Bai Yuhuai grabbed Jing Jiujiu's wrist and pulled it back.
"You've mistaken me for someone else."
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm."
Ding Hanbing seemed to have all his strength drained suddenly, his form slumping where he stood.
Seeing this, the manager finally found an opening to step forward and grab Ding Hanbing, laughing awkwardly: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. He, well, he does have a childhood friend who might look a bit like your friend, Mr. Bai..."
After saying this, the manager gritted his teeth at Ding Hanbing: "Brother, have you forgotten? You told me yourself that your childhood friend died long ago. What are you doing recognizing random people now?"
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood, but whether they all believed the manager's words was another matter entirely.
The director hadn't expected the situation to become so awkward. He had originally wanted to use Bai Yuhuai to put some pressure on Ding Hanbing, but now it seemed he had nearly offended Bai Yuhuai instead.
The director could only shoot Best Actress Tao a meaningful glance, signaling her to speak up and diffuse the atmosphere.
"That scene just now from Ding Hanbing really overlaps with Cheng Xu's character. Come on, let's read through the script. We've already read up to Scene 13," Best Actress Tao said with a smile.
The manager quickly pulled Ding Hanbing to sit down.
Ding Hanbing responded dully, but remained clearly distracted.
Seeing his state, the manager was about to get a splitting headache. But this wasn't the first time Ding Hanbing had acted like this. The reason he was late today was that he had just had another episode. Sometimes when his mental state acted up, it was common for him to go days without sleep.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuhuai was also full of displeasure.
What should have been a smooth script reading had suddenly become stiff and tense.
When they continued reading lines, Ding Hanbing kept missing his cues.
The director's expression grew awkward.
Objectively speaking, this couldn't be entirely blamed on Ding Hanbing. It was just that Bai Yuhuai was too formidable in this industry. When he wanted to make someone unable to connect with the scene, that person would definitely fail to connect.
Ding Hanbing was now caught in this predicament, constantly unable to match Bai Yuhuai's energy, his whole person firmly locked out of the emotion, unable to enter no matter what.
Even Jing Jiujiu, a mere ghost, could feel the awkward atmosphere.
He stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"Where are you going?"
Bai Yuhuai and Ding Hanbing spoke almost simultaneously.
Then the two of them exchanged a glance, before coldly turning away again.
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "Um... to look at the night view."
Bai Yuhuai's expression softened: "Mm, I'll drive you to see the night view on Qingyang Road tomorrow."
The Qingyang Road he mentioned was the most prosperous area of this city.
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but secretly marvel.
The great Actor Bai's temper... was good enough. Who had ever seen him with this kind of free time before?
Jing Jiujiu nodded, looking a bit happier, and turned to sit by himself near the window in the distance.
The subtle tension between Bai Yuhuai and Ding Hanbing also seemed to ease a bit.
The director could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Because it was already late, the script reading ended at 1 AM.
Everyone got up to leave.
Ding Hanbing still didn't want to go, but his manager tugged at him: "He's already left with Actor Bai, didn't even look back at you once. What are you hoping for? Your childhood friend died long ago. Don't go making up some kind of substitute or something..."
Ding Hanbing looked on with a gloomy face as Bai Yuhuai's car drove away: "It's not a substitute, and there never will be a substitute. Jing Jiujiu is Jing Jiujiu, no one can impersonate him or replace him. You don't understand, he's different..."
"Then why did you mistake him?"
"I... I didn't mistake him." Ding Hanbing said, furrowing his brow.
"Young Master Ding, let me ask you this - if it really was your childhood friend. Let's say he didn't die. Would your childhood friend be this cold to you?"
"Mm."
"See, I told you..." The manager froze. "Huh? Wait, what did you just say?"
When the car had completely disappeared from sight, Ding Hanbing finally got into his own car. He said in a low voice: "You don't understand."
The manager almost laughed in exasperation, thinking there was nothing difficult to understand about this.
Ding Hanbing: "Since he was little..." Ding Hanbing pressed his temple, struggling to retrieve the memory. Things that should have been as familiar as the back of his hand were now so difficult and unfamiliar to speak of. Fortunately, he had just reinforced another round of memories.
"Since he was little, he was adored by everyone. Do you understand what kind of concept that is?" Ding Hanbing said.
The manager kept a wooden face, thinking to himself, I'm ugly so how would I know?
"He came from a good family, very wealthy. His father was very capable and doted on him. No matter how busy he was, he would personally take care of everything for him. He truly grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. You've seen how good-looking he is, his outstanding temperament, his elegant manners... Who wouldn't like him?
"Moreover, he excelled at everything since childhood. He could play piano and violin, and could talk eloquently about art. He had been to many countries and knew many languages. He always had a natural talent for these things. And such a person also had a great personality. He grew up carefree, surrounded by flowers and praise. Perhaps because he received so much love, he could always inadvertently share some with others. He might not have realized it himself, but others could always feel it..."
The manager listened in a daze, immediately dropping his joking and angry attitude.
Could there really be such a person?
"Everyone liked someone like that," Ding Hanbing lowered his eyes, seemingly struggling to remember, his fingertips trembling slightly. "He would hold birthday parties every year, just like today. He was like a little prince - just standing there, do you know how many people wanted to talk to him? He was like the most beautiful part of the world we had ever seen."
The manager thought to himself, yes, at first glance, it was quite stunning.
The young man looked untouched by the dust of the mundane world.
He was the kind of person that most people in the world very much wanted to become, yet could never achieve, and could only endlessly yearn for.
Ding Hanbing: "Too many people liked him. I was just one of them."
The manager was about to say, don't sell yourself short, you're quite handsome yourself, aren't you? Your temperament and personality are unique enough. Now how many people across the country like you? Do you know you have 50 million followers on Weibo?
But before he could speak, the manager suddenly realized belatedly: "Wait, after all that, you mean you were just unilaterally his childhood friend?"
Ding Hanbing: "Ah."
Manager: "..."
Ding Hanbing: "To him, I was probably just a neighbor."
Manager: "......"
Meanwhile in the other car, Bai Yuhuai said as if casually: "Ding Hanbing seemed very excited to see you."
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm."
Bai Yuhuai paused, then asked: "Do you think he looks like the person who placed the fish tank?"
Jing Jiujiu's features scrunched up: "It's hard to say."
After a moment of silence, Jing Jiujiu spoke again in a low voice: "I used to think people stopped coming to see me because they didn't want to feel sadder. But it turns out, there are people who would come specifically to place a fish tank."
"I used to think that since my fathers loved each other, we would probably live together forever. But I died, and my father - Mr. Yu Ran - disappeared. My other father, well, Jing Tinghua, I heard he remarried and had children. Maybe I'm too selfish," Jing Jiujiu murmured. "I feel a little sad, a little jealous. A little... unexpected."
Jing Jiujiu: "Everything changes..."
Slightly melancholic, Jing Jiujiu's whole demeanor drooped.
His shoulders suddenly looked much thinner.
Suppressing the displeasure in his heart, Bai Yuhuai said: "Ding Hanbing probably hasn't changed."
He didn't want to speak well of Ding Hanbing. But that person didn't seem to know anything about feng shui or the metaphysical.
He didn't want the young man to keep drooping his brows and eyes.
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm."
He blinked gently, looking at Bai Yuhuai without much confidence, and asked: "Could you go with me to the Jing family another day?"
But as soon as he said it, Jing Jiujiu wrinkled his nose: "That doesn't seem very useful either. If someone really wants to deceive me, how could I tell from far away? I should... first make contact secretly. I need to know what has happened all these years... Hmm, come to think of it, Ding Hanbing is actually a breakthrough point."
Bai Yuhuai immediately spoke up: "I'll find a way."
Jing Jiujiu paused, looking at Bai Yuhuai. His expression softened as he apologized sheepishly for trying to intimidate Bai Yuhuai earlier.
"Mr. Bai is truly a wonderful person!" Jing Jiujiu praised sincerely.
Hearing these words, Bai Yuhuai felt something was off, no matter how he interpreted them.
Soon, the car came to a stop.
The assistant got out and opened the door, then couldn't help but give Jing Jiujiu an extra glance. Not just him, but the manager and even the driver were all burning with curiosity.
They hadn't seen anyone when they left, so how did this person suddenly appear? And he was even going home with Bai!
Goodness, if the paparazzi were still around and caught this on camera, it would cause quite a stir!
"Get out first."
"Okay."
Jing Jiujiu followed Bai Yuhuai out of the car and walked towards the villa.
The manager was visibly hesitant: "Bai... this person..."
Bai Yuhuai: "I remember there's a charity gala in a week?"
The manager nodded: "Yes, we received the invitation earlier, but you said you were busy."
"Let's go."
With that, Bai Yuhuai and Jing Jiujiu went inside.
The manager stood outside, stunned.
Why the sudden change of heart?
The manager became nervous. Could this... could this be leading up to some big news? Like, bringing that young man along, holding hands, and announcing "This is my boyfriend"?
The manager returned home full of worry.
Meanwhile, on an anonymous forum, a user posted a long message with accompanying photos.
[I work part-time at a small teahouse. During my night shift today, I happened to witness a script reading for a famous director. I won't name names, but there were award-winning actors and actresses, veteran performers, and even an idol. This idol is actually who I want to talk about. He's my favorite, someone I've genuinely been a fan of for years. He's really handsome, with a unique aura. Among current fangirls, it's rare to find someone who doesn't like him. ...But I digress. I was overjoyed to see him today. But that joy didn't last long. I'm so upset, I need to vent.
A certain award-winning actor brought someone with him, and that person... well, I'll admit, he was quite good-looking. But I never expected that when my idol saw him, he suddenly knelt down, grabbing his hand and crying... I couldn't hear what was said, but my idol was extremely emotional. His image in my heart almost crumbled. After all, he's known for having a rebellious and hot-tempered personality, prone to diva behavior. I felt pretty upset at the time, but I also thought my idol showed his true nature.
This wasn't even the worst part. The main issue was that the person the award-winning actor brought showed absolutely no reaction. After the script reading ended, he just left without a word. It felt like my idol's sincere emotions were completely wasted. Sigh, it's so frustrating.
[Photo]]
This post suddenly went viral after a paparazzo released news about "Bai Yuhuai's Script Reading Session".
Comments multiplied instantly.
[Although the head is cropped out of the photo, that collar around the neck... isn't that clearly Ding Hanbing?]
[A certain award-winning actor? Bai Yuhuai? Who could he possibly bring? My Bai has always been a lone wolf, don't drag him into this, thanks.]
[Look closely at what's in the frame. There's a hand visible. The bracelet on the wrist. Looks familiar, right? It is indeed Bai Yuhuai.]
[The person Bai Yuhuai brought is mostly blocked by Ding Hanbing, can't see clearly at all. OP, can you post a clearer photo? This is such big news, let us see it clearly, please!]
[The figure looks good, is it a model? Or maybe someone from a dance troupe?]
[Actually, if you hadn't taken a photo, I wouldn't have believed Ding Hanbing would kneel before someone, or that the great actor Bai would bring someone to a script reading... This photo is absolutely shocking!]
...
For minor celebrities like Ji Meng, their favorite pastime was searching for themselves online. Whenever they found their number of fans had increased a bit, they would be overjoyed.
That day, when he went online, before seeing anything else, he first noticed the post on the anonymous forum.
Others really do have high popularity... Ji Meng sighed, opening the post. When he saw the photo, the blurry figure on the sofa vaguely overlapped with a scene he had witnessed before.
This was the silhouette he had seen in Bai's room during the show recording!
Those clothes!
They hadn't changed at all!
Ji Meng saved the photo. Just then, his manager came over and patted his shoulder: "What are you doing? Stop surfing the net! Let's go quickly. We've finally secured this opportunity. Today, a Mr. Jing will be present. You absolutely cannot offend this person, no matter what."
Bai Yuhuai also saw that photo soon after.
He frowned imperceptibly, then picked up his phone and sent a message to Director Xiang: "I don't think Ding Hanbing is suitable for the cast."
Director Xiang's reply came quickly: "Why?"
Bai Yuhuai glanced at Jing Jiujiu not far away, and typed expressionlessly: "Terrible acting skills."