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

Chapter 230 The Field That Suffers a Loss, the Boat That Steals a Chicken

Li Ran looked at Wang Churan and explained it again.

"Liu Haocun is pregnant and is resting at her hometown, so the female lead has been changed to Zhou Ye."

Wang Churan's mouth opened and closed, then opened again.

Her brain was racing—Liu Haocun was pregnant with Li Ran's child, and the female lead had been changed to Zhou Ye. Did Tian Xiwei know this?

Why is Zhou Ye so calm?

She turned to look at Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye had already reopened the script, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.

"You already knew?" Wang Churan asked, looking at her.

Zhou Ye didn't even look up, and simply hummed in agreement.

Wang Churan turned to look at Li Ran again, her eyes filled with a complex, indescribable emotion. She opened her mouth and softly complained, "How come she acted so quickly! And she kept it from me and Zhang Jingyi, or not?"

Li Ran watched her mutter to herself softly, smiled helplessly, and said nothing more.

Zhou Ye left the city after a short while.

She walked quickly, her ponytail swinging behind her head, clutching the revised script in her hand, looking down as she walked, and almost bumped into the staff carrying prop boxes.

The person quickly moved aside, but she didn't look up. She just said "Excuse me" and didn't stop walking.

Today she has to reshoot the interview that Liu Haocun didn't finish, which is no easy task.

The main problem is that if you film continuously, it's easy to get your lines mixed up.

Although she practiced those lines for several days, she was still afraid of making mistakes.

It's not that I'm afraid of messing up the performance, but that I'm afraid of being outshone by Liu Haocun.

It's worth noting that Liu Haocun's previous clips were not deleted, but rather retained.

If I perform poorly when the full episode airs, that would be awful.

Wang Churan watched her walk away, then turned his gaze to Li Ran.

"Why is Little Coconut so calm?" she paused, then continued, "And also, who knows about this now?"

"She was just like you at first, but now she's used to it," Li Ran said casually.

He didn't explain how Zhou Ye went from "beginning" to "now." Some processes don't need to be explained; explaining them would only seem pretentious.

Wang Churan didn't press the matter. She had seen Zhou Ye before—when he was angry, glaring, or arguing with Tian Xiwei.

At that time, Zhou Ye's emotions were written all over his face; he couldn't hide them and didn't want to.

Wang Churan was somewhat surprised that she had now learned to control her emotions.

"Used to it? No, how long has Xiao Cunzi been pregnant?" Wang Churan's speech quickened, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"It's been a month and a half." Li Ran didn't look at Wang Churan; his gaze was fixed on the distance.

He seemed to be deliberately avoiding it.

Wang Churan rolled her eyes once again, displaying her signature eye roll.

"No, it's been a month and a half, why didn't you tell me?"

Her voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of resentment at being excluded.

Of course, these were all acting roles she played.

But when she's angry, she's definitely really angry.

Li Ran turned to look at her, and said somewhat shamelessly, "You didn't ask, did you?"

He spoke with self-righteousness, then paused and added, "Besides, aren't you getting quite close to Cunzi now?"

Didn't she tell you?

Wang Churan chuckled coldly.

What could she say? That she and Liu Haocun were "enemy spies"? That they appeared friendly on the surface but harbored their own agendas behind the scenes?

She wouldn't tell Li Ran these things, and even if Li Ran knew, she wouldn't say them herself.

"Who knows now?" she asked, her tone calmer.

"Coconut, Xiao Hu, Xiao Tian, ​​and now you." Li Ran counted them one by one, his tone casual, as if he were reading a list that wasn't very important.

"Tian Xiwei knows?" Wang Churan was really unsure now.

"She didn't contact you? With her explosive temper, how could she possibly stand it?"

She remembered how Tian Xiwei used to be; the first time they met, she was slapped across the face.

Tian Xiwei is currently favored by Li Ran's mother, how could she tolerate this? She would fly over and give the little green tea a couple of "minor punches".

Li Ran thought for a moment and glanced at the date on his phone.

Today happens to be the day Tian Xiwei comes to see him. She comes once a week, never late, and never forgets.

He looked at Wang Churan, a mysterious smile curving his lips. "Whether she can handle it or not, you'll find out tonight."

Wang Churan was stunned for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly. Before she could react and ask "What do you mean?", Li Ran had already stood up and turned to walk in the direction Zhou Ye had just left.

"I'm going to film a movie. You can stay here by yourself for a while." He waved to her without turning his head.

At night, the hotel room was softly lit, with warm yellow wall lamps enveloping the entire space in a cozy and inviting atmosphere.

After Li Ran entered the room, he greeted the girls and then threw himself onto the sofa.

He held his phone in his hand, looking rather languid.

He was chatting with Liu Haocun—this was a daily routine, without fail.

Since she returned to Changsha to rest and prepare for childbirth, he has made time to video chat or send her messages every day to ask what she ate, how many steps she walked that day, and how she was feeling.

-

Liu Haocun posted a photo of the cat in the yard today, with the caption: "When Grandma was feeding the cat, it ran out, so Grandpa went to catch it!"

"Grandma also made me sugar-coated glutinous rice cakes today. They were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, sweet and fragrant but not greasy. They were so delicious!"

Li Ran glanced at it for two seconds, a slight smile playing on her lips, and typed: "Then please tell Grandma for me that I also want to eat some, and ask her to make more and email some over for me—"

Liu Haocun sent an eye-rolling emoji, followed by the message: "Dream on. This is for me, not for you."

Li Ran chuckled but didn't reply, continuing to scroll through her previous messages. One by one, there were photos she had taken of the sunset, photos of her crouching in the yard watching the orange cat's back, and photos of her cheeks puffed out in selfies.

He was watching so intently that he didn't notice the other three people in the room staring at each other.

Tian Xiwei, Zhou Ye, and Wang Churan each occupied a corner of the sofa. The distance between the three of them was neither too far nor too close, just enough for them to see each other's expressions without needing to speak.

Tian Xiwei's gaze swept back and forth between Zhou Ye and Wang Churan's faces.

Zhou Ye leaned back on the sofa armrest, hugging a cushion, his chin resting on it, his eyes fixed on the untouched plate of fruit on the coffee table, lost in thought.

Wang Churan sat on the other side, legs crossed, holding a phone in her hand, but not looking at it; the screen was dark.

Tian Xiwei glanced at Zhou Ye, who was staring at the fruit, and then at Wang Churan on the other side, ignoring Li Ran, who was engrossed in chatting.

Her gaze fell on Zhou Ye, and she said casually, "Little Pingban, let's play Dou Dizhu again tonight. But mahjong is fine too."

As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Churan, drawing out the word "also" with a rising tone at the end, implying that "you've come at just the right time."

Zhou Ye's face flushed red.

She recalled the night Tian Xiwei came last time, how she had been provoked by her and had agreed to those absurd things without really thinking.

What's even more infuriating is that she played the role of a landlord all night, only to be bullied by two peasants, Tian Xiwei and Li Ran, and lost everything, including her underwear.

She must have been out of her mind to agree back then; she still feels her face burning when she thinks about it now.

She threw the cushion aside, stood up, and made such a big movement that it looked like she was sulking at something.

"You guys play by yourselves, I'm going back to my room to sleep tonight."

Her tone was stiff, but her ears were bright red.

After saying that, she turned and left, her steps so fast it was as if she was afraid someone would stop her.

Wang Churan leaned back on the sofa, looking at the closed door, then turned to look at Tian Xiwei, a mischievous smile curving his lips.

"No, you guys are playing this big?" Her tone was filled with an incredulous excitement, as if she had heard some gossip.

Her eyes darted between Tian Xiwei and Li Ran, then she lowered her voice, "And also, you and Xiao Yezi together? I'm totally out of my mind—"

Tian Xiwei didn't take her teasing to heart.

Her expression was calm, showing none of the panic Zhou Ye had just displayed. "You know Liu Haocun is pregnant, right?"

Wang Churan nodded, his expression becoming more composed.

"Okay, what's up? Are you also planning to get pregnant?" Her tone was a little probing.

She didn't believe Tian Xiwei's temperament would be so easy to talk to, and she hadn't prepared a backup plan.

Tian Xiwei nodded, neither denying nor explaining.

Her gaze fell on Li Ran, who was still leaning back on the sofa scrolling through his phone, a smile playing on his lips, probably chatting with Liu Haocun again.

She looked away from Wang Churan and asked, "So, are you going back to your own room tonight, or are we going together?"

Wang Churan glanced at Li Ran first.

He didn't even look up, his fingers swiping across the screen, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

She looked away, then at Tian Xiwei, a sly smile curving her lips.

"Playing around all the time is no fun."

She stood up, straightened her skirt, picked up her phone, and said, "Wait for me while I go get some things."

She didn't give Tian Xiwei time to react before turning around and leaving.

Tian Xiwei sat alone on the sofa, staring blankly at the closed door for a moment.

She turned her head and looked at Li Ran.

He was still looking down, the light from the screen reflecting on his face, illuminating his focused profile.

"Where has she gone off to? Is she coming back?"

"How would I know? Weren't you chatting with her the whole time?" Li Ran didn't even look up, his fingers still swiping on the screen.

He didn't really know what Wang Churan had gone to do, but he could guess that she was probably preparing her little props or clothes.

Not long after, the door was pushed open.

Wang Churan walked in carrying two bags, her steps light and quick, but she seemed rather furtive.

The bag wasn't big; it was a dark, opaque shopping bag, so you couldn't tell what was inside. But judging from the way she was carrying it, the item wasn't heavy, but it didn't seem to be just any ordinary daily necessities.

"Here, take this." She casually handed a bag to Tian Xiwei, her tone as casual as if she were handing over a bottle of water.

Tian Xiwei took it, opened the bag, and peeked inside.

His face flushed red.

She quickly clenched the bag's opening, as if afraid the contents would spill out, then couldn't help but glance down at it before quickly looking away again.

"This is nothing!" she couldn't help but think to herself.

The fabric is pitifully small, and the design is so daring that one might wonder if the designer has some misunderstanding about the word "clothes".

-

She wasn't unfamiliar with such things, but she had never worn them, much less imagined that they would be handed to her by another person in this setting.

She took a deep breath, trying to make her expression look calm, but the redness behind her ears betrayed her.

However, remembering that she was the one who took the initiative to pull Wang Churan, she suppressed her shyness, straightened her back, and looked at Wang Churan with feigned composure.

"Let me see yours." She reached for another bag.

Wang Churan did not stop her and let her take it.

Tian Xiwei opened the bag, glanced inside, and then froze as if she had been struck by a magic acupuncture point.

Her eyes were already big, but now they looked even bigger. For a moment, she felt like something had exploded in her head, and she didn't know what to say!

Compared to Wang Churan's boldness, her previous petty squabbles with Zhou Ye were nothing more than an appetizer.

She suddenly regretted bringing Wang Churan into the group. It wasn't that she was afraid of her joining, but that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to keep up with her pace.

Seeing her stunned expression, Wang Churan waved his hand in front of her eyes, "Alright, stop looking, hurry up and change. They're all from the same series, a perfect set—"

"One teacher, one class monitor —"

She then turned to look at Li Ran, who had been silent on the sofa.

Li Ran had put his phone down at some point.

The screen went dark, and Liu Haocun's chat window disappeared into the blackness.

His gaze fell on the two bags, then moved to the faces of the two girls.

Wang Churan's expression was one of composure that said, "I know what you're thinking," while Tian Xiwei's expression was one of inner conflict that said, "I'm a little regretful, but I don't want to admit it."

Li Ran stood up, walked from the sofa to them, and glanced between Wang Churan and Tian Xiwei.

Wang Churan met his gaze, the corners of her mouth curving upwards with a hint of "Do you dare?" provocation.

Tian Xiwei turned her face away, pretending to look out the window, but her hand, clutching the bag, didn't know whether to hold it or let go.

The night outside the window was mostly obscured by clouds, and the moon appeared and disappeared intermittently, like a peeking eye.

The light from the streetlamp flickered on the curtains and then went out.

The air conditioner was still running, making a muffled sound, like distant ocean waves.

The sliver of moonlight was finally swallowed up by the clouds, leaving only the warm yellow wall lamp in the room, illuminating the shadows of the three people, which overlapped on the wall, making it impossible to distinguish who was whose.

The following afternoon, Wang Churan and Zhou Ye sat facing each other in Li Ran's RV, with two cups of barely drunk coffee on the small table between them.

A few grapes were missing from the fruit plate, and their skins were carefully placed along the edge of the plate, arranged neatly.

Zhou Ye lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the tassels of the cushion, tugging and then letting go, letting go and then tugging again.

Her face flushed slightly, and she asked shyly, "The three of you last night—"

When those words were squeezed out of her mouth, her voice was as soft as if she were doing something wrong.

Wang Churan leaned back on the sofa, crossed her legs, and took a sip of her coffee.

She looked at Zhou Ye's hesitant expression and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"Um."

In short, he was completely open and honest.

Zhou Ye was stunned for a moment.

She thought she would try to cover it up or say something ambiguous, but she didn't expect her to admit it so readily that all the tactful questions she had prepared were useless.

Her face flushed even more, and her gaze darted around, unsure where to settle.

"Did Tian Dabing bully you?" she finally managed to utter this bland and meaningless question.

Wang Churan shook his head, the smile on his lips deepening unconsciously.

She recalled Tian Xiwei's exasperated yet helpless expression at the end of last night, and that deep-seated sense of pleasure welled up inside her again.

Want to work for free? No way!

She saw through Tian Xiwei's little scheme last night. She pulled her in, hoping to deplete Li Ran's damage, and then follow up with her own set of skills.

They had a clever plan, but unfortunately, they underestimated their opponent's skill level.

Instead of cooperating, she betrayed us at the most crucial moment.

It wasn't revenge, it was instinct.

She was never the type to be used as a pawn.

She no longer thought about last night; that absurd, chaotic, and blush-inducing brawl was over.

She sat up straight, placed her coffee cup on the small table, looked at Zhou Ye, and changed the subject.

"Tian Xiwei is already preparing to get pregnant, so what about you, her official girlfriend?"

",