Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Chapter 206 Tong Xinwei Min VS Hu Ye

After asking the director for the afternoon off, Li Ran returned to the RV.

The RV was bustling with activity.

Li Yitong and Tian Xiwei sat together, close to each other, showing a close relationship.

Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin lay on the bed, embracing each other and scrolling through their phones, equally intimate.

Seeing Li Ran come up, Tian Xiwei slowly asked, "Have you taken leave?"

Li Ran nodded and looked at Hu Lianxin and the other person, "Let's go, don't lie there."

The two slowly stood up, and Zhou Ye asked, "Where are we going?"

"Xiao Hu wanted to go shopping, right? I'll go shopping with you guys this afternoon. There's not much fun to do in Hengdian anyway," Li Ran explained.

Tian Xiwei frowned slightly and complained, "In Hengdian, there are more paparazzi and paparazzi than tourists. You guys go shopping?"

"Why can't I? Why are you so nosy?" Zhou Ye retorted.

Li Ran was afraid the two of them would start arguing, so she quickly said, "We'll be careful, don't worry. Besides, it's just shopping, not kissing in the street."

Tian Xiwei snorted coldly and said nothing more.

After Li Ran and the other two left, only two people remained in the RV.

Li Yitong put down her phone, turned her head to look at Tian Xiwei, her crescent-shaped eyes filled with a hint of curiosity and a touch of mischief.

"Aren't you jealous?" she asked, sounding a bit gossipy.

Tian Xiwei sighed, somewhat helplessly, "What's the use of being jealous? Things are already like this."

Li Yitong smiled and didn't press the matter.

"Are you going to dinner tonight?" Tian Xiwei turned to look at her.

"Okay," Li Yitong replied quickly, as if she had been waiting for this answer.

She paused, then asked, "By the way, Xiaotian, who was Li Ran's first girlfriend? Zhou Ye?"

Tian Xiwei nodded, her expression remaining largely unchanged.

"Li Ran's participation in 'Peach Blossom Village' is practically an admission of guilt."

She paused, her tone carrying a complex mix of emotions, "They were indeed each other's first love."

Li Yitong said "Oh," her crescent-shaped eyes curved into a smile that deepened.

She showed no sign of stopping, continuing to ask Li Ran about their story—how they met, how they got together, and how they ended up in this situation.

She asked the question so naturally, as if she were listening to an interesting story, rather than inquiring about some secret.

Tian Xiwei thought for a moment and then picked out the things she could talk about.

Li Yitong listened, occasionally smiling and nodding, without interrupting, like a patient listener.

As evening approached, Li Ran carried large and small shopping bags.

He looked at Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin walking ahead and sighed helplessly.

"Have you finished shopping? Let's go eat! I can't carry any more." His voice carried a hint of pleading.

-

Women shopping is truly terrifying.

Zhou Ye turned his head, looked at his disheveled appearance, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"I'm fine with anything. It's Xiao Hu's birthday today, so I'll listen to Xiao Hu."

Hu Lianxin nodded, her gaze sweeping over the shopping bags before settling on Li Ran's face.

"Let's go eat then." She paused, thought for a moment, and then added, "Oh, by the way, I want to go sing karaoke tonight."

Li Ran nodded, switched the bag to one hand, and used the other hand to take out her phone.

"Okay, I'll have Xiao Chen make a reservation."

After sending the message, Li Ran looked up at the two of them and said, "Xiao Tian and Li Yitong will also come over later."

"What are they doing here?" Zhou Ye asked, then looked at Hu Lianxin. "Besides, it's Hu's birthday today."

"

Li Ran smiled helplessly, "It's more lively with more people."

Zhou Ye scoffed, "If there are too many of you, you'll still fight!"

Hu Lianxin thought about it for a moment and didn't have much of an opinion. "I'm fine, come if you want."

She also wanted to see what was going on with Li Yitong; her intuition told her that this woman was not simple.

As for Tian Xiwei, they've argued so many times already, why would she be afraid of her?

Tian Xiwei came out of the dressing room, already changed into her everyday clothes, and looked at Li Yitong waiting beside her.

"Sister Tong, let's go, Li Ran sent me the location."

Li Yitong nodded, looking at Tian Xiwei's enthusiastic expression, and smiled, "Judging from your posture, you want to go and fight?"

Tian Xiwei hugged her arm, her tone slightly coquettish, "No way, I can't beat the two of them."

Li Yitong thought about Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin's figures, and then looked at the muscle lines on Tian Xiwei's arms. She felt that she should be able to take on both of them by herself.

"If you get into a fight, I won't help you," Li Yitong joked.

"Sister Tong, what you said hurt me deeply," Tian Xiwei pouted.

"You really want to fight?"

"How could that be? Am I that bad?"

Li Yitong and Tian Xiwei arrived at Li Ranfa's restaurant address.

When the door to the private room was pushed open, Li Ran was looking down at her phone.

Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin sat next to him, very close together, their heads close together, looking at something.

Several cold dishes were already laid out on the table, and bowls and chopsticks were neatly arranged in a circle. A large space on the turntable in the middle was empty, waiting for the hot dishes to be served.

Tian Xiwei walked in arm in arm with Li Yitong. The two of them acted very naturally, as if they had just found a shop to sit down and rest after a tiring shopping trip.

Li Ran just hoped that tonight could stay peaceful and that there wouldn't be any arguments.

-

"Everyone's here, I'll have the waiter serve the food!" Li Ran said, then got up and went out to inform the waiter to serve the food.

Li Yitong smiled, picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup, and then poured one for Tian Xiwei, her movements as natural as if she were at home.

Hu Lianxin put down her phone, glanced at Tian Xiwei without saying anything, and then looked at Li Yitong with a scrutinizing gaze.

Li Yitong noticed her expression, lowered her head, took out a small box from her bag, dark blue velvet, palm-sized, and pushed it in front of Hu Lianxin.

Happy birthday, Xiao Hu.

Hu Lianxin was stunned; she hadn't expected Li Yitong to prepare a gift for her.

The two of them had only met once this morning.

She looked down at the small box, hesitated for a moment, then reached out and picked it up, opening it.

It was a silver bracelet, thin, with a tiny star hanging from it, shimmering softly under the light.

She stared at it for several seconds, then looked up at Li Yitong and smiled.

"Thank you, Sister Tong."

Although I expressed my gratitude verbally, I was even more confused inside.

Li Yitong smiled and waved her hand, then picked up her teacup and took a sip. "It's nothing expensive, I'm glad you like it."

As Zhou Ye watched this scene, a sense of unease arose in his heart.

She always felt that this woman was not simple. She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she felt that the way she looked at people was too gentle, so gentle that it didn't seem like she was looking at an ordinary friend.

It wasn't that she thought too badly of people; it was just that Li Ran was too unreliable.

Tian Xiwei was stunned when she saw Li Yitong. "Sister, didn't you come with me to cause trouble?"

Not only did they not offer to help, but they also prepared a gift for us!

After informing the waiter, Li Ran re-entered the private room.

He had just sat down when Hu Lianxin, who was sitting next to him, stretched out her hand in front of him and asked, "Li Ran, is it pretty?"

Li Ran looked at the silver bracelet on her wrist and nodded, saying, "It looks good."

Hu Lianxin smiled and said, "It was a gift from Sister Tong."

Li Ran looked at Li Yitong with a puzzled expression, somewhat surprised.

Looking at his expression, Li Yitong laughed and said, "Little brother, what's with that look? It's Xiao Hu's birthday, is there a problem with me giving him a gift?"

Li Ran chuckled and shook his head. "No problem. I'm just curious when you prepared the gift."

Li Yitong explained, "Oh, you said last night that it's Xiao Hu's birthday today! I had my assistant help me choose it this afternoon."

She then looked at Hu Lianxin, "Little Hu, you don't mind, do you?"

Hu Lianxin waved her hand: "I don't mind. When is Sister Tong's birthday? I'll give you a gift then too."

Li Ran smiled and said, "Then you'll have to prepare tomorrow, because it's Tong Jie's birthday the day after tomorrow."

Hu Lianxin was taken aback. "So fast?"

Tian Xiwei looked at Li Yitong, "Your birthday is the day after tomorrow?"

She didn't know Li Yitong's birthday either. The two had only known each other for a few days, and although they were already quite familiar with each other, she had never asked Li Yitong when her birthday was.

Li Yitong nodded, then looked at Tian Xiwei and pretended to be sad, saying, "You didn't even know it was my birthday? We've been sleeping together for two nights now, I'm so sad."

Zhou Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Li Ran with murderous intent. "Li Ran, how did you know it was Sister Tong's birthday?"

Li Ran casually replied, "You saw it on Baidu? Doesn't it say it clearly on Baidu Encyclopedia?"

Zhou Ye wanted to ask something more, but then the waiter started serving the dishes, so she shut her mouth.

Tian Xiwei and Hu Lianxin also sensed something was amiss. Based on their understanding of Li Ran and their woman's intuition, they felt—

There must be something between Li Yitong and Li Ran.

The dishes were served one after another, and the group ate and chatted.

Although Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei still bicker, the atmosphere is still relatively harmonious.

Looking at Li Yitong, Li Ran suddenly felt a little dazed—was this woman here for him or for them?

After finishing their meal, the group left the restaurant.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the coolness of early autumn, blowing Tian Xiwei's hair onto her face. Li Yitong reached out to help her press down a strand of hair, her fingers tracing behind her ear, the movement very light, as if doing something very natural.

Zhou Ye, who was behind the two, happened to see this scene and frowned slightly.

Is Li Yitong Tian Xiwei's new ally?

She knew perfectly well that Wang Churan had already switched sides to side with the little green tea and the little black charcoal.

Tian Xiwei is currently being isolated by them.

The KTV was booked in advance by Xiao Chen at Li Ran's request. It was located in a not-too-remote area of ​​Hengdian. The decor wasn't luxurious, but it was quiet and offered good privacy.

A group of people entered the private room. On the coffee table were fruit platters and snacks, as well as several bottles of beer that had already been opened, with fine water droplets condensing on the bottle walls and dripping down one by one.

Hu Lianxin chose the song first; it was a slow song with a familiar melody, but Li Ran couldn't remember the name.

She sang very seriously, her voice was not loud but very steady, sometimes closing her eyes, sometimes looking at the screen, and sometimes turning her head to glance at Zhou Ye with a smile on her lips.

Zhou Ye leaned back on the sofa, swaying gently to the melody, holding a can of beer in his hand, occasionally taking a sip, and occasionally clapping for Hu Lianxin.

Li Yitong sat next to Tian Xiwei, and the two were whispering to each other, their heads close together, their voices very low, so that only they could hear each other.

Li Ran sat on the other side, holding a can of beer in his hand. He hadn't drunk much of it; he just held it, his fingers circling the can's surface again and again.

Zhou Ye stood up, walked to the song selection counter, selected a song, and then handed the microphone to Li Ran.

"Sing with me." She said in a flat tone, as if giving a command.

Li Ran took the microphone and glanced at the screen—"Because of Love".

He said helplessly, "No, it's Xiao Hu's birthday, why are you singing and dancing? Besides, don't you know your own singing voice?"

Zhou Ye wrinkled his nose, glared at him, and snatched the microphone away. "Then you don't have to sing. Xiao Hu and I will sing."

She handed the microphone back to Hu Lianxin.

Tian Xiwei leaned back on the sofa, watching this scene, and quickly covered her ears.

Li Yitong turned her head and glanced at her. "Why are you covering your ears?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Ye's singing began, and Li Yitong immediately understood.

After finishing the song, Li Yitong sighed softly; the song had been taking forever.

One moment it's Xiao Hu singing normally, just getting into the zone, and then Zhou Ye's singing immediately interrupts, forcibly bringing out the emotion.

She felt like her head was about to explode, and when she looked at Tian Xiwei, she found that she was still covering her ears.

On the other side, Li Ran didn't cover his ears, but he was clearly distracted and probably wasn't listening either.

As soon as Zhou Ye finished singing and put down the microphone, he saw Tian Xiwei covering her ears and shaking her head.

"You little punk, what do you mean?"

When Zhou Ye questioned her, Tian Xiwei sneered, "It's nothing, it's just too awful."

"You sing well, why don't you sing one?" Zhou Ye retorted.

"I'll do it, I'll do it." Tian Xiwei took the microphone and walked towards the song selection station.

After selecting the song, he handed the other microphone to Li Yitong, saying, "Sister Tong, let's do it together."

Li Yitong smiled and nodded, not refusing.

Li Ran also became interested and started watching with great interest.

Li Yitong and Tian Xiwei walked to the front and started dancing along with the music video.

Li Ran smiled, but once the two of them started talking, he couldn't smile anymore.

Well, it's definitely better than a coconut.

Zhou Ye, standing next to him, curled his lip and complained, "He just shouts loudly! He doesn't even sing as well as Sister Meng and I."

Li Ran recalled a scene from "Peach Blossom Village" and remained silent.

Hu Lianxin looked at Li Ran, "After they finish singing, shall we sing one?"

Li Ran nodded, "I'm fine with either."

After Tian Xiwei and Li Yitong finished singing the last line, before the last note had even faded, the two exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.

There was a hint of smugness, a hint of tacit understanding, and a touch of pride in the smile that said, "We sang pretty well, didn't we?"

Tian Xiwei tossed the microphone onto the sofa, turned around, looked at Zhou Ye, her chin slightly raised, her posture as arrogant as a kitten that had won a fight.

"Little tablet, are you convinced?" she challenged.

Zhou Ye leaned back on the sofa, and upon hearing this, he snorted coldly, with a hint of disdain, a touch of "that's all" disdain, and a hint of "you're just so-so."

"Tian Dabing is just so-so, he's just loud, but he's not as emotional as I am."

Hu Lianxin listened from the side, a slight smile playing on her lips, but she didn't interrupt.

She got up, walked to the song selection station, looked down at the screen, and slowly scrolled through the playlist with her finger, as if she was looking for a very important song.

Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei were still bickering, exchanging words back and forth, neither willing to give in, like two cats with their fur standing on end, baring their teeth at each other from a short distance, but neither actually pounced on the other.

Li Ran leaned back on the sofa, looked at the two of them, and couldn't help but smile.

He shook his head and said helplessly, "Brother, don't laugh at me, you two are kindred spirits in a lowly place."

His tone was light and casual, with a hint of teasing.

Tian Xiwei turned her head and stared at him, her big eyes shining brightly under the purple light.

"Then I'll listen to you sing." Her tone was slightly provocative.

Li Ran stood up and walked to Hu Lianxin's side. Hu was looking down at her playlist when she felt someone next to her. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"I'll sing, I'll sing. Watch carefully, learn carefully," he said with a bit of arrogance.

Hu Lianxin lowered her head and continued flipping through the playlist, swiping her finger across the screen a few times before stopping.

She selected a song, then turned to look at Li Ran, "Do you know 'Do You Know'?"

Li Ran glanced at the screen, then at her, and nodded.

"I'm fine with either."

He spoke of it casually, as if he had sung this song eight hundred times and could sing it with his eyes closed.

The intro begins.

The sounds of the guzheng and pipa intertwined, like flowing water, like moonlight, like a long, distant night, where someone was playing the instruments by the window and someone was listening under the lamp.

Hu Lianxin spoke first. Her voice was soft and gentle, with an indescribable classical charm, like a woman who had stepped out of a Song Dynasty poem, holding an oil-paper umbrella and walking on a bluestone road, with a light drizzle wetting her skirt.

Last night, the rain was sparse and the wind was strong; even a deep sleep couldn't dispel the lingering effects of the wine.

She sang slowly, pronouncing each word clearly, as if telling a story or recalling a past event.

Li Yitong leaned back on the sofa, listening, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved up.

She turned her head and glanced at Tian Xiwei, who was also looking at Hu Lianxin with a serious expression, as if she were listening to a very important song.

It was Li Ran's turn.

"Tell the person who rolls up the curtain, and they'll say the crabapple blossoms are still there—"

His voice was deep, with an indescribable gentleness, like the first snow of winter, falling silently, but you just know it's coming.

His voice wasn't particularly outstanding, and his singing skills weren't exceptional either, but when he sang this song, there was something very special about him that made it impossible to look away.

It's not about skill, it's about emotion.

He sang each word very slowly, as if he were chewing on them, savoring them, talking to someone, or talking to himself.

Li Yitong's eyes lit up, her crescent-shaped eyes gleaming with a soft light.

She looked at Li Ran, her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then shifted to Hu Lianxin's face, before returning to him.

She suddenly realized that this man was more complex than she had imagined.

He can be carefree, heartless, and infuriating, or he can be quiet, affectionate, and singing ancient lyrics as if confessing his love to the whole world.

Li Ran finished singing the last line and opened her eyes.

"Is it alright?"

'