on the sofa diagonally opposite Liang Sizhe , "Tell me, what do you want to ask me?"

Liang Sizhe took the glass of ice water. He ran for too long before, his throat was dry, and now he drank it all in one breath, and then said: "I met Cao Ye tonight, and he told me something for several years. Before, what do you think is it?"

Zheng Yin also took a sip of water, put down the cup, there was no surprise on his face: "He saw it, I know."

The two were playing charades, one refused to ask clearly, the other refused to answer clearly, but they both knew what the other said.

It seems that there is no misunderstanding, Liang Sizhe lowered his head, probably because he drank alcohol, his head felt a little heavy.He raised his hands, put his elbows on his legs, twisted his fingers together to support his forehead, and said slowly: "Uncle Yin, this is a private matter between you and Teacher Cao. You are the seniors who support me. It’s not my turn to ask such things, but Cao Ye is my friend, so I want to help him clarify things that he can’t ask... What’s the relationship between you and Teacher Cao? Or is it Teacher Cao and Mr. Cao? What is the secret behind Teacher Li You's marriage?"

"Teacher Li You..." Zheng Yin leaned forward, with both arms bent and pressed on his legs, he seemed to think for a while before continuing, "Sizhe, I wouldn't mind if I told you about the relationship between the two of them." It's too clear, will you believe it?"

"Tell me, I will have my own judgment."

"Okay," Zheng Yin nodded, "Then let me tell you the truth. When I first met Director Cao, I was still in my junior year in Chinese opera. Director Cao was 28 years old at the time, and he went to my school to give lectures. Since then I started making movies with him, don’t get me wrong, nothing happened to us in the first ten years. It’s been more than ten years now, to be honest, except for Mr. Li who sent Cao Ye back to China in the early years, I rarely saw him. They are together."

Liang Sizhe frowned: "You mean they...?"

"I don't know their relationship. Director Cao never told me about it. I guess they may have separated a long time ago. I don't mean to distance myself by saying this, but if you have seen them talking, you will know." Now, it’s like between them..." Zheng Yin stopped, as if he was thinking about how to say it more appropriately, "like old friends who admire each other but haven't contacted for a long time."

Zheng Yin said this, but Liang Sizhe was not surprised.During the few years in Cao Xiuyuan's crew, he would occasionally think why he had never seen Li You come to visit the crew for so long. The marriage between Cao Xiuyuan and Li You seemed to only exist in other people's mouths. Said, those doubts seem to have been answered.

"Then does Cao Ye know?" Liang Sizhe thought for a while before continuing to ask.

"He probably doesn't know," Zheng Yin shook his head and said, "I guess Li You probably didn't want to tell him this, otherwise he wouldn't be sent back to China every holiday."

"Then why didn't you explain it to him? Uncle Yin, I think seeing that incident with your own eyes should have hit him hard. Why didn't you explain it to him at that time, telling him that his parents separated, and now you are with Mr. Cao At the same time, Cao Ye is not a child who accepts death, he trusts you so much, if you tell him the truth, maybe this matter will be easier for him to digest."

"I thought about explaining to him, but I haven't thought about how to explain it. Sizhe, Director Cao and I..." Zheng Yin seemed a little embarrassed, and it took a few seconds before he answered, "If we It's easy to say that we are really together, but now this relationship, I don't know how to explain it to him, and I don't know whether it is better to explain it or not to explain it..."

Liang Sizhe quickly understood what he meant, and he looked up at Zheng Yin in shock, no wonder, he thought, no wonder their usual way of getting along is not like ordinary couples, because they are not lovers at all, they just maintain the relationship of bed partners Partners only.

"You understand," Zheng Yin smiled wryly, "What's more, Li You has kept it a secret from Cao Ye for so long, and I don't know that they are not together. Should I, an outsider who doesn't know the inside story, tell him? I have persuaded Director Cao to have a good talk with Xiaoye, but he always said that Xiaoye is a child, and he will naturally understand when he grows up. You also know that he is a person. He never allows others to intervene in his affairs, and he will get angry if he talks too much. , no one can persuade him."

"I understand, you have your difficulties," Liang Sizhe was silent for a moment, "I know I shouldn't ask this, but if Teacher Cao's sexual orientation is male, would Cao Ye..." He asked himself Feeling a little ridiculous, I didn't continue talking.

"You mean that Cao Ye might not be Cao Cao's own child?" Zheng Yin immediately understood what he meant, shook his head and said, "That's not true, he is naturally indifferent to human relations, and he doesn't like children If there is no such kinship relationship, he will not even talk to Cao Ye. You have heard about the 1000 million. At the beginning, he never agreed to give it to Zhang Minghan. Later, Zhang Minghan sent the recording and photos to Cao Ye. Ye, I told him about it, and after a few words of persuasion, he asked me to take 1000 million to settle in private. After all, he still cares about Xiaoye's situation, otherwise, with his personality, he would not have tolerated it so easily. Take this breath... You know what the solution he proposed to me at the beginning was that he simply announced his relationship with Zhang Minghan's bed partner six years ago, so that Zhang Minghan could steal the chicken and lose money," Zheng Yin lowered his head and chuckled "This is his style of doing things."

"So Zhang Minghan and Teacher Cao really..."

"Zhang Minghan has been talking about obscenity to the media, portraying himself as a victim, just trying to gain sympathy through this incident. If he really wants to announce his bed partner relationship, he will have no way out. He uses Cao Ye as the middleman Chips, this step is really the right one.”

After Zheng Yin finished speaking, the two were silent for a few minutes.Liang Sizhe asked again: "I have one last question. Besides you and Zhang Minghan, does Teacher Cao have anything else...?"

"Yes." Zheng Yin said, "I'll tell you the truth, most of the rumors in the circle are true. Sizhe, I've made everything clear to you, and you have to tell Xiaoye that I have no objection. In fact, I also think that someone should make it clear to him."

"En." Liang Sizhe responded.

He really wanted to make it clear to Cao Ye, but now that he knew most of the truth, he also found it a bit tricky.

Everyone, Li You, Cao Xiuyuan, Zheng Yin, including the crew and friends around Cao Ye, they may know part of the truth more or less, but they all unanimously chose to keep silent.

Consciously or unintentionally, brick by brick, they built a beautiful and illusory castle for Cao Ye, allowing the young man to live in it carefree for more than ten years, but now Zhang Minghan suddenly pulled out a brick from below, Then the castle, whose foundations were unstable, collapsed like an avalanche.

He thought of Cao Ye curled up in a ball in the elevator, the teenager facing the incomplete truth at a loss, and the image of his father who had fallen from the altar—how should he explain it to Cao Ye so that he could accept Cao Xiuyuan as such He is a genius, but on the other hand, he is not glorious or even a bit dark?

From Cao Ye's point of view, he can fully understand why he doesn't want to forgive Cao Xiuyuan, nor does he want to cooperate with him to help him turn over.

There are two ends of the balance, one end is the mentor who single-handedly promoted me to where I am today, and the other end is the friend who gave me the opportunity back then. Which end is more important?

In a dilemma, I don't know what choice to make is the right one.

Choosing Cao Ye is ungrateful, and choosing Cao Xiuyuan is treachery, so how should we choose?

"Uncle Yin," Liang Sizhe bowed slightly, clasped his hands together, and sighed when he touched his lips, and said with some difficulty, "Ms. Cao asked me to play "Wangchuan Zhichuan" I can't do it, but after thinking about it, I feel that the earth will rotate the same without everyone, and this film should be able to be made without me."

Zheng Yin immediately looked up at him: "Why did you say that suddenly? You mean, you don't want to play "Wangchuan"?"

"It's not that I don't want to act," Liang Sizhe shook his head in pain, "Cao Ye came to me tonight and didn't want me to accept this film. From his point of view, I can understand his thinking."

Zheng Yin was speechless for a moment, stood up and paced in the room, the room was very quiet, the sound of pacing was especially clear.

Liang Sizhe said again: "Uncle Yin, I follow Cao Ye to call you Uncle Yin. Cao Ye once said that you are Teacher Cao's Doraemon, and you can do whatever Teacher Cao asks you to do. This film..."

Zheng Yin stopped and interrupted him with a somewhat anxious tone: "But he asked you to play by name, I can't find a second Liang Sizhe."

Things seemed to be at an impasse, and after a while Zheng Yin said again: "Si Zhe, have you seen Song Yu's report? Song Yu said that someone sent him an invitation for "Wangchuan". The director went to ask him out, but Director Cao didn't know about it at the time. Song Yu rejected the film simply because he felt that Director Cao was involved in this matter at this time, and making a film with same-sex themes would be harmful to his reputation. It has influence, not to mention that the film cannot be released in the mainland within five years. If the film cannot win an award in the end, it will be equivalent to a waste of time. He dare not take risks. The actors in the circle think so now, so the two male leads are not at all It’s easy to find, and now even you are refusing to act in the role... Okay Sizhe, if you think the same way and feel that accepting this film will be detrimental to your own development, I can understand..."

"Uncle Yin," Liang Sizhe interrupted him, "I'm not such an ungrateful person. I've already stated the reason clearly. My consideration of not accepting "Wangchuan" has nothing to do with my future. After all, all my futures are given by Mr. Cao. ... If Director Cao insists that this film is really for me, then I will take it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yin's cell phone on the table vibrated.

Liang Sizhe stopped talking, Zheng Yin walked to the table, bowed and picked up the phone: "I'll answer the call first."

Zheng Yin walked to the bed and connected the phone: "Cao Ye? Yes, Director Cao's only son...Why did they involve him?...You first find a way to press down and give me the contact information, I'll go Talk to the editor."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Yin's face became darker than before, his brows were tightly furrowed, as if something happened.

"What happened to Cao Ye?" Liang Sizhe asked.

"There is a self-media company that has dug up all the information about Li You and Cao Ye, and is going to release the video tomorrow before the heat of Zhang Minghan's incident is over."

"Why do you want to involve them?" Liang Sizhe frowned.

"This kind of entertainment media, what's hot, they gossip about it. These days they have almost picked up Director Cao, and now they will naturally shift their attention to his family. Director Cao has not announced his marriage and family, it all depends on the outside world. Guess, so the outside world has been very curious about his son, and if they really want to send it out, Cao Ye's life may be ruined by them in the next period of time."

"Can you suppress it with money?"

"It should be possible," the phone vibrated again, and Zheng Yin looked down at the message just sent, "My friend sent me the contact information of the editor-in-chief, I'll talk to them first, and try to use money to suppress it."

Zheng Yin took out a cigarette from the cigarette box on the table, lit it with a lighter, took a deep breath, then went to the back room, closed the door, and negotiated with the editor-in-chief.

Liang Sizhe listened to the movement in the room, and judged whether the negotiation could be successful.

A few minutes later, the conversation in the back room stopped, and Zheng Yin came out.Liang Sizhe stood up and asked, "How is it?"

Zheng Yin's brows were filled with anxiety, he shook his head and said: "This one can be negotiated, and it can be suppressed with 1000 million. But the editor-in-chief is a kind person, and he likes Director Cao's "Red Man Red Woman", he revealed to me There is a news that not only their family wants to poach the privacy of Cao Xiuyuan's family, but who has leaked this idea, several entertainment media, including self-media, are preparing to release this news, there are reports and videos. These days for They have spent a lot of manpower and financial resources to follow Cao Ye to grab different reporting angles. Now it is too difficult to completely suppress this matter... We know the news too late, how can we go to each other in the middle of the night? talk?"

Liang Sizhe fell silent.

Zhang Minghan's accusation of Cao Xiuyuan's obscenity was like a snowball, and when the matter was about to end, it rolled towards Cao Ye with a huge impact.

It is hard to imagine that at this juncture, Cao Ye, who is already on the verge of collapse, will collapse if his private life is made public, and all the passersby around him recognize him as Cao Xiuyuan's son and point him at him.

Moreover, to what extent will the media announce it?At that time, because of Cao Xiuyuan's face, the producer of "Quarantine Zone" did not publicly beat someone who was Cao Ye. Will it be made public now?Cao Ye chased Lin Huan in the film crew a year ago, will someone notice and expose it to the media?Also, Cao Ye has been to the gay bar opened by Lin Yan's brother, will his sexual orientation be questioned?

Liang Sizhe is a public figure himself, he knows how handy the media is in exaggerating and spreading rumors, and the self-media without supervision is even more confident.Once it is exposed, Cao Ye's life may really be crushed to pieces, and he will bid farewell to the quiet life that is not disturbed now.

Cracks appeared in the boy's innocence, and the pressure came from all directions, as if to crush it to powder.

"I have a way to delay the time." Liang Sizhe said suddenly.

"What?" Zheng Yin asked.

"I held a media conference to clarify the rumors about Teacher Cao. The media should be interested in me. They won't waste a headline in vain. They can only postpone the announcement of Cao Ye."

"This is also a way..." Zheng Yin thought for a moment, and felt that it was feasible, "I'll call the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and ask for his opinion."

The phone was connected, and Zheng Yin pressed the speakerphone. He didn't exchange many greetings, and told the editor-in-chief about the matter.

"Liang Sizhe's headlines are usually enough," the editor-in-chief said on the phone, "but if you want to cover such a big gossip about Cao Xiuyuan's family, generally speaking, the media will not agree. Think about it, the relationship between Liang Sizhe and Cao Xiuyuan is now It's just that some people are guessing, it's far from the point where a clarification conference is held, even if a clarification conference is held now, maybe the media doesn't want to use it as a headline... I have an idea, if he is willing to hold a conference' Must answer' press conference, to answer everyone's doubts about him since his debut, it is enough to be a big news, after all, the private life of such a big star is more attractive to the public than the private life of an amateur, If you want to make a deal with the media, you can only use a bigger piece of news to negotiate with them, but I don’t know if Liang Sizhe will agree..."

Before he finished speaking, Zheng Yin heard Liang Sizhe whisper: "I agree."