Chapter 235: Going Dark
The atmosphere of the crew during the filming of "Black and White" was very good. Zhou Yanqing, Yan Sheng, Fang Ruoti and other big names were known in the circle for their good personality, good temper, and kindness to others. Especially after Yan Sheng broke up with Shen Yu, his thinking logic went back to normal. He had been in the industry for so many years, and he had a good personal relationship with the bigwigs. Now that he had left China's entertainment circle and moved to Hollywood, everyone was more curious about how Yan Sheng was doing in the US. Although Wang Jinsheng and Luo Daming have a more challenging temper, they would not act like divas in front of their friends of the same status in the circle. As for Tao Mu himself, there was no need to mention, his high EQ and IQ had long become well-known even outside of the circle.
So this group of people when sitting together was actually quite chatty. Especially as they also needed to communicate about the filming of the mainland version. However, since Shen Yu was also present, everyone was more restrained in their conversation. The dinner gathering hastily disbanded before eight o'clock.
All the big names felt unsatisfied. They had the heart to schedule another gathering, but in front of Shen Yu and the newcomer Gu Yuzhang, it was not good to show it. They could only just exchange looks with each other.
Shen Yu noticed everyone's reaction, and couldn't help feeling a little sad. He had been in Hong Kong for a few months. With the Lin family behind him, there was nothing to complain about resources. But Shen Yu always felt that he couldn't fit in here. And many Hong Kong artists have a very unfriendly attitude towards him.
This time when Director Xu organized the dinner party, he didn't invite him at all. But Shen Yu felt that he was also a member of the cast of "Black and White". With the strong support of the Lin family, he would also participate in the publicity activities of "Black and White" during the release of "Black and White" in Hong Kong. If Director Xu was hosting a dinner party yet he didn't come, people wouldn't say that Director Xu didn't invite him, they would only gossip how Shen Yu was acting like a diva.
So Shen Yu came uninvited.
Unfortunately, during the whole dinner party, Shen Yu was left out in the cold. The several big names didn't want to pay attention to him, and even Yan Sheng, who used to take good care of him, wasn't even willing to look at him. Moreover, Tao Mu also brought that stand-in. The existence of Gu Yuzhang made Shen Yu feel more and more embarrassed.
Shen Yu didn't understand why these people were targeting him. He didn't even know why Yan Sheng ran to the US without a word to him after the press conference. When clearly he had admitted their relationship, didn't he?
When Shen Yu came to the dinner party this time, he actually wanted to make amends on this relationship. So even if Yan Sheng was indifferent to him, Shen Yu still wanted to try. At least he had to ask clearly why Yan Sheng suddenly became so cold. So after the dinner gathering, he quietly followed Yan Sheng to the bathroom. But halfway there, Yan Sheng met Tao Mu who had just come out of the bathroom and also stopped Tao Mu.
"I saw that Shen Yu's expression was a bit strange just now….." Yan Sheng paused, but still explained what he had observed. He also said that he had sent a text message to the assistant to ask the assistant to find a way to get that pair of chopsticks back. Yan Sheng intended to show goodwill to Tao Mu. And after experiencing "Cao Miao breaking the news", Yan Sheng was really wary of Shen Yu. Although his relationship with Tao Mu wasn't that good, Yan Sheng didn't want to see Tao Mu end up in the same situation he did.
Yan Sheng knew that Tao Mu was also gay and was in a relationship with CEO Li of Xiaoheng Capital. Although the mainland had passed the "Same-sex Marriage Law", the public's acceptance of homosexuality was not high. Tao Mu was now cooperating with the military to shoot a conscription promotion drama. If a sexuality scandal broke out at this juncture, Tao Mu's acting career would be implicated.
Yan Sheng felt that Tao Mu, like himself, was a person who truly loved acting. He didn't want Tao Mu to repeat the same mistakes he did, so he hesitantly warned Tao Mu to be cautious: "Do you feel discomfort? Did you bring an assistant and bodyguards to Hong Kong this time? If there's nothing urgent, it's better to go back to the hotel early to rest."
Yan Sheng was worried that Shen Yu would drug Tao Mu. After all, Shen Yu was now hanging out with the Lin family. Lin Rong'an, that rotten guy, liked to give drugs to people the most. Yan Sheng was afraid that Shen Yu would learn these bad habits as well, deliberately drugging Tao Mu to create a sexual scandal. At that time, it would not only tell the media that Tao Mu was gay, but also drive a wedge in Tao Mu's relationship with CEO Li. Killing two birds with one stone.
Shen Yu, who was hiding in the dark corner, couldn't bear it any longer, and walked out directly to ask Yan Sheng: "Big brother Yan, why do you think I'm such a vicious person? Why do you think this way? Why do you think I would harm Tao Mu?"
Yan Sheng turned his head and looked in surprise at Shen Yu who suddenly appeared behind him: "Are you following me?"
Seeing the wariness flashing across Yan Sheng's face, Shen Yu became more and more sad. He turned his head to look at Tao Mu, and asked heartbrokenly, "Tao Mu, what kind of medicine did you give big brother Yan? Why does big brother Yan think I'm going to hurt you? Why does everyone like you? Just what am I lacking compared to you? Why does everyone hate me so much?"
Hearing Shen Yu's questioning, Tao Mu remained completely unmoved, and he even wanted to laugh a little. He was the one who wanted to know why! Why did everyone like Shen Yu in the previous life? Why was everyone always taking Shen Yu's side? Why did everyone think that Shen Yu was right and he was always wrong?
Tao Mu recalled Shen Yu's high-sounding response when he questioned Shen Yu in his previous life. Unconsciously, he smiled: "Shouldn't you ask yourself this? Shen Yu, if a person hates you and thinks you are wrong, maybe that person has a problem. But if the whole world hates you and thinks you are wrong, then it's your own problem."
Shen Yu sneered: "Sophistry. It's obviously because you are richer and more powerful. The reason why those people are on your side is not because of justice, but because of interests. It's just because I don't have as much use or value as you do. So those people gather around you like sycophants. Even though they clearly know that I am right, I am innocent, yet they still hurt me just to please you."
Shen Yu's face was full of cynical sorrow. At this moment, he felt that he saw the whole world clearly, and was betrayed by the whole world. His eyes as clear as autumn water stared coldly at Tao Mu, as well as Yan Sheng who was standing beside Tao Mu. Even if his heart was like being cut by a knife, he still held his head up and his back straight, like a white lotus facing the wind and rain.
Tao Mu looked at Shen Yu slightly in surprise. He always felt that there was something wrong with Shen Yu's brain, but he didn't expect that Shen Yu could see clearer than him. It took Tao Mu two lifetimes, plus one death, to understand this truth. But he didn't expect Shen Yu to see clearly in just a few months.
"You're actually not stupid." Thinking of the innocence and pureness that Shen Yu had maintained in his previous life even until his death, Tao Mu laughed involuntarily. If Shen Yu really had such wisdom then he didn't lose wrongly in his previous life.
"I'm not stupid. I just don't want to believe that the world is really so dark." Back then, Shen Yu was an innocent little prince who didn't know the world. Living with his head in the clouds and enjoying the cherish and adoration of others. Even though he knew that some people had ulterior motives, he was not willing to quibble over it. However, Shen Yu felt that he was gentle and sincere to the world, but what he got in return was not the warm embrace of the world. The abandonment of his family, the betrayal of his lover, the indifference of the world. The sharp edges and corners of his crystal-clear soul had been polished and shattered by the cruel reality. He was now bruised and wounded and had no choice but to wake up from a fairy tale world.
He was only nineteen years old, but he was forced to grow up and face the harsh reality.
"Listen well. From today on, I will no longer believe in this world's hypocritical deception. I will prove to the world that I am right. I will try my best to get back what I lost." Shen Yu's eyes were cold. Looking at Tao Mu and Yan Sheng coldly, he declared war on them: "I won't let you hurt me again without knowing how to fight back. Tao Mu, Yan Sheng, what you owe me, I will take my pound of flesh one by one."
After Shen Yu announced his fierce declaration, he turned and left resolutely.
When Yan Sheng heard Shen Yu's ruthless remarks that reversed right and wrong, he almost laughed in anger: "He still doesn't know where he is wrong. What wrong have I done to him? Actually wanting to take revenge on me….."
Yan Sheng's mood at this moment could not even be described as "beeping a dog". Even if he raised a dog, and put so much emotional energy into it, the dog still knew how to be a loyal dog by wagging its tail at him. And what about Shen Yu? He, Yan Sheng, was simply a farmer who picked up a poisonous snake and held it in his arms as a treasure. After finally warming up the snake, it turned around and bit him. Now still feeling that just one bite was not enough, it wanted to bite him to death directly!
Yan Sheng clutched his chest, so depressed that he felt as if he was about to suffer a heart attack!
Tao Mu, who had long been familiar with Shen Yu's character image, was not surprised. Since his previous life, the Shen Yu he knew had never felt that he had done something wrong. After all, Shen Yu was the male lead, how could the male lead do anything wrong? Even if there was a fault, it must be someone else's fault. After all, according to the logic of the original book, whoever did not make the hero happy was the bad guy. Now that Shen Yu's life was so bad, it was natural that the whole world was wrong.
Tao Mu was not surprised by Shen Yu's logic. He was just curious, even if Shen Yu went dark, with his IQ, what would he do to retaliate against him.
Thinking of the thing Yan Sheng alerted him of, Tao Mu felt that with Shen Yu's IQ, it was estimated that at best, he would target his birth background and/or sexuality.
Tao Mu was not worried about his sexual orientation being exposed. Although he never concealed his relationship with Li Xiaoheng, he never made any intimate actions in public. Even if Shen Yu sent someone to follow him and tip off the entertainment paparazzi, he believed that no newspaper would dare to expose his privacy at the risk of angering the Li family and FlyNews.com. As for his birth background…..
Tao Mu thought of Shen Yu's act of hurriedly knocking off the chopsticks at the dining table, and then asking the waiter to remove the chopsticks. It couldn't be that that little idiot thought he could extract his DNA from the saliva on his chopsticks?
Tao Mu rubbed his chin and walked back to the hotel thoughtfully. He then called his assistant to instruct a few things in detail.
The next day was Christmas Eve, which was also the premiere of "Black and White" at the Hong Kong Grand Theater. According to the thinking of the producer, he hoped that the several leading actors could walk the red carpet and participate in the premiere in the image of their roles in the movie. This was also a promotion method for the movie. However, when Director Xu communicated with everyone about this matter, he specifically explained that this was all the Lin family's idea.
The Lin family was a wealthy family in Hong Kong, and was also one of the investors of this film. Although Lin Rong'an became a eunuch, he was still part of the Lin family. The Lin family also had done a favor for Director Xu. Now for just such a small request, and it was also for the sake of movie promotion, of course Xu Musen would not object.
It was just that the costumes used for the filming have long become dirty and worn because of long-term wear and tear. As Lin Rong'an's request came so suddenly, the crew didn't have time to prepare. Fortunately, Lin Rong'an was very considerate to help everyone re-customize the costumes, but he just needed the bigwigs to go to the Hong Kong Theater for makeup and styling.
Although it was a bit of a tossing, the bigwigs didn't want to get into trouble with the Lin family because of such trivial matters. So they could only come ahead to prepare for makeup and styling.
Tao Mu, who had been guarding against this move for a long time, arrived at the theater with his assistant and bodyguard without saying a word. It was just that when the stylist was doing his hair, he accidentally broke the wooden comb.
"I'm so sorry." The stylist said apologetically, "How could this happen? Mr. Tao, are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"It doesn't matter." Tao Mu said warmly, "It's just a wooden comb."
The stylist was the stylist for the "Black and White" crew and had also done styling for Tao Mu before, and knew that Tao Mu had a good temper so he was not too worried. Immediately he rummaged through the vanity case for other wooden combs. But for some strange reason, although he would usually put a few wooden combs in the makeup box, today he didn't find any of them.
Seeing that it was almost time to walk the red carpet, the stylist was a little anxious.
Tao Mu said in a warm voice, "Don't worry. If you don't have any extra, just go to another room to borrow one."
"But….." The stylist looked at Tao Mu with an embarrassed expression. Everyone in the crew knew that Tao Mu was a bit of a clean freak. Things that could not be shared with people would never be shared with others. Especially personal things like make-up tools and wooden combs.
"It's okay." Tao Mu smiled and motioned his assistant to go borrow one from another dressing room.
After a while, the assistant came back with a wooden comb. There were a few other people's hair on it. The assistant cleaned it up and put it on the dressing table. And then disinfected the wood comb.
After this tossing about, another five minutes passed. The stylist quickly did Tao Mu's hair. After using the comb, Tao Mu asked his assistant to clean up the comb and put it back. Only a few strands of hair remained on the dressing table.
Seeing this, the stylist smiled and said, "Mr. Tao is really attentive."
Tao Mu smiled slightly, getting up and walking out of the dressing room. When passing by the backstage area, he suddenly heard a "slap" sound, and then Shen Yu's voice in a surprisingly cold tone, "Don't talk if you can't speak well, no one will treat you as a mute."
The backstage fell silent. All the big names were sitting in their seats and playing with their phones. Only Shen Yu and a girl with fluttering long hair and a white lace dress stood facing each other in the middle of the room. Tao Mu noticed that the girl was the artist who played Zhou Yuanting's girlfriend and Yan Yu's wife in the film.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!" A lone applause came from the corner. Lin Rong'an in a pink suit stepped out of the shadows. Walking to Shen Yu's side, he stood still, and said with a gentle smile, "Don't use too much strength when hitting someone, be careful of hurting your hands."
Before he even finished speaking, Lin Rong'an looked at Tao Mu with a smile. Since losing his third leg, Lin Rong'an's voice had changed. It used to be warm and hearty, but now it was a bit more gentle and high. His appearance was also much more feminine than before. His dressing style was also more exquisite.
Lin Rong'an looked at Tao Mu, whose looks became more handsome and aura more aggressive, with complicated feelings. He didn't know whether to hate or continue to like the other. No one knew that the reason why Lin Rong'an went to Beijing to manage the Lin family's business was actually because of Tao Mu. Ever since they met in the crew that day, Lin Rong'an had been obsessed with Tao Mu. So he did everything possible to persuade old madam Lin to let him take charge of the Lin family's business in Beijing. After all, the close distance meant a greater chance. But he didn't expect that just because he teased a wild flower in a moment of boredom, he would be implicated into losing his third leg.
Speaking of hatred, of course Lin Rong'an hated Shen Yu, the culprit even more. But old madam Lin would not allow him to take revenge on Shen Yu. Instead, she hinted that Lin Rong'an should try to please Shen Yu. Because old madam Lin felt that the Shen family still cared about Shen Yu, the adopted son. And the Shen family had a lot of power in Shanghai. The Lin family had gained their riches in Hong Kong, but in fact, they have long planned to develop to the mainland.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the competition in the mainland market has also been fierce. The forces of foreign companies, joint ventures and local companies were intertwined, all vying for market share. Compared with the strong capital of foreign companies and the strong network background of local companies, although the Lin family was an affluent family of Hong Kong, it had no advantages in these two aspects. Therefore, the Lin family must find a qualified ally to gain a firm foothold in the mainland and expand its market share.
The first potential partner the Lin family took a fancy to was actually the Li family and Tao Mu's FlyNews.com. However, Mr. Li and Mr. Tao were not interested in the Lin family, and they did not accept the olive branch from the Lin family. Even after Lin Rong'an went to Beijing, he failed to connect with Tao Mu. Instead, because of Shen Yu he lost his dignity as a man.
Lin Rong'an felt that he was very unlucky. However, the Lin family felt that misfortune and fortune came hand in hand. Relying on the fact that Shen Yu was the culprit, old madam Lin went directly to Shanghai to talk to the Shen family father and son. While implying that she was fond of Shen Yu very much and wanted Shen Yu to be her granddaughter-in-law, she also implied that the Lin family intended to form a business alliance with the Shen family. Suggesting that they make an alliance of two strong companies to jointly seek market share.
At that time, the Shen family was being suppressed by the Yan family and was also feeling a little out of breath. At the critical moment, it was Shen Yan's boyfriend Zhuo Yan who took the initiative to stand forward and help the Shen family come up with two strategies, allowing the Shen family to connect with the Yan family's rival. Finally stabilizing the declineling situation. The Shen family was very satisfied with Zhuo Yan, and they also arranged for Zhuo Yan to be in charge of the marketing department of the Shen Group.
Just at this moment, the Lin family took the initiative to run out to take over Shen Yu. In addition to letting the Shen family see the value of Shen Yu's use again, the Yan family also saw the hope of Yan Sheng's severance from Shen Yu. So under this tacit understanding, the Yan family, who was almost unable to get off the tiger (TN: impossible to stop halfway), also withdrew their intention to suppress the Shen family. The Shen family took advantage of the situation and sent Shen Yu to Hong Kong. And schemed on how to use this in-law relationship to seize the assets of the Lin family.
Coincidentally, the Lin family thought the same thing too.
As one of the two key chess pieces in this marriage alliance. Of course, Lin Rong'an couldn't show any dissatisfaction with Shen Yu which would arouse the vigilance of the Shen family. However, Lin Rong'an suffered an unpredictable disaster because of Shen Yu, so how could he swallow his anger and treat Shen Yu like a treasure in the palm of his hand. Therefore, under Lin Rong'an's subtle hinting, many people secretly made things difficult for Shen Yu. But Shen Yu didn't know.
In Shen Yu's opinion, because of the SARFT ban, not many people knew that Lin Rong'an took him to the entertainment club and drugged him. Back then, what the media frantically reported was only the news that Lin Rong'an and Luo Yang, these two big playboys, fought with each other because of jealousy, and one broke his leg and the other broke his third leg.
But Shen Yu never thought about the fact that there was no impermeable wall in this world, people in the circle were well-informed, and naturally knew everything that should be known. The Lin family had always been domineering and had a tough attitude in Hong Kong. Relying on the power of the Lin family, Lin Rong'an had caused many calamities to young men and women before. However, because the Lin family only covered the sky in Hong Kong, even if someone called the police, there was no way to seek justice. Instead, they would anger the Lin family because of this "ignorant" behavior, and even be forced to be unable to stay in Hong Kong.
When the news that Lin Rong'an got in a jealous fight with another and broke his third leg as a result first came out, everyone who had been bullied by Lin Rong'an applauded. There were also some people who knew the inside story and sympathized with Shen Yu, but also felt relieved for Shen Yu. After all, Shen Yu was rescued by Luo Yang at that critical juncture, and could be considered to have successfully kept his chastity. There were also people who speculated whether Shen Yu would break up with Yan Sheng because of this matter and turn to Luo Yang's arms instead.
However, what everyone did not expect was that Shen Yu would choose to sign under the Lin family's film and television company in the end, and was even taken to Hong Kong by old madam Lin, and now lived in the Lin family mansion. Afterwards, he even appeared in and out with Lin Rong'an inseparably. And with the support of the Lin family, he even stole the resources of other artists. Transforming from a victim to a beneficiary. This kind of development instantly disgusted some of the people who pitied Shen Yu. It made those who had been hurt by Lin Rong'an deeply feel that fate was unfair.
Lin Rong'an, as the third son of the Lin family, relied on his family background to commit all kinds of crimes while believing himself to be romantic, and calling himself a hunter of flowers. The prey he set his sights on all had very good conditions. And these prey that could come into contact with Lin Rong'an, except for those first batch of school classmates, the rest were mostly entertainers or models. The entertainment circle of Hong Kong was small, and many people had more or less opportunities to meet or cooperate. In addition, Lin Rong'an was not one to be picky on gender, and did not shy away from the principle of "rabbits do not eat grass on the edge of the nest", so he often targeted the artists of the Lin family's film and television company. In other words, in the same company, there was no lack of men and women who had been harmed by Lin Rong'an.
——Because of the power of the Lin family in Hong Kong, these people did not dare to retaliate against Lin Rong'an, and even tried their best to please him. But towards Shen Yu, who obviously had the same experience as them, yet was much luckier than them because of the favor of old madam Lin, and even moved into the Lin family manor, the others were not so polite.
Due to the power of the Lin family, although these people didn't dare to bully Shen Yu outright, it was very easy for them to secretly play tricks and make things difficult for Shen Yu during the work periods. After all, Shen Yu's reputation of having poor acting skills and an inability to suffer had long become well-known even out of the circle. When working they would be as perfunctory as possible, and stay far away from him during breaks. They would also speak ill of him behind his back. Several times, when Shen Yu was hiding in the bathroom, he could hear company artists discussing his shamelessness.
To say that what Lin Rong'an hated most was that Shen Yu was obviously not kind, but he deceived himself and believed himself to be very pure and kind. Lin Rong'an would rather see a Shen Yu who was bad outright than Shen Yu who was bad and didn't know it. Lin Rong'an was even more curious about what would happen if Shen Yu really put aside his disguise and clearly realized his true nature.
Therefore, under Lin Rong'an's deliberate training and guidance, Shen Yu, who was always bullied, finally went dark as expected.
The idea of helping Tao Mu find his biological parents was proposed by Shen Yu himself. Shen Yu felt that everyone in the world was confused by Tao Mu's appearance, so they felt that Tao Mu was fine everywhere. But in truth, Tao Mu was essentially a cold-hearted person. So he wanted to help Tao Mu find his biological parents. See what Tao Mu would look like when facing his biological parents.
But Lin Rong'an did not hold much hope on this matter. First of all, the Lost Children's Gene Bank created by the Shen family was actually less effective than it was hyped up to be. Anyway, in the past two years, there have been too few cases of finding children through the gene bank. And even if Tao Mu found his biological parents, his biological parents might not necessarily be low-level people who had no money, no power, and were excessively greedy——
Others might not notice, but Lin Rong'an didn't forget Tao Mu's resemblance to the Shen family. He was not certain, but if the DNA identification was done and Tao Mu, who was always butting heads with Shen Yu and better than Shen Yu on all aspects, turned out to be the missing child of the Shen family. Moreover, this truth was discovered by Shen Yu himself, who treated the Shen family as his own…..
Then things would truly become interesting.
Lin Rong'an was not at all worried that he would sabotage the Lin family's plan to scheme and seize the Shen family's assets. He was now a eunuch. Without the possibility of producing heirs, he was destined not to inherit the Lin family. Then why should he wrong himself for the future of the Lin family?
It was better to just live a life of willfulness——Lin Rong'an, deep down, always felt that it was because of Tao Mu that he encountered that kind of misfortune, and that he became like this. So he couldn't bear to see Tao Mu's smooth climb upwards. Something must be done to cause Tao Mu some trouble.
So long as Tao Mu wasn't happy, he would be happy.
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