After packing our luggage, Luo Ben and I drove straight to the airport in Shanghai, preparing to take a flight to Beijing. If everything went smoothly, I would meet the woman with whom I had made a “farewell without a definite date” agreement in three hours.
Not long after the car left the town of Xitang, Mi Cai called me. I hesitated slightly, then put on the earphones and answered the call, but I didn’t speak first.
Mi Cai was also silent for a moment before asking, “What are you doing in Beijing?”
Actually, when I told Mi Cai I was going to Beijing, I had already been honest about going for Leyao, because I didn’t have any other friends in Beijing, nor would I go there for work. However, now that Mi Cai called to ask further, she must have been feeling uncomfortable.
“Le Yao is having some trouble, so Luo Ben and I are going to see if we can help.”
“I’ve seen the recent news about her.”
Mi Cai’s words seemed only half-spoken; I couldn’t grasp her full meaning and finally responded with, “Oh…”
“Won’t you tell me whether this news is true or completely fabricated?”
“Of course it’s fabricated. I know something about what happened back then, and it’s definitely not how that second-rate male star described it.”
Mi Cai was silent for a moment, then said, “Then go ahead, but be careful. Such high-profile and sensitive incidents can easily get you involved if not handled properly.”
I responded with an acknowledgment and asked, “You don’t mind, right?”
“…Zhaoyang, I’ve never intended to restrict your interactions with other women, nor could I, especially those desires deeply hidden in your heart. I just hope you remember our marriage agreement and clearly understand what you should and shouldn’t do when interacting with other women.”
“So you think going to Beijing is something I should do?”
“Yes, it’s something you should do, but please don’t create more trouble.”
…
After ending the call with Mi Cai, my mind felt heavier. I felt even more that I had wronged her and couldn’t figure out what exactly would be creating more trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to Beijing at all…
Luo Ben, sitting beside me, urged me, “Can’t you drive any faster? Even a tractor beside you would overtake you!”
“Mi Cai just called me, and I feel like going to Beijing is being unfair to her…”
“You’re just being complicated… Can we stop talking and just drive faster? Otherwise, let me drive.”
I didn’t know when Luo Ben and I had developed different perspectives. I couldn’t really discuss anything further with him. Thinking again, even Mi Cai thought I should go to Beijing, so I really shouldn’t carry such a heavy psychological burden. Finally, I pressed hard on the accelerator, and the car sped up!
At noon, we arrived in Beijing and went directly to Le Yao’s residence. We pressed the doorbell for a long time, but no one responded. Luo Ben tried calling her again, but still no response.
After a brief moment of confusion, I asked Luo Ben, “Do you have her agent’s phone number? Maybe we can try calling her agent.”
Luo Ben suddenly slapped his thigh and said, “How could I forget her agent? I actually do have his number.”
After some effort, Luo Ben finally got in touch with Le Yao’s agent, and we arranged to meet at a teahouse nearby. However, Le Yao didn’t come with the agent, and I assumed she just couldn’t make it.
Upon seeing us, the agent didn’t wait for Luo Ben to introduce me and anxiously said, “You finally came! I was just about to contact you. I’ve been really worried!”
“Contact me?”
The agent nodded and said worriedly, “Since this news broke out, Le Yao has been unreachable, and all her ongoing work has had to be suspended. I wanted to ask you, as her friends, whether you know where she is!”
Luo Ben and I exchanged glances, realizing the situation was far worse than we had imagined. At a time like this, Le Yao had completely cut off all contact with the outside world due to the pressure.
“If we knew where she was, we wouldn’t have traveled all the way from Suzhou to Beijing to ask you!”
Luo Ben’s response prompted a helpless sigh from the agent, who anxiously said, “This is going to be a disaster! Initially, we didn’t plan to respond to this news, since anyone could clearly see that this idiot was just trying to use Le Yao’s fame for self-promotion. But he actually has some photos of Le Yao from their time together, so we can’t just ignore it anymore. According to standard procedure, Le Yao should issue a statement in her favor at this time. But with her hiding like this, it’s like an acknowledgment of this idiot’s claims, which will greatly harm her future acting career! And if she keeps hiding like this and affects the work schedule, she might even face legal action for breach of contract!”
The agent’s words left both Luo Ben and me in silence, increasingly worried about Le Yao’s unknown whereabouts…
At this point, the agent looked at us with confusion and said, “I’ve worked with many artists, but Le Yao has the best psychological resilience I’ve ever seen. Logically, an incident like this shouldn’t affect her emotions so much. Why would she choose such a foolish approach?… I wonder, have there been any setbacks in her personal life recently? Maybe this scandal isn’t the main reason for her disappearance?”
My heart sank immediately. If that were the case, I would bear some responsibility for Le Yao’s disappearance. But I couldn’t possibly tell the agent about that night when Le Yao and I had made a mutual agreement never to meet again.
Hesitating, Luo Ben, with an unhappy expression, said, “You’re her agent, and she spends half her time with you. If you don’t even know, how could we possibly know?”
The agent helplessly shook his head, then sighed, looking completely at a loss.
After a moment of silence, I asked the agent, “What do you plan to do about this incident now?”
“The best option is to find her. If we can’t, we’ll have to issue a statement on her behalf through the company, but… this obviously gives people something to criticize!”
I nodded. If Le Yao didn’t show up, public opinion would become increasingly unfavorable toward her. Then the agent lowered his voice and asked us, “You two should be close friends of Le Yao. Regarding that grandson’s claim about her sleeping with a director, is there any truth to it?”
I frowned and countered, “What do you think?”
The agent replied, “I’ve been in this industry for so long, and most of the famous actresses I’ve worked with aren’t completely clean. If you dig deep enough, you can always find scandals… So this environment is also a major reason why public opinion is unfavorable toward Le Yao!”
Although I knew the agent was just stating facts, I still felt very uncomfortable and said sternly, “We, Luo Ben and I, can personally confirm that back then, it was definitely not Le Yao who slept with a director. On the contrary, it was that second-rate actor who was dumped by a female producer and then blamed Le Yao… What a despicable guy!”
The agent sighed again, “Ah, the entertainment industry is like this. To gain attention, being despicable becomes a strategy… By the way, do you have any good solutions?”
Luo Ben said, “Isn’t this simple? We can help her clarify things as friends. We personally saw her penniless and drinking alone at a bar back then. If she had really slept with a director, would she have been in that situation?”
“That makes sense, but there’s no direct evidence either. The other side can also bring in a bunch of friends to claim that Le Yao dumped him to sleep with a director… In the end, it will just turn into a war of words, helping him gain fame while damaging Le Yao’s public image!”
Luo Ben, unable to contain his anger, slammed the table heavily, “I really want to beat that bastard up! This is just too despicable!”
I signaled Luo Ben to calm down and thought for a moment before saying to the agent, “How about we try this approach now? Since he claims Le Yao slept with a director, let’s redirect public attention and force him to reveal which director it was. If he can’t name someone, the lie will collapse on its own. If he fabricates a story involving a certain director, public attention will inevitably shift to that falsely accused director, who will then have to come forward to clarify, relieving some pressure on Le Yao and buying her some time.”
The agent nodded, “That’s a good idea. I’ll immediately use my resources to pressure him into revealing which director Le Yao supposedly slept with!”
“Alright.”
The agent finally relaxed slightly and said, “Then I’ll take my leave. Please help me look for Le Yao’s whereabouts, and contact me immediately if you hear anything!”
…
Inside the private room of the teahouse, only Luo Ben and I remained. We both smoked to relieve our frustration. After a while, he asked me, “Where do you think the big shot could have gone?”
I shook my head, “I don’t know. Maybe she’s traveling alone in some foreign country, just like CC.”
“You saying that reminds me… Is there a possibility that she’s with CC right now?”
“Then send a message to CC and check.”
“You should send it instead…”
“You know about avoiding suspicion too, huh? When I was being cautious, you had the nerve to call me complicated!”
Luo Ben replied straightforwardly, “I’m just a typical person who talks without considering the consequences. Don’t follow my example… Quickly ask CC whether the big shot is with her.”
…
After sending the message, CC, who was far away in Nepal, didn’t respond for a long time. She might have been walking along a path with no signal again. Thus, Luo Ben and I once again found ourselves at a loss. After each finishing a cigarette, Luo Ben suddenly seemed to recall something and said, “I remember now, the day before yesterday, the big shot posted a Weibo message. What was the title again?… Forgot, but it had a kind of epiphany vibe to it!”
Without saying a word, I immediately picked up my phone, logged onto Weibo, and indeed saw that Le Yao had posted a message titled “It’s also good to be indifferent to everything…” I pondered deeply for a long time, suddenly realizing she might very likely have gone to that place!
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