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

Chapter 229 "Fighting the Landlord"

Li Ran truly didn't expect that Zhou Ye would actually agree after being provoked by Tian Xiwei.

He thought she would glare at Tian Xiwei, yell "Shameless!" and slam the door shut, but she didn't.

She just stood there, her face as red as a boiled shrimp, her neck stiff, her lips pressed into a thin line, glaring at Tian Xiwei with a look that said, "I'll fight you to the death."

It wasn't an impulse, but the kind of determination that comes from being cornered—you look down on me, so I'll prove you wrong. The hotel lights were warm yellow, illuminating the room in a soft and intimate way.

The curtains were half-drawn, and moonlight streamed in through the gaps.

There was a deck of cards on the bed, which Li Ran had gotten from the hotel reception. The packaging was still intact, and the plastic wrap was reflecting light under the lamp.

The three sat down in a circle, not looking at each other, the atmosphere as tense as a taut string, and they started playing cards.

Tian Xiwei picked up the landlord card, glanced at it, and smiled slightly.

She had such a good hand, the kind that she could win even with her cards face up, but instead of calling for the landlord role, she pushed it in front of Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye glanced at her, his eyes filled with doubt and wariness. "You're already chickening out? You don't dare to call me landlord."

My name is ————

Without hesitation, she picked up the landlord's card and slammed it on the table, her movements swift and decisive.

However, she still overestimated the fighting power of the hand she held.

The two farmers, Tian Xiwei and Li Ran, worked together seamlessly. One played a single card to force Zhou Ye to break up her hand, while the other used a high card to slow her down. After several rounds, Zhou Ye's hand was completely broken up and she was unable to cope.

Li Ran finally threw out a two-on-one hand, and the room fell silent.

Zhou Ye suffered a crushing defeat.

She's like the little character from "Human: Fall Flat" now—

Tian Xiwei pursed her lips, looked at Zhou Ye, and her big eyes showed a hint of surprise and a hint of disdain.

"You're too fragile."

She originally thought Zhou Ye could last a few rounds, at least exhausting some of Li Ran's stamina.

I never expected it to be like this; I didn't do much damage, and the person was already dying.

That's incredibly weak.

This is absolutely terrible!

She sighed, put down the playing cards in her hand, and picked up the landlord's cards herself. This time she was really serious, slowing down her playing speed and calculating every move.

She first played a small single card to test the waters, then used her big cards to suppress Li Ran's rhythm. She played steadily and patiently, like an experienced hunter, waiting calmly for her prey to make a mistake.

I can only slowly whittle down Li Ran's health myself; it seems I can't count on Zhou Ye.

But to her surprise, Zhou Ye's stamina bar quickly returned to full, like an unkillable cockroach.

He had just lost badly, but now he sat up straight as if nothing had happened, his eyes refocusing on the card table, his fingers lightly stroking the cards as if he were plotting some wicked scheme.

Tian Xiwei glanced at her, her brows furrowing slightly. She was already struggling to defend against Li Ran, and now that Zhou Ye had joined in, she felt she was going to lose!

But Zhou Ye was no longer the rookie who was passively taking hits.

She began to learn to cooperate, to read Li Ran's eyes and judge what cards he had in his hand, and even learned to shield Li Ran from harm and draw Tian Xiwei's big cards to herself.

The game quickly became intense, and Tian Xiwei felt as if she were playing chess with two people at the same time—Li Ran's style was sharp and aggressive, while Zhou Ye's style was persistent and tenacious.

The two worked together more and more seamlessly, one attacking head-on and the other harassing from the side, forcing Tian Xiwei to retreat step by step.

She pursed her lips, a thin layer of sweat beading on her forehead.

She was indignant. Her cards were clearly better than theirs, and her skills were clearly superior, but she just couldn't win. It wasn't her cards that caused her to lose; it was her physical exhaustion—one person couldn't withstand a relentless battle.

Thus, the landlord changed hands—Li Ran had a winning hand.

It wasn't the kind of hand that guarantees a win, but rather the kind of hand where luck is on your side and you'll win no matter how you play. He played his cards slowly and deliberately, calculating each move precisely, as if he were playing a game where he already knew the outcome.

This time, Tian Xiwei and Zhou Ye didn't sabotage each other; instead, they were surprisingly united.

But they discovered a devastating truth: they weren't losing any health at all.

Li Ran had an amazing hand, and he played his cards incredibly fast, giving them no time to think. Tian Xiwei bit her lip, clearly not expecting Li Ran to be so good at it. She even regretted buying him the medicine.

Zhou Ye sat beside him, his hair on his forehead damp with sweat, and his breathing unsteady.

The two looked at each other and saw a sense of helplessness in each other's eyes.

It's not that they didn't work hard enough, it's that this man is too strong.

His physical attributes had already been systematically enhanced, and his stamina bar was significantly longer than that of ordinary people. Some time ago, Tian Xiwei even bought him some "enhancing potions," saying they were good for his health. He took them on time every day, and the effects were remarkable.

As the last card fell, Li Ran looked up at the two of them, a slight smile playing on his lips, a hint of smugness in his expression and a touch of provocation in his voice, as if asking, "How about it?"

Tian Xiwei threw down the cards in her hand, leaned to one side, closed her eyes, and began to recover her strength. Zhou Ye buried his face in the cushion, his ears as red as if they were about to bleed.

How embarrassing! She's the most pathetic one now. Usually, only Li Ran sees her, but today her nemesis is there too—

The three of them remained silent, quietly recovering their strength.

Nobody wants to lose tonight.

The next day at noon, Li Ran and Zhou Ye sat facing each other, with several boxed lunches on the table between them.

Zhou Ye placed his chopsticks beside the lunchbox, not touching them. His hands were folded on his knees, and his gaze remained fixed on Li Ran, his brows furrowed.

Li Ran picked up a chopstick of stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then picked up a chopstick of rice.

-

He noticed Zhou Ye's gaze, which had been fixed on him for almost ten minutes, from the moment he left the film set until he got into the RV.

He put down his chopsticks and waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

His heart was pounding—had he been played with badly last night?

No way, her recovery ability is so strong.

Zhou Ye did not answer.

She lowered her head, looking at the boxed lunch in front of her, then raised her head again, looking at Li Ran with a scrutinizing gaze in her eyes.

She was silent for a moment before finally speaking. Her voice wasn't loud, but she enunciated each word clearly.

Is Tian Dabing also trying to conceive?

Li Ran was stunned for a moment.

He didn't expect her to react, and he certainly didn't expect her to ask so directly.

Last night, Tian Xiwei's unusual behavior was quite obvious. First, she deliberately let Zhou Ye be the landlord, then she took the initiative to challenge him to a duel, and finally the three of them fought in a round-robin style all night.

Zhou Ye wasn't stupid. She didn't realize it at the time, but after she woke up from a nap, the details came together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

He nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.

He has always been candid when faced with Zhou Ye's questions.

"She really wants a child."

Zhou Ye understood.

She gave a soft "oh," a hushed "oh" that contained a complex mix of emotions: relief, helplessness, and a hint of "I knew it."

Tian Xiwei didn't make a fuss, didn't cry, and didn't throw a tantrum like she used to, which is abnormal in itself.

So that's what she was planning.

It's not that I'm not angry, it's that I'm using my energy elsewhere.

She picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of beef, put it in her mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then took a bite of vegetables.

Li Ran watched her start eating, and his confusion only deepened.

Why are you so calm?

Zhou Ye looked up and glared at him.

"Let them get pregnant if they want to, it's none of my business." Her tone was light and casual, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

What can they gain from all their arguing? No one can force him to do what he doesn't want to do.

Li Ran looked at her and asked again, "Don't you want to?"

He softened his voice and his gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds.

Zhou Ye shook his head, swallowed the vegetables in his mouth, and wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue.

"I'm still a child," she said with a slightly coquettish tone, yet with a self-assured air, as if stating a fact that didn't need to be argued.

"Besides, pregnancy is so painful, I'm not prepared for it."

She couldn't live like that, not even for a single day.

All she wants to do now is act well, make money, enjoy her youth, and enjoy life with Li Ran.

As for the child, we'll talk about that when she's feeling down.

Li Ran nodded and did not ask any further questions.

He knew in his heart that this was indeed something Zhou Ye was capable of doing.

She was never the kind of person who would compromise herself for a "position".

She goes after what she wants and lets go of what she doesn't want decisively, without getting caught up in indecision or internal conflict.

She understands this better than many others.

He thought back and realized that only Tian Xiwei, Liu Haocun, and Zhang Jingyi had mentioned wanting children to him.

The other girls—Zhou Ye, Hu Lianxin, Wang Churan, and Zhang Ruonan—have not explicitly expressed this idea.

It's not that they don't want it, it's just that they haven't reached that stage yet.

Or rather, what they want isn't the child, but him as a person.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Ye put away his lunchbox and placed it in a trash bag.

She stood up, walked to Li Ran's side, bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't overthink it, just focus on filming."

"I don't care about those things."

Her tone was relaxed, as if she were coaxing a boyfriend who was overthinking things.

Li Ran had no intention of telling the girls that Liu Haocun was pregnant.

But he didn't deliberately hide it. He wouldn't say anything unless they asked, and he would only answer if they did. He didn't want to deal with all the girls' questions at once.

Moreover, they should have their own channels of communication, and they will find out sooner or later what they need to know.

Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin did not intend to tell anyone else.

The two told Tian Xiwei only to test Li Ran's attitude.

Li Ran hasn't changed anything yet, and they don't want to cause any more trouble.

Tian Xiwei was even less likely to tell the others, as she was already being ostracized by Zhang Jingyi and the other girls.

Moreover, the more people who know about this, the more competitors there will be, and she doesn't want another one.

Days passed by one by one.

After finishing filming "Shangshi", Wang Churan did not rush back, but thought about spending a few days with Li Ran.

She didn't tell Li Ran, intending to give him a surprise.

When Wang Churan arrived at the "Glory" film set, it was already afternoon.

She leaned back in the car, watching the palm trees and antique-style buildings rushing past the window, pondering what she would say to Li Ran when she saw him later.

They hadn't seen each other for a while; the last time was when Li Ran visited her on set.

She figured she'd be staying in Hengdian for a few days anyway, so there was plenty of time to chat.

Upon arriving at the film set, she first sent a message to Liu Haocun.

"Cunzi, I've arrived at your film set. Are you there?"

She already knew that Liu Haocun was the female lead in this drama.

Li Ran had mentioned to her before that Liu Haocun was playing an LPL host and had a romantic storyline with Li Ran's character.

The message was sent out, and the other party replied very quickly.

"I'm not in Hengdian. The female lead has been changed; Zhou Ye is playing the role now."

Wang Churan stared at the line of text for a moment, stunned.

She blinked, looked again, and made sure she wasn't mistaken.

Has the actor been replaced? Liu Haocun is no longer acting?

Liu Haocun did not explain the reason, nor did she ask further.

Although their relationship was that of allies, it wasn't as close as that of Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin, who could talk about anything.

She looked up, turned around, and searched the set before quickly finding Zhou Ye.

Wang Churan walked over and sat down next to her.

"What brings you here?" Zhou Ye asked when he saw her.

Wang Churan did not respond to this question.

She leaned back in her chair, turned her head to look at Zhou Ye, and a half-smile curved her lips.

"Li Ran is really good to you. He actually dumped Liu Haocun and let you play the role." Her tone was sour as she probed.

She thought that because the controversy surrounding Liu Haocun's parents hadn't completely subsided, the production team was afraid of affecting the show's reputation and replaced her.

This kind of thing is not without precedent.

But the director is Zhang Yimou, so he probably won't care about these things.

She had doubts in her heart, but she didn't say them out loud.

Zhou Ye listened to her words without getting angry or even looking up. He simply turned a page of the script and said in a calm tone, "I don't have that kind of ability. It was that little green tea who refused to act."

"Such a big production, she didn't want to act in it herself? Do you really need to lie to me?" Wang Churan rolled her eyes.

She didn't believe Liu Haocun wouldn't act. Unless he was crazy or stupid.

Zhou Ye then raised his head, looked at her, and rolled his eyes at her as well.

"you do not know?"

"What do you know?" Wang Churan pressed, his brows furrowing slightly.

Zhou Ye opened his mouth, about to speak, when he caught a glimpse of a figure walking towards him from the direction of the training room.

She glanced up, then leaned back in her chair, closed the script in her hand, and placed it on her lap.

"Perfect timing, Li Ran is here, let him talk to you."

As Li Ran approached, he saw Wang Churan, his lips curved slightly, and his gaze lingered on her face for a moment.

"Has 'Royal Feast' wrapped up filming?" He sat down next to her, his tone casual.

Wang Churan nodded, but the light remained on him and did not move away.

"My filming is finished, so I thought I'd come and spend a few days with you."

She paused, then continued, "Why was the female lead suddenly changed to Little Coconut?"

Li Ran took a sip of water, screwed on the cap, and set it aside.

He paused for two seconds, as if he was considering his words, or as if he was waiting for something.

"Oh, Cunzi is pregnant."

"What?" Wang Churan's eyes widened instantly, and he jumped up from the back of his chair, almost dropping his phone.

She looked at Li Ran in disbelief, trying to find a trace of joking on his face—but there was none.

"W-what did you say?" she stammered, her voice rising half an octave.