Chapter 39: Where Is Your Home?
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
When Gu Xizhi arrived at the address mentioned by Sun Tingyou, it was already 10:30 in the evening. The first moment after entering the hotel, Gu Xizhi received a call from Sun Tingyou. Gu Xizhi raised her head, looked around the hotel's surveillance camera positions, and asked on the phone, "In which room are you?"
On the other end of the phone, Sun Tingyou was lying on a soft sofa, smiling as he watched the eighteen surveillance screens in the room. "C888, bring me a cup of tea when you come up, and deliver it yourself."
Gu Xizhi hung up the phone and immediately stopped a waiter, "Is there any tea?"
Ten minutes later, Gu Xizhi rang the doorbell of C888 with the tea Sun Tingyou wanted. It took only one ring from the doorbell before Sun Tingyou opened the door. When Gu Xizhi saw him, she immediately said, "Director Sun, I've brought the tea you wanted, three kinds you like..."
Sun Tingyou glanced at the lacquer tray she held in her hand and smiled, "It would have been better if you had been this obedient earlier. Isn't it a bit late now?"
Gu Xizhi looked at him with some fear, "Director Sun..."
Sun Tingyou opened the door and said, "Come in first."
Gu Xizhi looked at the closed room and hesitated for a moment, then walked in with tea.
The situation was different from what she expected. Although she knew that there must be surveillance footage in Sun Tingyou's room, Gu Xizhi didn't anticipate that the entire room would be filled with large screens displaying surveillance footages. Each screen showed people and objects in motion, seemingly covering a wide range. However, what truly surprised and frightened Gu Xizhi was not its extensive coverage but one particular surveillance image among them.
The scene in the background was a private room in a hotel bar, dimly lit but just enough to see people clearly. It seemed like a gathering had taken place in this room recently, with plenty of bottles and miscellaneous items cluttering the glass coffee table, making the room quite messy.
Although everything appeared to be normal, Qu Xizhi's presence in the surveillance footage still seemed very unusual to her.
The screen shows a spacious room with only her leaning on the sofa, from the surveillance angle, it's unclear whether she's drunk or exhausted, just resting on the sofa.
Sun Tingyou picked up the tea Gu Xizhi had brought and sat down on the sofa, looking at Gu Xizhi with a smile. "My dear Miss Gu, Qu Xizhi had quite a bit to drink tonight, except for the drink she blocked for you. Since she arrived, she hasn't spared me a moment."
Gu Xizhi immediately turned to look at him. "Director Sun, what... does this mean?"
Sun Tingyou said nothing, but smiled mysteriously and motioned for her to look at the surveillance camera.
The light in the surveillance camera was a little weaker at this time. Bo Yiqing stood under the shadow of the lamp looking at Qu Xizhi, who was resting on the sofa. Her expression was obscured by the angle and could not be seen clearly.
"It's not really good for Qu Xizhi to hinder me from finding you again and again." At this time, Sun Tingyou put down the teacup in his hand and looked at Gu Xizhi with a chuckle, "She thinks she's clever, having a handle on me, hindering me from doing what I want. But can someone like me, Sun Tingyou, be easily restrained by others?"
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The more he said this, the more Gu Xizhi became concerned about the current situation. "Director Sun, Miss Qu, and I are good friends. She may just wish for me to dedicate more time to work. If this has offended you in any way, I apologize on her behalf."
"Good friends." Sun Tingyou raised the corners of his lips, "How long have I been in the entertainment industry? What can escape my eyes?" He paused and said playfully, "Okay, let's talk about a deal. Bo Yiqing and you look so similar, and the wine Qu Xizhi just drank contains some substance. If later she doesn't do anything to Bo Yiqing, I won't say a word, and I'll let you both go. But if she does something she shouldn't, I'll give you this video that can ruin her career. It's not a small favor. As a reward, you spend three months with me, how about that?"
Gu Xizhi frowned and asked in disbelief, "You have been prepared. Your purpose today is not to make me drink, but to get her drunk?"
Sun Tingyou said with a smile, "At this point, wouldn't it seem too insensitive to ask these questions?"
Gu Xizhi stopped talking and immediately turned her attention to the surveillance video.
In the video, Bo Yiqing still stood in her original position, seemingly finding it difficult to take another step. At this moment, Sun Tingyou picked up a phone from the sofa and dialed a number, speaking coldly before hanging up. "I'm not a patient person. Tell her that if she doesn't follow what I said soon, everything she discussed with me becomes void."
In the surveillance, Bo Yiqing left the room at this point. When she returned, although she still appeared conflicted, she didn't let this emotion linger for long.
She adjusted her mood, and after a while, finally took a step forward. She sat down on the sofa next to Qu Xizhi.
The room was already quite dim, with only the sound being particularly clear. Bo Yiqing must have done something because Qu Xizhi seemed to awaken from her drunkenness, gently massaging her temples with her hand against her forehead.
The camera angle couldn't show whether she was truly awake, but upon hearing what Sun Tingyou had said, she simply couldn't believe that he would let her sober up.
Bo Yiqing held her hand and took over massaging her temples. The two were very close, yet there was an extended silence. It was unclear whether it was the gentleness of Bo Yiqing's actions that finally touched her or if she had finally opened her eyes and saw the person in front of her. In any case, in front of the surveillance camera, Gu Xizhi heard the two words she least wanted to hear at that moment.
She called her name, but Bo Yiqing didn't say anything, but just hugged her after that.
The air was too quiet, the lights were dim, and the door was closed tightly. It was impossible for any unexpected interruptions in this situation. If Qu Xizhi was truly intoxicated, in this context, she might not find it surprising at all to have Bo Yiqing beside her.
What's more, at this time, Bo Yiqing did something else.
With a gentle pull, the zipper slid down her back. Although Qu Xizhi's long hair obscured the view of her back from the surveillance angle, it was still possible to notice something unusual. Bo Yiqing's movements in the footage were deliberately slowed down, but ultimately, some things couldn't be avoided without escaping.
The clothes have been pulled away. If there is nothing to stop it, there will be no turning back. Gu Xizhi tried hard to find their location from the surveillance camera, but the rooms displayed on the surveillance camera were all the same. What's more, the room lights were dim at the moment. There are no signs of xx at all.
If this thing really happened, she would rather never know.
As her heart sank little by little, Gu Xizhi turned away from the sight of Bo Yiqing kissing the covered neck of Qu Xizhi. She looked at Sun Tingyou and said, "Turn it off. I don't want to watch anymore."
Sun Tingyou smiled half-heartedly, "Then you are willing to stay with me for the next three months?"
Gu Xizhi didn't want to reply.
She has been struggling in this circle for so many years, and she doesn't know how she persisted until today. If she were to deny her previous persistence now, it would be better for her to withdraw from this circle. However, with that video in Sun Tingyou's hand, she had no idea what he might use it for.
For what Qu Xizhi has done for her, no matter what the reason is, prevents her from retreating when she is threatened.
If anything could tear her apart from her, it would be this.
Her gaze remained fixed on Sun Tingyou's ambivalent face, and Gu Xizhi's voice, when she spoke again, was somewhat heavy. "I..."
"Miss Qu..."
The voice in the surveillance video interrupted her words. Gu Xizhi glanced deeply at Sun Tingyou's squinted eyes and then turned to the surveillance.
Not knowing what Qu Xizhi had done earlier, Bo Yiqing had already stood up, and Qu Xizhi had zipped up the back of her dress. She gently brushed her long black hair to her chest. Her voice carried a hint of drunkenness but wasn't very obvious. "It's alright now. I understand your situation. Thank you for everything you've done. I have a bit of a headache. I'll leave first." Bo Yiqing nodded, and in the surveillance video, Qu Xizhi picked up her bag and left without looking back.
Such a big change suddenly occurred. Although she didn't know why, Gu Xizhi still breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to Sun Tingyou and said, "Director Sun, you are a great person. You must keep your word. This matter…"
Sun Tingyou did not speak, but stood up from the sofa, walked to the side, and paced back and forth, not knowing what he was thinking.
He remained silent, and Gu Xizhi waited patiently. After a while, Sun Tingyou seemed to have thought of something, raised his head, and said to Gu Xizhi, "Frankly speaking, although I didn't use any extremely bad methods on Qu Xizhi, it is a method that can also ensure that the trap set for her is foolproof. Not to mention that it is difficult for her to find something wrong. Even if she finds something wrong, she has no power to stop it. What did I do wrong to give her a chance to stand up? "
Gu Xizhi took a long pause before responding, "Director Sun, perhaps both you and I have been deceived by her. Qu Xizhi is a movie queen, and often, she can bring her art into her life. I don't know how much she drank, her tolerance, or whether the medication you provided had any effect. But her outward appearance may not necessarily reflect the truth."
Sun Tingyou looked at her quietly for a moment and then nodded gently. "If her acting skills are top-notch, then consider me taking a loss this time. Go ahead and act in the movie."
Gu Xizhi was a little surprised, "Movie?"
"What?" Sun Tingyou walked aside and lit a cigarette, looking at her through the smoke, "Don't you want to act anymore?"
"No, no." The sudden turn of events left Gu Xizhi feeling somewhat confused, but she didn't want to stay and chat with him any longer. "Thank you, Director Sun. You're busy, so I'll take my leave."
Gu Xizhi left immediately after getting his approval. After she left, Sun Tingyou leaned on the sofa and smoked quietly for a while, and watched the surveillance for a while. After a long time, he smiled and made a phone call, "I've given her the movie she wanted. Aren't you coming up?"
As soon as Gu Xizhi walked out of Sun Tingyou's place, she immediately called Qu Xizhi. No one answered the phone for a long time. Gu Xizhi persisted in calling the second and third times, and finally, just as she was about to finish the third call, someone picked up.
The environment on the other side seemed to be very quiet, so Qu Xizhi's slightly drunk voice was obvious to Gu Xizhi's ears, "Gu Xizhi."
"Qu Xizhi." Gu Xizhi asked immediately, "Where are you?"
"You're looking for me?"
"Of course, please tell me where you are."
It took a long time for someone to say, "...I don't know."
Gu Xizhi said, "...don't move there, I'll go find you now."
Gu Xizhi searched for a while and finally found Qu Xizhi by a window on the stairs of an excessively large hotel leisure area. The weather in October was quite chilly, and Gu Xizhi was surprised to see Qu Xizhi standing by the window in her formal attire. She asked, "Are you trying to die from the cold? Aren't you freezing like this?"
Qu Xizhi turned her head, and with the two of them so close, Gu Xizhi only now realized that her eyes truly held a lot of drunkenness. "Did Sun Tingyou send you here?"
After closing the window, Gu Xizhi looked back at her when she heard those words, "How do you know?"
Qu Xizhi didn't answer but simply smiled. "You showing up here at this time must mean you've already seen him."
"Yes," Gu Xizhi was straightforward. "I just left his place. He let me go."
Qu Xizhi raised her head to look at her. Whether it was because of the alcohol, the color in her eyes was very charming, "So you just saw Bo Yiqing and me on the surveillance camera?"
Gu Xizhi frowned, "How come you know everything?"
"I only guessed it when I saw you here." After saying this, she took a few steps closer to Gu Xizhi, looked into her eyes, and asked her, "If I had done something to Bo Yiqing just now, your reasons for rejecting me would become even more unforgivable, wouldn't they?"
Her eyes looked like peach blossoms, Gu Xizhi stepped back a few steps, avoided her gaze, and her topic, "How did you find out that it was Bo Yiqing and not me?"
Qu Xizhi looked at her quietly, the color in her eyes was intense but she lowered her lashes slightly to hide all her emotions, "I won't tell you."
Gu Xizhi raised her head and looked at her, "So you're not that drunk at all, you're just acting for that old fox, right?"
"It doesn't matter." Qu Xizhi said with a slight smile, "Send me home, I feel dizzy."
Gu Xizhi looked at the faint hint of alcohol in her eyes for a while. Although she didn't know what the actual situation was, she still nodded.
The weather was very cold, and Qu Xizhi's body which had just been blown by the wind also felt very cold. Gu Xizhi noticed how cold her hand was when she held it. She promptly took off her own coat and draped it over Qu Xizhi, then held her hand tightly as she led her back to the car.
After getting in the car, Qu Xizhi was very quiet. After passing several traffic lights, Gu Xizhi thought of something and asked her quickly, "Where is your home?"
Qu Xizhi sat in the back seat and listened to the radio with her eyes closed, without speaking.
Gu Xizhi simply turned off the radio, stopped the car, turned around, and asked her, "Qu Xizhi, where is your home?"
Qu Xizhi opened her eyes and looked at her, thinking about it for a long time, and finally said, "I don't remember."
