Chapter 296: Who to blame?

"What did you perform for your graduation play that year?"

"That year I think I went to the United States to film *The Dark Knight*. I didn't go to see yours, and this time you didn't come to see mine, it's quite fair."

"Speaking of which, we've known each other for quite a long time. When I first met you, I thought, is there something wrong with you? I greeted you, and you cursed me for not getting into university."

"But after getting to know you later, I think your problems aren't that big, just that your brain doesn't work well occasionally. Hey, Xixi, did you bump your head somewhere when you were little?"

When saying this part, Chen Nuo was already counting down one, two, three.

Because he knew Liu Yifei was most susceptible to this trick.

As a result, after he finished speaking, the quilt still didn't move at all.

Chen Nuo immediately knew it was over. This woman was truly stimulated this time.

If it were before, she would have definitely jumped up and fought him.

Seeing that the hard approach wouldn't work and might even backfire, Chen Nuo quickly changed his strategy,

Changing his tone, his voice became gentle and kind,

"However, you are truly beautiful. Not only beautiful, but your heart is also very kind. I remember that time in Jiuzhaigou, my stomach was uncomfortable, I didn't have paper, you helped me get paper, and later you even delivered it to me; at that time, I wished I could swear to be brothers with you..."

After talking for a long time, joking around didn't work either, and she still didn't move.

Chen Nuo changed to the next one,

Saying mysteriously, "Do you know Yang Mi? Let me tell you a secret, I found that she especially worships you. She treats you as an idol; every time I mention you to her, she gets very excited, saying you are her role model, and in the future, she wants to be like you, making money while being beautiful..."

Alright, flattery didn't work either.

Chen Nuo started to get angry: "But others are different. There's someone named Zhang Xiaofei, my teacher especially likes her, this time she's acting opposite me, and she thinks you're a bit overrated, you know? I laughed when I heard it; there's actually someone in the world who dares to say Liu Yifei is a vase? Hahaha, I said at the time, if Liu Yifei is a vase, then the Film Academy is full of vases. As a result, she had a big argument with me..."

While he was spouting nonsense, Chen Nuo's phone suddenly rang.

Looking at the caller name, it was Yang Mi.

He looked at the bed again; if it weren't for the fact that the bulging lump was still rising and falling slowly, Chen Nuo might have thought this person had already stopped breathing.

Forget it, since this person had no reaction, he was too lazy to go out to answer it, so he answered directly and said, "Hello."

Yang Mi's voice on the phone was very loud, "Chen the Chen Chen Geshen, we're about to go sing, why are you missing?"

Hehe, I've been gone for an hour. Chen Nuo said angrily, "I'm home, something came up."

"What came up, is it Liu Yifei? Is she still not better? I'm really convinced. It's been a few days, is such a small matter worth it?"

"Hehe."

"Don't laugh, if I were her, I'd be too happy to be unhappy. Someone scolding me, that's great, that means I'm popular. I wish everyone would come and scold me; I'd let them scold me, the more they scold, the happier I am."

Chen Nuo said lightly, "Don't worry, you will."

"What will, I'm so cute, no one scolds me. You're so boring, come quickly, we're just missing you. If you come, I'll introduce you to a few beauties. Let me tell you, they're from the Central Academy of Drama, they came specifically to see you. They're right in front of me now, if you don't come, they're almost crying."

"Forget it, I'm already home, I don't want to toss around anymore."

"Come on, what's there to toss around, it's this late, there are no cars on the road, and it's not jammed. I'm telling you, she's really a big beauty, from Xinjiang, she looks so good."

"... What's her surname?"

"What?"

"From Xinjiang, what's her surname?"

"Ah? You wait, let me ask. Hello, beauty, what's your surname?"

Just heard a burst of giggling on the other side of the phone, and then heard Yang Mi say from far away from the microphone, "Hurry, otherwise he won't come."

Only then did a girl seem to say something.

Yang Mi leaned close to the phone and said, "Surname Tong, the Tong from Tong Xiangyu. She studies dance, has a great figure, and really looks beautiful."

Tong...

It was different from what he expected.

However,

Could it be that "Home is good"?

Speaking of which, he had met her ex-husband in Cannes.

Is she from the Central Academy of Drama?

No, was she originally an actor?

So everyone was the same age?

I don't know what she looked like in her early 20s.

Thinking carefully, it seems like in his impression she was always in her 30s.

However, since Yang Mi said she was a beauty, she must really be a big beauty at this time.

It's just... I don't know how beautiful she is.

I'm actually quite curious.

"Where are you going?"

Chen Nuo was thinking about things when he suddenly heard someone ask.

He looked up in surprise, only to see half a face exposed from the head of the bed, a pair of black-and-white eyes staring at him without blinking.

He looked down again and found that he didn't know when he had actually walked to the door.

Huh?

How could his feet move by themselves?

However, since someone finally showed their head, Chen Nuo didn't say much more.

He said quickly to the phone, "Talk later."

Then hung up and asked with a smile, "Awake?"

Liu Yifei's hair was messy, the light was dim, and the specific expression on her face couldn't be seen, only her voice was a bit curious, "Mm. Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Yang Mi called, asking me to go sing. I said I wouldn't go, but she insisted it was the last gathering before graduation, and I had to go, so I thought I'd go out and talk to her to avoid disturbing your rest, hehe. But it's good that you're awake, come, let's chat."

Liu Yifei said "Oh," and said, "Yang Mi is right. Today is your last class gathering. If you don't go, it will be very regrettable. You go, I'm fine, I'll just sleep for a while."

Chen Nuo walked closer and looked at the expression on Liu Yifei's face.

Only to see her face was pale, her eyes slightly swollen, like peaches, wearing that cartoon pajamas with Crayon Shin-chan that she often wore, a head of messy hair hanging on her shoulders, covering the big eyes of Crayon Shin-chan on her clothes.

She said she was fine, but Chen Nuo felt that no matter how he looked at it, it looked like something was wrong.

"You think I should go?"

Liu Yifei nodded seriously, "Mm."

"I also think I should go. It's indeed just like you said, it's the last chance, and in the future, we'll be scattered across the country and won't see each other again. But, do you know why I ran back as soon as I finished performing? It's all because of you. Yes, that's right, it's you, you caused me to almost not even have a complete graduation. It's all your responsibility."

Liu Yifei clearly didn't expect this person to climb up the pole so smoothly, without a hint of hesitation.

She let out an "Ah," and said, "How is it me, I, how am I, it's not like I..."

Chen Nuo interrupted righteously, "Indeed, the main problem isn't you. But if you hadn't taken those bullshit words from people on the internet to heart, would I have run home immediately after performing? Or are you saying that as a friend, I shouldn't care about you? Should I let you sit alone in the room and become an immortal? Your mother was almost worried to death, do you know how many calls she made to me? My phone is almost out of battery. You tell me, shouldn't you be responsible?"

Liu Yifei was stunned by his bombardment, her brows furrowed again and again.

Although she still looked a bit unconvinced in the end, she finally hummed, "Then what do you want me to be responsible for?"

Finally, Chen Nuo took Liu Yifei to attend the last gathering of their Beijing Film Academy 2005 acting class, and after getting in the car to go home, it was already three in the morning.

At this time, having come out of that space where she had been curled up for several days, and having played with her peers for a while,

Liu Yifei had clearly recovered some from her wilted state, and even had the mood to investigate some strange phenomena.

"Chen Nuo, what's going on? I feel Yang Mi is so cold to me, I asked her if she wanted to sing together, and she ignored me."

"Because she sings badly. You're her idol, she feels she'll be very embarrassed singing in front of you, of course she'll refuse. It's very normal, she's also a star, she also needs face."

"Really? She sings badly? Then why do you call her Chen Chen Geshen?"

"... She sings about the same as you, do you want me to call you Chen Chen Geshen too? Chen Chen Geshen Liu, how about that?"

"No, that sounds terrible. But, didn't you say Yang Mi she... then why didn't she talk to me at all?"

"If you saw Michael Jackson, would you talk to him? If he talked to you, you'd definitely be nervous to death, your mouth wouldn't even open, right? When she sees you, it's like you seeing Michael Jackson, understand? So it's especially normal."

"No way, she likes me that much?"

"Mm, she likes you super much... remember that if you meet her alone at an awards ceremony or somewhere in the future, it's better not to talk to her. Lest she be too nervous, understand?"

"Oh, okay then. I actually really wanted to chat with her. She acted in *Chinese Paladin 3*, I acted in *Chinese Paladin 1*, and both worked with Hu Ge, I wanted to hear about her filming, maybe we could really be friends."

Chen Nuo smiled, "Forget it, how can an idol and a fan be friends? Forget it, forget it."

Liu Yifei hummed, "Why can't we be friends? That's your prejudice. By the way, why did Zhang Xiaofei keep talking to me? Didn't you say she hates me?"

"Ah, yeah, she hates you..."

"Then why did she sit next to me the whole time and ask me so many questions?"

"Digging for your dirt, obviously. Look at what she asked you at the time, how does it feel to play the female lead at such a young age, what's the difference between Japanese idol dramas and Chinese ones, what about the lions of Sierra Leone..."

"It's not Sierra Leone, that's Senegal, no, it's Tanzania! What are you spouting? You've got me all confused."

"Hey, anyway, it's that meaning, all asking you some very shallow questions, clearly looking down on you, wanting to find gossip. Why didn't she ask you how to act? Right?"

Liu Yifei nodded deeply, "That's indeed the case."

"Uh..." Chen Nuo glanced at her, cleared his throat, and said, "However, if you meet this person alone in the future, you might as well chat more, enemies should be resolved rather than knotted, right? Be more tolerant toward her."

"Okay." After Liu Yifei nodded, she let out a small yawn.

Chen Nuo smiled, "Sleepy again? Didn't you sleep for so long before coming out? I couldn't even wake you up."

Liu Yifei curled her lips, her voice lowered, and said, "How could I sleep? Actually, I feel that everyone's eyes looking at me just now were a bit strange." Chen Nuo sighed, "How could that be, you overthought it."

But did she really overthink it?

Chen Nuo actually wasn't sure.

At least when he noticed the reactions of those people when he brought her into the KTV, he regretted bringing Liu Yifei to the gathering to relax.

Of course, everyone performed very normally afterward. However, exactly how much abnormality was mixed into those normalities, he really didn't know.

"Really, I didn't lie to you." Liu Yifei said very seriously, "Remember that time I told you on the phone? I'm very sensitive to other people's eyes. Because when I transferred to the United States when I was little, in my first school there, I was the only Chinese student."

"Many people looked at me in a way that made people very uncomfortable. After I studied there for a few years, I became especially sensitive to this aspect. Who likes me, who doesn't like me, I can feel it immediately."

Chen Nuo said "Oh," and if it were usual, he would definitely laugh at this inexplicable and confident woman.

But now he didn't have the mood.

"I've already decided, tomorrow I'll go home and live with my mom."

Liu Yifei's rambling tone was like talking to herself, somewhat incoherent, but she should have been thinking about it for a long time, otherwise she wouldn't have said so much all at once.

"Then, I feel, I just need to wait a while, and no one should scold me anymore."

"Actually, the two of us don't have anything shameful at all, right? And I'm not... right?"

"So, there's nothing, it should be fine after a while. I've actually encountered it before, it was like this, it's no big deal, they don't understand, I've thought it through, I don't want to pay attention to them."

Chen Nuo listened silently.

What Liu Yifei said was indeed the solution that Qi Yuntian, Li Jing, and those people in the company's public relations department had discussed these past few days.

They told him, and he also agreed with this handling.

He remembered clearly that just a few days later, on June 28th, a piece of heavy news would shock the whole world.

By then, let alone one Liu Yifei, even if 100 Liu Yifeis and his scandals were added together, they wouldn't be able to match 1% of the heat of that news.

By then, the news heat would naturally go down.

Finally, the ending of this matter was nothing more than Liu Yifei getting scolded, suffering some unwarranted disaster, her image being somewhat damaged, and being seen by many as a woman who threw herself at him.

That's all.

In this information age, everyone is forgetful; after a few months, who would remember what she did or what she was scolded for?

Isn't the best example Fan Bingbing?

Back then, she was scolded much worse than Liu Yifei is now, but it didn't stop her from becoming a Best Actress now.

These principles were not only clear to him, but Liu Yifei also seemed to understand.

Therefore, after finishing, Liu Yifei didn't talk about this matter, changed the topic, and asked, "Are you going to Xinjiang for a trip in a few days?"

Chen Nuo was thinking about other things, said "Mm" on his mouth, and said, "It's not a trip, it's actually still official business."

Liu Yifei said, "That girl named Hearing Tong Liya said she would be your tour guide when the time comes, why aren't you willing?"

"Do I need a tour guide in China? Are you kidding me? Don't I have a mouth?"

Liu Yifei laughed, "It's a pity for you, I think she looks very beautiful, especially with that ethnic minority feeling. Don't you want to get to know her?"

"Don't want to."

Chen Nuo waved his hand seriously, seemingly completely forgetting that when Liu Yifei went to the bathroom before, Hearing Tong Liya had come over with a blushing face and asked him for his phone number.

He didn't know what was going on, but every time he thought of Chen Sicheng he met in Cannes, he felt that leaving one was fine.

If he really encountered any situation while traveling in Xinjiang, having a local person to take care of things would be quite good. After all, Xinjiang is so big, what if he gets lost?

"What's a pity, I'm not the kind of person who can't move his legs when he sees a beauty. Look at me every time I see you, don't I run very fast? Although you don't look as good as her, you're still okay."

Liu Yifei laughed lightly.

Maybe she had grown up after experiencing these recent events.

If it were before,

Chen Nuo felt this woman would definitely have pounced on him to settle the score, or would have shouted his name loudly, asking if he wanted to be beaten or something.

She definitely wouldn't just laugh lightly like this,

Laughing like a snow lotus flower growing on a cliff, swaying lightly in the wind, as if if the wind were a little stronger, it would drift down.

Afterward, perhaps it would disappear in the wind, or perhaps it would be crushed into mud.

Who knows.

Chen Nuo suddenly couldn't figure it out, and felt a bit unhappy in his heart.

This matter was definitely someone playing tricks behind his back, and what he wanted was mostly this kind of result now.

Fuck.

Then why follow that path?

June 23, 2009, the day before the Film Academy graduation ceremony.

Ziyu Villa, Pu Garden.

Pu Garden or something, was a brand Chen Bicheng brought from Sichuan when Chen Nuo went to Italy to film *Twilight*. He said he went to find a very famous calligraphy master in Sichuan to write it.

Chen Nuo couldn't understand it before, and didn't hang it up.

But this morning, while discussing things with Qi Yun, he found a ladder and nailed it to the entrance of the courtyard.

While nailing, the two also discussed subsequent matters.

First, the investigation into the hand behind the scenes cannot stop.

Second, Chen Nuo had already made up his mind to solve this matter with a different line of thinking. Qi Yun listened silently and didn't refute.

Finally, it was to remind the other party, although the villa is big, don't let just anyone in in the future. After all, women and such, why bring them home?

Therefore, when the Pu Garden four-person public relations meeting was held, Qi Yun first made a serious self-criticism about this.

Believing that it was indeed his lack of consideration, he shouldn't have used President Chen's big villa to house company artists, which caused such a huge disturbance these past few days.

Actually, at this time, Liu Xiaoli didn't hear a single word of what Qi Yun was saying.

Her heart had been thinking about the conversation that happened when Liu Yifei suddenly walked into her room early this morning.

How many years?

It should have been after Japan in 2006 that Liu Xiaoli had never seen Liu Yifei cry like that again.

When she saw Liu Yifei crying like a tearful person while talking, Liu Xiaoli's mood couldn't be described in words.

Feelings of self-blame and sadness were like waves, one after another, almost crushing her soul.

At that moment, she really wanted to tell the whole truth.

But in the end, she still didn't say anything, hugging Liu Yifei and crying bitterly together.

After crying for a while, Liu Xiaoli regained her spirits, wiped the tears from Liu Yifei's face with teary eyes, and was about to cheer up and comfort the other party a few words.

However, looking at Liu Yifei's white-as-porcelain face, Liu Xiaoli couldn't help but choke up again, and after a long time, she finally pieced together a complete sentence.

"Go, Mom... Mom will take you home. Go, Xixi, we, we are leaving now."

Next, Liu Yifei went back to her room to pack, and she was also organizing her luggage.

But she received a call from Qi Yun, asking her and Liu Yifei to go to the garden for a meeting to discuss the subsequent public relations matters.

At that time, Liu Xiaoli really wanted to say no need.

What else to discuss?

Li Jing had already called to say that Huanxin Company's decision was to let Liu Yifei avoid the limelight and disappear from the public eye for a period of time.

However, Liu Xiaoli felt, in this way, isn't it an admission?

In this way, Liu Yifei's reputation would inevitably have an indelible stain from now on.

In China, such a stain would not only make a female artist's commercial value plummet but might also affect her career and future.

She also raised objections on the phone at the time.

However, Li Jing told her that this was the company's final decision. Making Liu Xiaoli so angry she hung up the phone directly.

"On this matter, the company and I personally have an inescapable responsibility... The company's final decision is that we will issue a statement to the outside world in the near future..."

Liu Xiaoli listened intermittently to Qi Yun's words, unable to help but sigh silently in her heart.

Who to blame?

Say a thousand words, ten thousand words, it actually doesn't blame Qi Yun at all; in

Forget it. Whether it's Chen Nuo or Qi Yuntian, the solution they've come up with now isn't wrong.

In truth, this is all trouble she stirred up herself; it was she, as a mother, who harmed Liu Yifei.

She can't blame anyone else.

Indeed, with such a bright future ahead, having won two Best Actor awards and an Oscar at such a young age, and with a reputation in the country that is currently soaring, how could he possibly make his relationship public at a time like this?

The resulting impact on the Huanxin Company might be even greater than ten Liu Yifeis combined.

Besides, he has other women. So, forget it. For the sake of the Best Actress, let it be.

In any case, it's always the women who suffer in these situations.

Liu Yifei is still young. When she goes back, she must teach her to keep her eyes open in the future. Don't be so naive again, don't trust men so easily, and don't think...

Just as Liu Xiaoli was thinking about how to lecture Liu Yifei after returning home, she suddenly heard Qi Yuntian say:

"In this statement, we will clarify that Liu Yifei and Chen Nuo are actually in a relationship. Those photos, rumors, and the like are just normal interactions between a boyfriend and girlfriend. We want the outside world to stop spreading these falsehoods."

What the hell?

Liu Xiaoli looked up abruptly.

(End of chapter)