OSM Chapter 8: “What reaction do you expect?”

He knew what that person had meant.

And he understood why he’d ignored the usual pre-exam nerves and become even more anxious.

The second straw in the drink bottle remained untouched.

Slightly nudging it with his finger, He Zhiqiu made it sway as if someone were sucking on it.

Maybe this is the last time I’ll use this to calm my nerves.

Thanks to Tang Song for listening to my nonsense.

Now there’s… a third person who knows about their story.

He Zhiqiu finished the last sip and stood up. At that moment, two people approached from the opposite side, dressed in thick show costumes—they were probably from another film crew.

One of them looked familiar. After a few seconds, He Zhiqiu recognized him. As they got closer, he politely called out, “Teacher Gao.”

This Mr. Gao was named Gao Kui. Standing at almost 180 centimeters tall, he was burly and robust, with a stern and strong-looking face.

At about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, he had just won the Best Actor award last year, giving him a special standing in the industry.

It wasn’t surprising that He Zhiqiu knew him; it would have been stranger if someone in the industry didn’t recognize him.

He Zhiqiu greeted Gao Kui, not expecting a response. But to his surprise, Gao Kui stopped and stared him right in the eye.

He Zhiqiu met Gao Kui’s eyes for a few seconds. He wondered if calling him “Mr. Gao” had offended him. Maybe he should have said “Senior Gao” or “Gao-xiansheng”?

“Are you…” Gao Kui squinted. Then he suddenly crossed his arms, leaned forward, and asked uncertainly, “Are you He Zhiqiu?”

He Zhiqiu was clearly taken aback. He said yes, then asked in confusion, “How do you know my name?”

“So it really is you?” Gao Kui still hadn’t answered his question. Instead he muttered, “You look just like the photo…”

“Photo…? What photo?”

“Ah, forget it.” Gao Kui realized he’d lost his cool. He straightened up, patted He Zhiqiu on the shoulder, and said with a smile, “Are you here to film a movie too?”

He Zhiqiu nodded.

Gao Kui said, “I’ll treat you to a meal someday. I’ve got to run now, though. I have some errands to take care of.”

He Zhiqiu was left feeling confused by these familiar words. Tang Song had finished throwing his bottle in the trash and returned just in time to hear the end of the conversation. He asked excitedly, “You know Gao Kui?!”

He Zhiqiu shook his head. Watching Gao Kui’s figure fade into the distance, he said in bewilderment, “I don’t… think I know him.”

Back at the set, He Zhiqiu put the incident aside for now. He tried to relax as he waited for the main actors to finish their scene. Then he found the director to reshoot the earlier scene, catching up with the schedule.

Though they still had to “cut” several times, he gradually got into the groove, fully entering the filming process.

It was now 12:30 AM.

Some crews in the film city were still busy shooting.

Gao Kui had finished a night scene and was sitting in the director’s chair, yawning.

After a moment of absent-mindedness, he suddenly remembered something. He asked his assistant for his phone, then found a photo he’d secretly taken that afternoon.

The photo wasn’t clear. All he could see was a decent-looking young man in light blue ancient robes, holding an unfinished drink bottle.

Gao Kui zoomed in on the face in the photo, cropped the screen, opened his contact list, scrolled a bit, tapped on a chat window, and sent the cropped image.

Noticing Gao Kui leaning back in his chair with a mischievous grin, his assistant came over and asked, “Hey Kui-ge, what’s got you so happy?”

Gao Kui casually asked for a coffee while crossing his legs, replying, “Something big.”

Seeing him being secretive, the assistant prepared a coffee and went back to work.

Gao Kui tilted his head back to gaze at the night sky, whistling as he sipped his coffee. The coffee finished just as the day’s final night shoot wrapped up, but the phone beside him remained silent.

Strange.

Gao Kui pulled his leg back from its half-crossed position, sat up, and glanced at his phone signal.

Full bars.

He couldn’t possibly have fallen asleep, could he?

Gao Kui hesitated for a few seconds, then directly dialed the number.

The phone rang twice before the other party answered with a cold, distant voice: “What’s up?”

Gao Kui blinked, then leaned back in the lounge chair, continuing to shake his leg. “Can’t I call you just because there’s nothing else? Old classmate.”

Gao Kui’s old classmate was Li Yuze, with whom he had shared a dorm during their four years in college.

They both entered the entertainment industry together and were pretty good friends.

However, their career paths differed, and their directions took them in different ways. Many people in the industry didn’t even know the two of them were friends.

Li Yuze had become famous, a top actor with a wide range of roles. Though they might go months without meeting due to Li Yuze’s busy schedule, whenever they were in the same city, they’d still meet up and have a drink.

Of course, it was always Gao Kui who initiated the meetups.

Li Yuze’s indifferent, aloof attitude toward everyone made it incredibly hard to become friends with him.

“What are you busy with? Did you see the message I sent just now?” Gao Kui said, still a little nervous, afraid that Li Yuze might not have seen the photo. If they met later and Gao Kui couldn’t control his emotions, he might break down and cry over the phone, which would be a disaster!

He chuckled awkwardly, realizing his mistake and quickly silencing himself before clearing his throat.

To his surprise, after a few seconds, Li Yuze didn’t cry but responded flatly, “I saw it.”

Gao Kui bit his tongue by accident, shocked by Li Yuze’s response. “You saw it?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that it?”

“Why, what else?” Li Yuze asked lazily.

“No…” Gao Kui said, “Why don’t you take another look? Don’t you think this person looks especially like him?”

There was a sound of pouring liquor from Li Yuze’s side. After taking a sip, he lazily asked, “Looks like who?”

“He Zhiqiu!” Gao Kui exclaimed. “Isn’t that your He Zhiqiu? Your reaction is way too normal!”

A faint laugh came from the other end. “What reaction do you expect?”

“At the very least, be surprised! It’s been so many years since you last saw him, and you’re not even a little excited to see his picture?”

Li Yuze took another sip of wine and seemed to settle down. “I saw him last month. At a class reunion.”

“What?” Gao Kui immediately became gossip-hungry. “So, what did you two talk about? I saw he was wearing a costume. Is he planning to become an actor?”

Li Yuze replied, “I think so.”

Gao Kui clicked his tongue. “What do you mean, ‘I think so’? Didn’t you talk about it?”

Li Yuze said, “Talk about what?”

“Just talk about your current situations. You haven’t seen each other in so long, and you’ve been thinking about him for years. You finally meet up and don’t say more than a few words?” Gao Kui suddenly sounded exasperated. “How did you become so dumb all of a sudden?”

“What would I even talk to him about?” Li Yuze said flatly. “You want me to ask how I can get into his life? Or how I can drag him into the gossip columns?”