Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 501 Who is the real culprit?

On this day, Lin Gengxin had just returned from a vacation in the United States and checked into a hotel villa arranged by Hunan TV for their film crew, "The Scar of the Sky".

Before entering, he looked at the building number.

302.

There was no one in the living room. After eating something simple in the living room at the arrangement of his assistant, he picked up his belongings and went upstairs to his room to sleep and adjust to the time difference.

At that moment, he glanced at the clock on the living room wall; it was 6:30 p.m.

His assigned room was on the second floor, directly facing the entrance to the villa's staircase. As soon as he went up, he saw Tang Yan coming out of the corridor on the right.

Lin Gengxin waved and greeted her, "Hello, Sister Yan, you live here too?"

Tang Yan stared at him for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yeah. When did you arrive?"

"Just arrived. I was just about to go inside and rest for a bit."

"How was it? Was it fun?"

"It was quite fun," Lin Gengxin said sincerely, recalling his past experience. "It felt different from before; the attitude was good."

"Really? Then I'll go when I have time. By the way, let me tell you, not only do I live here, but Xiao Jin lives next door to you, and Shi Shi lives across the hall. You'd better watch out for what you're up to."

"Haha." Lin Gengxin laughed. "Don't worry, I won't do anything. I'm so sleepy. I'll just go in and take a nap."

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the woman in front of him was dressed to the nines, clearly having just washed her hair, sprayed on perfume, and wearing a brand-new short skirt. Her makeup was also very heavy, making her look like she was going to a ball. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Sister Yan, you're dressed so beautifully. Where are you going at this hour? On a date?"

A fleeting, unnatural expression crossed Tang Yan's face. She casually brushed her hair behind her ear as if to cover it up, and said nonchalantly, "What kind of date are you going on? I'm just going to the door to buy two bottles of water."

Buy water? Lin Gengxin was surprised.

He had just arrived and knew the hotel was huge; the entrance was at least a 10-minute walk from here. Given the heat, he had been brought here by a limousine. But Tang Yan, standing here chatting with him, clearly didn't seem to have called a car.

Besides, hotels offer room service. Why bother going all the way to buy it yourself when you can just make a phone call?

However, he didn't sleep much on the plane, as he was waiting to adjust to the time difference upon returning. At this point, he was both tired and sleepy and didn't think much about it. Just as he was about to say goodbye, he went to sleep.

Suddenly he noticed that there were only four rooms on the second floor.

According to Tang Yan, he lived in the room at the top of the stairs, Liu Shishi lived in the room diagonally opposite him, Jin Chen lived next door to him, and Tang Yan's room was next to Jin Chen's.

It feels like we're missing a few.

Lin Gengxin asked, "Where are Lao Hu and Jingfu?"

Tang Yan's expression had returned to normal by this time, and she laughed and said, "Old Hu is the producer, how could he live with us actors? Jin Fu is with him too. They all live in Building 303 with President Cai and Director Li. As for you, you've ended up in a group of women."

Lin Gengxin smiled and said, "Really? That's so kind of you, Mr. Cai. You're really taking good care of me."

"That's right. Okay, I'm leaving."

"Row."

The two passed each other. Tang Yan walked down the stairs, while Lin Gengxin put his hand on the doorknob, then suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "By the way, I heard that Chen Nuo is here too, is that right?"

Tang Yan's figure froze on the stairs for two seconds before she turned around and smiled, "Yes, he lives in building 301."

Lin Gengxin had seen 301 on his way here. It wasn't far from their 302, but it was in a better location, facing the large lake in the central courtyard.

"Is he gone?"

"No...right? I don't know. I guess he probably hasn't left. But I heard he finished recording his show today, but, well, he might have already left. Maybe he won't stay here for the day." Tang Yan spoke very quickly, sounding somewhat incoherent. Lin Gengxin was afraid she would bite her tongue.

"What, you need to see him? Oh right, I remember when we were filming together, I heard he was really nice to you. Looks like it's true."

"Is it alright? He wouldn't accept me even if I knelt down to be his apprentice." Lin Gengxin laughed and said, "It's alright, he told me to call him Brother Nuo. But I usually call him Teacher Chen. How did he end up participating in this Hunan TV program? Did President Cai tell him?"

Tang Yan pursed her lips. "Who knows? It could be for other reasons. I don't know."

"Oh." Lin Gengxin nodded. "Goodnight, Sister Yan. I'm going to bed now."

"Okay, sweet dreams."

Tang Yan's blessing had no effect.

Although it was a good dream, Lin Gengxin didn't sleep very well that night.

The main issue is that although the hotel is luxurious, the soundproofing doesn't seem very good. Also, his room is near the driveway.

Because of jet lag, he already had trouble sleeping. Throughout the night, the sounds of cars and doors opening and closing would frequently wake him from his light sleep. He felt that what was supposed to be a quiet and luxurious villa area was like a bustling market, making him very upset.

Lin Gengxin was in a daze throughout the night, and was woken up many times. Every time he woke up, he would subconsciously look at the luminous watch on his wrist.

It was around 9 p.m. when Tang Yan, who had gone out to buy water, returned. He heard the sound of a door closing.

At 9:17 p.m., he heard the door open and close in the room opposite his. It seemed that Jin Chen, who had been in the room, had gone out for something and returned around 11:30 p.m. The door closed loudly, as if she was angry, which woke him up again.

Finally, around 10:43, Liu Shishi, who lived next door, quietly left the house. Although she closed the door and walked very softly, he had been woken up by Jin Chen's door closing and hadn't been able to fall back asleep. He heard her footsteps disappear from the doorway down the stairs. At that moment, he was playing on his phone, and the time on his phone was 10:43.

He didn't know when Liu Shishi returned. Because at that time, he had tossed and turned in bed for several hours before finally falling into a drowsy sleep.

Despite not sleeping well overnight, Lin Gengxin still got up early the next morning, changed into sportswear, and went out.

He heard about this habit from a guy surnamed Chen when he was filming "Sky Scar" in Hengdian. From then on, he started doing it too. It wasn't rain or shine, but whenever he wasn't filming, he would stick to it whenever he had free time.

……

Lin Gengxin spent about an hour running around the hotel.

He discovered that the apartment 303, where Mr. Cai and his group lived, was a 1-minute run from their apartment 302.

302到301则需要2分40多秒，走路的话大概需要7分钟。

To get from 303 to 301, you have to pass through 302, and you can see people on the street from the upper floors of 302.

If you're going from 302 to the hotel entrance, you'll need to pass 301. It takes about 5 minutes to run, but about 15 minutes to walk.

He also discovered the hotel's fitness center along the way, a little past room 301, a 10-minute walk from their room 302.

Lin Gengxin didn't know why he was subconsciously calculating the distances between different places.

He had a vague feeling that the sounds of doors opening and closing last night had some hidden connection to the distance and time involved.

When he reached the lake, he rested for a while.

Just then, an elderly sanitation worker was cleaning the area. Since I had nothing else to do, I chatted with him for a bit.

According to that old man, around 9 p.m. last night, a long-haired girl sat on a chair by the lake for about 20 minutes, which was quite frightening.

He asked the old man if he knew who it was. The old man said it was too dark at night and he couldn't see clearly, but he felt that the girl was very thin and had long hair.

Long hair?

It seems that all the women in this hotel have long hair. And in terms of weight, Liu Shishi and Jin Chen are both very thin, while Tang Yan and even President Cai aren't fat.

Lin Gengxin stood next to the chair, first looking around thoughtfully, and found that the view was very open, and he could see whether there was anyone on the road from 301 to 302.

Then he looked back.

The second-floor window of room 301 was partially obscured by the shadows of the green trees by the lake.

……

"Wow, Geng Xin, that's great! You really did go out to exercise after all. I didn't believe Xiao Jin when he told me. You've become so disciplined! Not bad at all!"

As soon as Lin Gengxin returned to the villa, the people who were having breakfast turned around to look at him. Tang Yan was the first to smile and say something.

He laughed and said, "Just running around for fun."

Tang Yan turned her head and asked, "Xiao Jin, how did you know? Did you sleep with him last night?"

Lin Gengxin saw a fleeting look of panic on Jin Chen's face, but before he could grasp its meaning, Jin Chen said, "What? I just heard him leave."

Lin Gengxin walked over and said, "Yes, the soundproofing here isn't very good. I could hear you opening and closing doors all night."

He said it unintentionally, but as soon as he finished speaking, Lin Gengxin felt a chill run down his spine.

Because the girls at the table all looked a little unnatural.

Liu Shishi said, "I couldn't sleep last night, so I went to the gym for a run. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

Tang Yan asked in surprise, "What time did you leave? I didn't know."

"It wasn't until before 9 o'clock," Liu Shishi said. "I got back around 11 o'clock."

"Oh," Tang Yan laughed. "I went to bed early last night. I've been busy with promotions all this time, I'm exhausted, and I slept until now. Xiao Jin, how did you sleep? I think you're probably the earliest one up among us today, besides Geng Xin. I saw you stretching your legs in the yard from the window early this morning, you're really in good spirits."

Jin Chen smiled and said, "No, it's just that I'm not used to sleeping in the same bed, so I didn't sleep well last night. I wanted to go to bed early last night, but I couldn't fall asleep. I just lay in bed playing on my phone. In the end, I had no choice but to go for a walk and chat with Xin Xin for a while before I finally came back and went to sleep."

At the table, Jin Chen's agent, Wang Xinxin, a chubby little girl, nodded while biting into a piece of bread and said, "Yes."

"What time?" Lin Gengxin asked.

Wang Xinxin grunted, swallowed the bread in her mouth, looked up at him and asked, "Huh?"

Lin Gengxin smiled and asked, "What time did you come to me?"

"Why are you asking this? Are you checking my household registration?" Jin Chen asked.

Lin Gengxin smiled and said, "Just asking."

Wang Xinxin said, "It was a little after eight o'clock. We watched Happy Camp together for a while. You went upstairs after we finished watching, right, Chenchen?"

Jin Chen glanced at Lin Gengxin and hummed in agreement. Happy Camp... Because he was going to be on the show for promotion, Lin Gengxin had watched a few episodes recently. He knew that the show started at 8:10 pm and lasted about 90 minutes.

"Lin Gengxin, you've really taken a liking to Xiao Jin? Why are you asking so many questions?" Tang Yan said with a smile.

Jin Chen looked displeased and said, "Sister Yan, don't talk nonsense."

Tang Yan laughed and said, "Xiao Jin, just kidding, don't be angry. By the way, I'm going to say hello next door later, are you guys coming?"

Aside from the artists themselves, their assistants and managers were all having breakfast and chatting when they all turned their attention to them.

Wang Xinxin asked curiously, "Sister Yan, do you mean 301 or 303?"

Tang Yan said, "Of course it's 301."

……

Lin Gengxin followed Tang Yan, Jin Chen, and Liu Shishi into room 301.

This 301 is about a third larger than 302. Although the style is the same, the details of the decoration are a level higher than 302.

However, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

The only thing that made him feel a little uncomfortable was the itch in his heart, like a cat's claws scratching at his heart.

He was now certain that something was wrong with all three women.

The times he wrote down didn't match the times they dictated; none of their timelines matched. They were all just making things up. There were always one or two hours missing in between.

Where did they go during that time?

Another point that interested him was who the woman the cleaner mentioned was, who she said was wandering by the lake.
Why did she linger by the lake for so long at night?
Keep in mind, this is summer; the weather is not only hot and humid, but also teeming with mosquitoes. Under these circumstances, what on her mind could possibly be keeping her from lingering by the lake for so long? Or was she actually observing what was happening on the second floor?
These questions lingered in Lin Gengxin's mind, making him feel restless and uneasy.

He was certain that he wasn't overthinking it.

Back in Hengdian, he bumped into that person coming out of his room. He knew that no matter what others thought, his future master was just a mortal, and he would definitely eat the meat that was offered to him!
He failed to become an apprentice last time, but practice makes perfect... This time, if he can find a clue, he might just succeed.

……

"...Thank you so much. We just came over without even saying hello," Tang Yan said with a smile.

"I'll go upstairs and see if Mr. Chen is up yet. Please have a seat for a while."

"Okay okay."

Seeing that the person had gone upstairs, Tang Yan looked around and smiled, "Don't you guys think his assistant is a really pretty girl?"

But no one responded.

Liu Shishi seemed to have something on her mind, and simply nodded slightly.

Jin Chen pursed her lips and stared blankly at the ashtray on the coffee table.

Lin Gengxin watched coldly from the sidelines, his curiosity growing stronger.

Who is the real culprit this time?

……

dong dong dong.

"……What's wrong?"

"Mr. Chen, are you awake? Tang Yan and Liu Shishi are here again. Do you want to see them?"

Gulinaza's voice came, and Chen Nuo gradually woke up from his dream. He lay on the bed, feeling an indescribable heat coursing through his body. He couldn't help but groan and replied, "Okay, I'll get up right away. Tell them to wait for me a while."

"Ok."

Gulnazar is gone.

Chen Nuo didn't get up for a moment, staring at the ceiling.

He doesn't remember very clearly what happened last night.

He only vaguely knew that he took the medicine in a very funny and nonsensical way, and then he calmed down and started to rest.

A lot actually happened during those several hours.

Several women came to visit him in a secretive and clandestine manner, as if they were doing something wrong.

The woman he mistook for Aunt Liu was one of them.

Thinking about this, Chen Nuo couldn't help but feel a little strange.

What are these three women up to?
Wasn't it enough that they all came to thank him one by one last night? Do they all have to come again as a group?
What exactly did Cai Yinong say to them? What does his participation in the Hunan TV program have to do with them?
He wasn't thinking clearly last night and was too embarrassed to ask, but he's really a bit confused now.

……

Chen Nuo quickly washed up and went downstairs.

Seeing the three women and one man sitting on the sofa on the first floor, he smiled calmly and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Mr. Chen."

Several people stood up at once.

Chen Nuo walked over, first looking at Tang Yan, and said with a smile, "Miss Tang, hello. Long time no see."

Tang Yan smiled and said, "Long time no see, President Chen. I hope I'm not disturbing your rest by coming so early."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "No, I should get up too." Then she turned to Jin Chen and said, "Xiao Jin, hello, we meet again. You look a little thinner."

Jin Chen opened her mouth and said in a very soft voice, "Hello, Mr. Chen, no, I'm still the same as always."

Then there's Liu Shishi.

"Ms. Liu. I saw in the news that you're in a relationship, is that right? Congratulations."

“No,” Liu Shishi shook her head and said, “That’s all nonsense written in magazines.”

"Oh, that's it."

Lin Gengxin watched as this young man, dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans—so plain he didn't look like a celebrity at all, and arguably even less attractive than an ordinary person—came down the stairs and greeted several women one by one.

He was completely focused on observing the other man's facial expression. But when the man turned to look at him, he still couldn't discern anything.

Although he could see Tang Yan's forced smile, Jin Chen's nervousness, and Liu Shishi's unease, he still couldn't find a trace of it on this man's face.

Seriously, this is something worth learning from.

"Hello, Teacher Chen." Lin Gengxin extended both hands, grasped the other person's right hand, bowed, and said respectfully, "We meet again."

……

……

How is Lin Gengxin?

"Lin Gengxin?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Nothing much," Li Jing said with a smile. "I was just wondering how he could possibly be worthy of your attention."

Chen Nuo recalled several times he met with Lin Gengxin.

In his previous life, he didn't really know much about this actor, since he watched very few TV dramas. But in this life, after meeting him a few times, he had a pretty good impression of him.

Finally, he said with a sigh, "I think it's persistence, the pursuit of acting skills, and a kind of wisdom. I think it's very similar to me... Wait, Mr. Li, what are you laughing at?"

“No.” Li Jing displayed acting skills no less impressive than Emma Stone, smiling and shaking her head, “I just didn’t expect Lin Gengxin to be such a person, quite different from what’s said in the industry. And Mr. Chen, you’re really lucky to have become his mentor.”

Chen Nuo laughed and asked, "What's being said in the industry?"

Li Jing said, "This person is a bit of a fool."

"...You can't say that. You'll know once you meet him in person. I think he's quite clever."

"Any suggestions from other people, Mr. Chen?" Li Jing asked.

Chen Nuo said, "I can't think of anyone else right now, but I think that since it's a collaboration between several parties, we should find people who really want to be actors, not just handsome men and beautiful women. Since this show is supposed to be a professional acting variety show, then we should really aim for that goal. If we're going to do it, we should do it seriously, not make it a hodgepodge."

He spoke earnestly, and Li Jing seemed to be listening intently as well. She held a ballpoint pen in front of him and wrote in a small notebook, nodding as she wrote, "I know, I'll talk to the people at Youku again when I get down. They wanted to invite some good-looking idols before. I actually thought it wasn't quite right, but I didn't think it through as clearly as you, Mr. Chen."

Chen Nuo quickly peeked into the notebook and saw a series of small turtle drawings, but he pretended not to notice, sat back down, and chuckled, "Is there anything else? I have dinner plans tonight. If not, I'll be going now."

"Mr. Chen, there's something else," Li Jing said after a moment's hesitation.

"what?"

"Youku asked you to come up with a name for our variety show."

"I take it?"

"Yes. They want to share in your good fortune. After all, you went to Hunan, and now the ratings for 'Heaven's Scar' have exploded. Who knows what will happen when your 'Behind the Story' airs tomorrow? It's understandable that Youku wants to benefit from it."

"Okay. Let me think... how about calling it 'The Birth of an Actor'?"

Ps:

I heeded the advice and will stop writing here.

(End of this chapter)