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

Liu Haocun covered his face, unsure whether to laugh or cry, as he watched his father and Li Ran walking arm in arm, acting like brothers.

She whispered in her mother's ear, "Mom, Dad's just having a good time."

Liu Haocun's mother shook her head helplessly: "I haven't seen him drink like this in so many years."

……

The drinking party finally ended around 10 p.m.

Liu Haocun's father was helped back to his room by his mother to rest. Before leaving, he turned back and shouted to Li Ran, "Little brother, let's drink again tomorrow!"

Li Ran waved: "See you tomorrow, bro!"

Liu Haocun stood to the side, his expression complex.

She helped Li Ran walk towards her room.

Li Ran's steps were unsteady, his face was flushed, and he reeked of alcohol.

This was the first time he had gotten drunk since the system improved his physical condition.

Liu Haocun put him on the bed, looked at him in that state, and helplessly put his hands on his hips: "You and Dad are drunk like this, how are you going to face anyone tomorrow?"

Li Ran lay on the bed, her eyes half-open and half-closed, it was unclear whether she had heard anything.

Liu Haocun looked at it for a while, then suddenly smiled.

Li Ran looks quite cute like this.

She started to undress him.

Coats, sweaters, pants... one by one, they were taken off.

She bent over, her ponytail brushing against Li Ran's face.

Li Ran suddenly reached out, grabbed her ponytail, and brought it close to his nose to smell it.

"Cunzi," he chuckled sheepishly, "you smell so good!"

Liu Haocun was stunned for a moment.

"come over……"

He held onto her ponytail tightly, saying, "Let Uncle give you a hug."

Liu Haocun was both annoyed and amused.

She slapped his hand away, grabbed a pillow from beside her, and threw it at him: "Haven't you had enough of taking advantage of me?"

Li Ran was patted on the pillow, but he wasn't annoyed and continued to giggle.

Looking at him like that, Liu Haocun's eyes darted around, and suddenly a wicked idea came to him.

She climbed to the edge of the bed, leaned close to his face, and poked his cheek.

Soft and warm.

She asked softly, "Li Ran, do you love me?"

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Liu Haocun thought he hadn't heard him clearly and was about to ask again when Li Ran's voice slowly rang out: "Love."

She smiled and continued, "So, how much do you love me?"

"I love it very much."

His voice was muffled, "The sea is so big..."

Liu Haocun felt a sweet warmth in his heart, and then asked, "So, do you love me more, or do you love Tian Xiwei more?"

Li Ran suddenly turned his head, looked at her, and chuckled twice: "I love... myself more."

Liu Haocun paused for a moment, then pursed his lips: "Weren't you drunk?"

"He's drunk..."

Li Ran said, "It's not like I'm not out of my mind."

Liu Haocun was taken aback by his words.

She snorted, "Can't you say something I want to hear? There are only the two of us here."

Li Ran rolled over, reached for her phone on the bedside table, waved it in front of her, and grinned mischievously, "Then why are you recording?"

Liu Haocun smiled slyly: "Hehe, you found out."

Li Ran looked at her, his eyes carrying a hint of intoxication, yet also a hint of sober smile.

"Cunzi..."

I love you, I love you the most.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it done?"

Liu Haocun narrowed his eyes, lowered his head and gently kissed his lips.

She looked up at him and said, "I'm so glad you could fool me."

……

The two stayed in Northeast China for three days.

During these three days, Li Ran deeply experienced the warmth and hospitality of Northeast China.

Liu Haocun's mother cooks all sorts of delicious dishes, almost emptying the refrigerator of everything she has in it.

Liu Haocun's father would drag him out for drinks every day, and the two had evolved from "brothers" to "best buddies".

Liu Haocun took him around the small town, where they ate grilled cold noodles, frozen pears, and sticky rice cakes, and even walked on the frozen river.

Li Ran felt that this trip to Northeast China was worthwhile.

On February 27th, the two flew to Shanghai.

On the plane, Liu Haocun leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "Are they all going?"

Li Ran thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, we'll all participate. After all, you're all newcomers, and this is a good opportunity for exposure..."

……

Hotels near the Mercedes-Benz Arena are fully booked these days.

For the first time, Weibo Night left Beijing and was held in Shanghai, drawing the attention of the entire entertainment industry to the city.

When Li Ran and Liu Haocun arrived at the hotel, it was already 6 p.m.

It was already dark, but there were still many paparazzi and fansmen squatting at the hotel entrance, their long lenses and tripods aimed at every vehicle that came in and out.

Li Ran drove his car directly into the underground parking garage and took the private elevator upstairs, avoiding the cameras.

After packing her luggage, Li Ran looked at Liu Haocun and asked, "Are you hungry?"

Liu Haocun nodded and rubbed his stomach: "A little bit. There wasn't enough food on the plane."

"Perfect timing, Xiaotian and the others have all arrived too."

Li Ran said, "Let's go eat first."

Liu Haocun pouted: "Brother, can't it just be the two of us?"

Li Ran explained helplessly, "There are reporters all over the hotel now. If we get photographed, there will be more rumors about us."

He paused for a moment: "It's safer with more people around. Even if we get photographed, we're not afraid of anything."

Liu Haocun snorted: "So what if there are rumors? You have fans who ship you with Zhang Jingyi, Zhou Ye, and Tian Xiwei. Why don't we have any for our collaboration on 'Little Red Flower'?"

She tilted her head, a hint of slyness in her doe-like eyes: "Did they buy those CP (couple) fans themselves?"

Li Ran chuckled: "It shouldn't be that boring, right?"

Liu Haocun's eyes darted around, and suddenly he had an idea: "Let's walk the red carpet together tomorrow, and I'll buy some gigs to promote our CP (couple) image."

Liu Haocun's eyes darted around, and suddenly he had an idea: "Let's walk the red carpet together tomorrow, and I'll buy some gigs to promote our CP (couple) image."

Looking at her sly little face, Li Ran couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't your studio forbid you from creating on-screen couple pairings?"

Liu Haocun proudly raised his chin: "That depends on who you're promoting it with. If you're promoting it as a couple, they'd be more than happy."

She paused, leaned closer, and lowered her voice: "Besides, we're a real couple, what's wrong with a little hype?"

Li Ran looked at her small face so close to his own and grinned mischievously, "Okay, I'll cook it tonight. Let's go eat now."

Liu Haocun rolled his eyes at him: "Do you dare come to my room tonight?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Li Ran said as she walked towards the door, "Alright, let's go downstairs, they're waiting down there."

Liu Haocun quickly followed.

……

The elevator arrived at the first floor.

The door opened, and Tian Xiwei and Wang Churan were already waiting in the lobby lounge area.

The two sat on the sofa, one scrolling through his phone, the other looking out the window, neither saying a word.

Li Ran walked over: "Coconut and Xiao Hu haven't come down yet?"

Tian Xiwei raised her head, shook her head, and didn't say anything.

Wang Churan looked at him and smiled: "We're not with them, how would we know?"

Li Ran didn't reply, but sat down next to him.

Liu Haocun glanced at Tian Xiwei, then at Wang Churan, and silently walked to the other side to sit down.

Four people sat in different corners, not sitting next to each other.

The atmosphere was subtle.

After another ten minutes, the elevator doors opened again.

Zhou Ye and Hu Lianxin walked out slowly.

The two were walking hand in hand, chatting and laughing, when they saw the four people sitting in the lobby and paused.

Zhou Ye's gaze swept over Tian Xiwei before shifting away.

Li Ran stood up: "Let's go, we're all hungry."

Liu Haocun suddenly asked, "Didn't Zhang Jingyi come?"

Li Ran shook his head: "She's not at this hotel. I sent her my location, and she's already here."

Liu Haocun nodded, secretly relieved.

They all have allies, and she doesn't want to be alone.

……

The restaurant is an authentic Shanghainese restaurant with a quiet environment and private rooms.

Pushing open the door, Zhang Jingyi was already there.

She was sitting by the window, talking to Zhang Ruonan next to her.

Tian Xiwei's gaze lingered on Zhang Ruonan for a moment before shifting away.

She thought to herself: Why does Zhang Jingyi like to bring Zhang Ruonan along so much?

The group took their seats.

The dishes were served one after another.

Apart from Wang Churan, everyone else had rushed here by plane today and were starving.

With no one chatting, we started eating right away.

Wang Churan was the quickest, plopping down next to Li Ran.

Seeing this, Tian Xiwei calmly walked to Li Ran's other side and sat down.

Zhou Ye was dumbfounded.

She felt a surge of resentment as she watched the two men flanking Li Ran.

Why do these two seem to have planned this together?

She looked at Li Ran, who was eating with his head down, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Zhou Ye angrily pulled Hu Lianxin to sit down in the seat next to him.

As soon as Liu Haocun entered, he sat down next to Zhang Jingyi, completely ignoring the confrontation between the two groups.

She picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and ate it slowly, occasionally chatting with Zhang Ruonan.

Zhang Ruonan sat next to Zhang Jingyi, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. She was just there to freeload and didn't want to get involved in any disputes.

While eating, Wang Churan suddenly asked, "Li Ran, who are you walking the red carpet with tomorrow?"

Li Ran paused, his chopsticks still on the table. "Cunzi, what's wrong?"

Wang Churan shook his head: "It's nothing, I was just asking out of curiosity."

She paused, then added, "Anyway, I can't possibly go with you."

These words were spoken lightly, but everyone present understood their meaning.

Only four people could walk the red carpet with Li Ran: Zhou Ye, Tian Xiwei, Zhang Jingyi, and Liu Haocun, all of whom had worked with him on projects.

Although Wang Churan has also signed with Wajijiwa Entertainment, the two have not officially collaborated yet, so she is not qualified.

Li Ran didn't respond.

He recalled the question that Weibo's official account had asked him before: whether he wanted to walk the red carpet with Zhou Ye, Tian Xiwei, and Zhang Jingyi.

He thought about it and then refused.

All three of them are now rumored to be dating him, and they all have quite a few fans who ship them as a couple.

At a large-scale event like Weibo Night, all three of them will be present, and their interactions will definitely be amplified.

Not to mention walking the red carpet.

No matter who she ends up with, the fans of the other two couples will be in an uproar.

Therefore, Liu Haocun is the only option.

Even though "A Little Red Flower" has finished its theatrical run, it still won awards, right?

Moreover, he and Liu Haocun don't have any CP fans yet, so all three fan groups can accept it.

He lowered his head and ate his food, offering no explanation.

After dinner, everyone went back to their hotels to rest.

Tomorrow we have to walk the red carpet, release behind-the-scenes photos, and sit for several hours tonight; nobody's interested in having fun anymore.

In the elevator, Liu Haocun stood next to Li Ran and suddenly whispered, "Brother, remember to come and promote our CP tonight."

……