UCS Chapter 79.1

Seeing his father rushing over, Gao Gusheng immediately steadied his mind.

 

He said to Gui Yan, “Mr. Gui, we shouldn’t know each other previously, right? Whatever you want to say can be said here. These are all my friends, and there’s nothing between us that needs to be kept private.”

 

Hearing that Gao Gusheng considered them friends after such a short acquaintance, the group of youngsters were deeply moved. They all gathered behind Gao Gusheng, chattering, “That’s right, that’s right, Brother Gui Yan, we have such a good relationship with Brother Gusheng. Just say whatever you want to say. If you encounter any difficulties, we can all help too.”

 

These young people had grown up in this circle—how could they not see that what Gui Yan wanted to say might indeed be inappropriate for others to hear? But since Gao Gusheng had already shown he didn’t want to talk to him privately, they couldn’t just stand by and watch. After all, they were from families on good terms with the Gao family. When it came to closeness, it wasn’t Gui Yan’s turn to interfere.

 

Gui Yan seemed somewhat at a loss. He pressed his lips together slightly and looked at Gao Gusheng.

 

It must be said, when a seemingly rebellious young man suddenly shows an expression like a large dog that’s made a mistake, it is quite touching. Unfortunately, Gao Gusheng’s aesthetic tastes were different from most people’s. Even though the youngsters around him couldn’t help but clutch their hearts, he remained as cold as frozen potatoes in Siberia.

 

Gao Gusheng smiled, “Mr. Gui, may I ask what you need from me?”

 

Seeing Gao Gusheng unmoved, Gui Yan finally lifted his lowered eyes and looked at him seriously.

 

“Actually, it’s like this. Gao Gusheng, I fell for you at first…”

 

However, before he could finish speaking, a male voice rang out from behind him.

 

“Mr. Gui, I presume? Pleased to meet you.”

 

Gao Shi strode over.

 

He extended his hand with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, shaking hands with Gui Yan before immediately letting go.

 

Everyone stared at each other in an extremely awkward atmosphere, like when a boy trying to woo a girl gets halfway through his confession, only to look up and see the girl’s parent approaching menacingly with a butcher’s knife. The bystanders watching the drama didn’t know whether to leave or stay—it was just very awkward all around.

 

Gui Yan looked at the man before him. Apart from being too handsome to look like a typical CEO, he was also unreasonably young.

 

But no matter how young he was, he was still Gao Gusheng’s father in terms of seniority, so Gui Yan couldn’t say certain things.

 

“Hello, Mr. Gao. I’m Gui Yan.”

 

Gao Shi smiled at him, “Mr. Gui, I happen to have something I’d like to say to you. Would you mind coming over for a moment?”

 

This scene was like a replay of the earlier scene. Gui Yan almost thought Gao Shi had seen through his inner thoughts, or perhaps Gao Shi had been standing behind him when he approached Gao Gusheng earlier.

 

Gui Yan instinctively glanced at Gao Gusheng, then nodded, “It would be my honor.”

 

In a secluded corner, Gui Yan felt inexplicably uncomfortable. Or rather, the person in front of him gave him the hair-raising feeling of facing Taotie—clearly he hadn’t done anything, yet he felt as if his inner thoughts had been seen through.

 

Gao Shi smiled at him and took a glass of juice from a nearby server to hand to him.

 

Gui Yan refused, “Sorry, I don’t drink alcohol.”

 

“This isn’t alcohol, it’s orange juice.”

 

Gui Yan really liked orange juice, so he accepted it. But the next second, his hand froze.

 

He did indeed like orange juice, and he also liked sweets, but he had never shown this in front of cameras, so almost everyone thought he disliked sweet things.

 

Was this just a coincidence or…?

 

Gao Shi looked at him, then lowered his gaze to the liquid in the glass, “Mr. Gui, let’s cut to the chase and discuss business.”

 

Gui Yan instinctively asked, “Business?”

 

“Yes,” Gao Shi gently swirled his wine glass, “For example, the matter of Bai Mingyue.”

 

Gui Yan’s expression changed instantly.

 

As soon as Xiao Yusheng left the venue, his agent was already waiting for him at the entrance.

 

Yu Xi was holding his laptop in the passenger seat handling affairs. Seeing Xiao Yusheng get in the car, he put down the laptop and moved to the driver’s seat, “I’ve already had trolls help you control public opinion, and the big fans in the fan groups have started bringing fans into the fray. But this matter is probably going to be somewhat troublesome—no, very troublesome.”

 

Yu Xi’s face showed barely concealed anxiety.

 

“The Gao family’s influence is simply too great. With this complete reversal in public opinion, the label of riding on popularity that’s stuck to you will probably take great effort to remove.”

 

“Moreover, you’ve stood too high, and quite a few people want to drag you down. I’ve already discovered several groups of trolls attacking you.”

 

Xiao Yusheng’s mind was still thinking about Gao Gusheng shining brilliantly on stage. Gao Gusheng had smiled so beautifully that his emotions could still remain stable now.

 

He waved his hand, “That’s fine. I’ll promote the movie some more and post a few Weibo updates.”

 

“The Gao family won’t openly break with me now. After all, on the surface, I haven’t done anything, have I?”

 

“Since the Gao family has pushed Gao Gusheng in front of everyone this time, it shows they intend to let Gao Gusheng get involved in Gao family affairs. So, he can be a decisive young master, but he cannot be an unreasonable young master.”

 

As long as what he did wasn’t caught red-handed and made public, he would still be the “benefactor” who had once spoken up for Gao Gusheng online. Gao Gusheng couldn’t possibly use the Gao family’s power against him.

 

Xiao Yusheng took out his phone and opened Weibo. He rarely hesitated, his fingers lightly tapping the car window as he considered what to write. Just then, his phone rang, and Zhou You’s voice came through.

 

“Hello, Movie King Xiao. This is Zhou You.”

 

What perfect timing—when you’re drowsy, someone brings you a pillow. Xiao Yusheng’s lips curved slightly as he spoke in a gentle tone, “Miss Zhou You, is that right? Hello, when would you have time? I think your image is very suitable for a role in my movie. I wonder if you’d be interested? If so, shall we arrange a time for a screen test?”

 

On the other end of the phone, Zhou You was clearly trying hard to suppress her excitement, but joy still spilled through the receiver.

 

“I have time, I have time! I have time right now.”

 

Xiao Yusheng feigned confusion, “Don’t you need to livestream?”

 

“The livestream platform just crashed and won’t be fixed anytime soon, so I have time right now.”

 

Xiao Yusheng chuckled, “Good. Then I’ll wait for you outside.”

 

Before long, Zhou You rushed out wearing a small formal dress, with her rich second-generation boyfriend following beside her.

 

Xiao Yusheng rolled down the car window and smiled at her, “Miss Zhou, Mr. Qian, come, please get in.”

 

The rich second-generation boyfriend, concerned about his girlfriend, hesitated but still followed out. Upon seeing Xiao Yusheng, he looked at him warily, then moved closer to his girlfriend, as if afraid the other man might steal her away.

 

Zhou You felt both sweet and embarrassed.

 

Oh my, what kind of beauties hasn’t Movie King Xiao seen? How could he possibly be interested in her? Her boyfriend was really overthinking this. Though his little bit of jealousy was somewhat sweet, how embarrassing would it be for the movie king to see him acting like this?

 

After getting into the back seat, Yu Xi drove toward the city center.

 

Xiao Yusheng handed the script to Zhou You, “This script isn’t long. Take a look first.”

 

The script was only about a thousand words, outlining the story of a mute girl.

 

“These are the two more important parts of the role. Take a look, then let’s do a screen test.”

 

Zhou You was stunned, “Now? Right now we’re doing a screen test?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. Don’t be nervous. What’s most important about this role is the emotion contained within it—you need to carefully experience it. As for other things, like how to express these emotions and positioning in front of the camera, I’ll teach you later. Don’t worry, this role doesn’t have many scenes, so everything else is very simple to pick up. Read through the script now.”

 

When discussing professional matters, Xiao Yusheng became serious, and Zhou You didn’t dare slack off. She quickly began reading through the script. It was particularly short—she finished reading it in just a few minutes, but to be safe, she read through it two more times.

 

Xiao Yusheng’s script was about human trafficking.

 

The main storyline followed a female college student who, while at a train station, kindly gave directions to an elderly woman, only to be kidnapped and taken to the mountains.

 

In the mountains, she encountered many women with similar experiences. The role Zhou You was auditioning for was one of these victims in the mountains.

 

This girl was mute and kind-hearted, sometimes bringing food to a neighboring mother and daughter who frequently suffered domestic violence. Year after year, the mother next door, unable to bear her husband’s abuse any longer, decided to flee with her child. But all the money was controlled by that alcoholic, abusive man—they were penniless. How could they escape?

 

So she sold the poor mute girl.

 

The trafficking went smoothly—the mute girl was completely unguarded against this woman she remembered as pitiful and helpless.

 

After the transaction was completed, the mute girl, unable to speak, could only use her beautiful eyes to look at this woman she had helped many times before, asking with her gaze why she would do this.

 

The woman, feeling both guilty and angry under her stare, said, “Help others all the way, send Buddha to the west. You’ve helped me so many times before. This time I finally have the courage to leave that demon at home. Just help me—help me scrape together some money one last time!”

 

The mute girl was sold to the mountains.

 

She lived a life worse than death day and night, until the female protagonist was also trafficked to this village. On the night the female protagonist escaped, their eyes met.

 

The mute girl, kept in a pigsty, looked at the escape team of seven or eight people with eyes full of hope.

 

But the mute girl’s legs had been broken, and the female protagonist couldn’t take her along. Such a mute girl would be a complete burden to them.

 

However, if these people escaped, those left behind would have an even harder time.

 

The girl’s gaze toward the female protagonist went from full of hope to dim to desperate to angry to hysterical, and finally returned to calm.

 

She could choose to scream and shout, waking the entire village to catch this group of foolish people trying to escape.

 

But in the end, though her lips opened several times, she closed them again.

 

What Zhou You had to perform were these two scenes.

 

In the first scene, she had to act out the mute girl’s last look at the neighboring aunt.

 

In the second scene, she had to portray the mute girl’s inner emotional fluctuations and struggles upon discovering she couldn’t escape with the female protagonist.

 

The mute girl had no dialogue—the entire performance relied on her eyes.

 

After a while, Zhou You put down the script.

 

Xiao Yusheng asked softly, “How is it? Are you ready?”

 

Zhou You took a deep breath and nodded.

 

…

 

Zhou You’s performance went relatively smoothly.

 

The script was well-written, and Zhou You’s emotions were thoroughly engaged. Actually, her acting skills were only worth one point, but in the end, Xiao Yusheng gave her seven points. Three points were due to her appearance matching the mute girl. The other three points were thanks to her fully engaged emotions.

 

Xiao Yusheng nodded, then smiled and extended his hand, “Well then, welcome to ‘The Way Home.'”

 

…

 

After dropping the two off in the city center, Yu Xi asked, “Are you sure? Having that girl play the mute girl?”

 

Xiao Yusheng nodded, “Kill three birds with one stone, isn’t it?”

 

Yu Xi frowned, “Three birds with one stone?”

 

“First, her image really does match the mute girl character in our production,” Xiao Yusheng said while typing.

 

“Second—she’s a good excuse.”

 

After finishing editing, he selected send.

 

On the screen was his newly posted Weibo.

 

【Very happy to have met an actress who fits the role perfectly at today’s banquet. Welcome Miss Zhou You to our production team.】

 

He met Yu Xi’s gaze in the rearview mirror, “How could I be materialistic? I’m just a talent scout who can’t bear to see talent go to waste.”

 

After he posted this Weibo, the comments exploded instantly.

 

“Oh, big brother finally posted on Weibo! Big brother is so dedicated—even at a banquet, he doesn’t forget to scout actors for the production.”

 

“Big brother, I’m really going to die of anger! Look at what those people are saying about you! Our big brother is so dedicated—how could he possibly be that kind of materialistic person?!”

 

“Exactly! Maybe when big brother approached Gao Gusheng, he had no idea he was a young master of the Gao family. Didn’t they say at the banquet that they were announcing Gao Gusheng’s identity to the public for the first time today? Big brother must have just gotten excited seeing talent, which is why he approached Gao Gusheng.”

 

“Wuwu, I’m a fan of both, and seeing fans from both sides fighting is really killing me.”

 

Fans and trolls instantly flooded the battlefield.

 

However, the situation was actually more severe than Xiao Yusheng and Yu Xi had estimated. With black fans, trolls, and fans fighting all over Weibo, Gao Gusheng, who had originally been at the center of controversy, was stripped away from it all. His Weibo was filled entirely with adoring comments.

 

“Sheng bao, does your dad need another wife?”

 

“Sheng bao, will you post a selfie today?”

 

“Today is the worst my Sheng bao addiction has ever been. Lying in bed, desperately calling Sheng bao’s name, feeling so uncomfortable I keep scratching my eyes! I really think I’m going crazy missing Sheng bao!”

 

Unlike the harmonious atmosphere on Gao Gusheng’s side, under other Weibo posts, the “Xiao Yusheng is guilty” party and the “Xiao Yusheng is innocent” party were fighting fiercely.

 

---