Taming The Tiger

8. Making Enemies

"Again instant noodles? No meat?" Yu Lan snorted as he saw the small pot on the table, "didn't they give you any money?"

Yu Hua pointed at the black shirt he was ironing, "I had to buy this and some vegetables before using the rest for father's debt." After the first meeting and script reading, he was officially a cast member; and as a result, he was given a small amount of money which was already gone.

"A shirt? Really?" Yu Lan folded his arms and rolled his eyes with disbelief.

Yu Hua huffed, slightly pissed off, "today I have to attend the cocktail party to celebrate the drama's start, so yes, I had to buy a decent shirt for the party."

"Whatever," Yu Lan shrugged and slumped in front of the table, his back facing his brother.

Yu Hua decided to ignore him and focused on his preparation again. After he finished ironing, he wore the shirt and took the hanging bag off the nail. Indeed, hanging a bag with clothes on the wall sounded weird, but there was a good reason why Yu Hua did it. With a sigh, the new actor pulled out the folded clothes carefully before putting them on. Although he wanted to spare the clothes Hu Jing Yao bought for him, he had to wear the pants, shoes and the coat as he couldn't afford to buy them.

Hoping no one would notice the cheapness of his black shirt, Yu Hua looked at himself in the broken mirror for a while, then he remembered the lotion he took from Hu Jing Yao's hotel suit. As he had to go by bus, at least his face wouldn't look so dry or chapped if he applied some lotion.

"How do I look?" he asked his brother when he was ready to go.

"Like someone else," Yu Lan said wryly after sparing him half a glance.

"Thank you, a supportive family is always the best!" Yu Hua said coldly as he wore his boots, "keep an eye on father, don't let him go out," he added and slammed the door.

Floundering through the snow, Yu Hua went to the bus stop and hopped in the first bus going towards the centre. There, he changed the bus and went to the party place.

He took a shaky breath, plastered a smile on his face and entered the lounge, hoping Hu Jing Yao wouldn't be there.

"You are late," a voice behind him declared and Yu Hua almost jumped out of his skin.

"Mr. Hu, good evening," the newcomer said in between his teeth, cursing his luck inwardly.

With a smirk, Hu Jing Yao leaned forward and sniffed the shorter man like a hound dog, "did you get the beauty kit from the hotel? Hmm, from my suit to be exact?"

Getting caught red-handed, Yu Hua's whole body got stiff and words left his mind while a blush from embarrassment found its way to his cheeks.

The CEO chuckled and patted Yu Hua's shoulder before walking away without saying anything further. He wasn't mad or anything, it was just a worthless kit and he would give Yu Hua as much as he wanted as the hotel was replacing the empty ones everyday.

"Mr. Hu, have a drink," director Lin immediately handed Hu Jing Yao a glass of champagne and took a step back to provide enough space for the CEO to join their circle around the cocktail table.

"Having fun?" Hu Jing Yao asked as if he cared while waiting for Yu Hua to join them.

"Very much so!" Na Na, the main actress, said with an exaggerated manner and Dan Li, the main actor, nodded whole-heartedly.

"Good," the CEO nodded, wondering why Yu Hua still didn't appear. Then a crash was heard and he got his answer.

Turning around, he saw Sun Ming apologising to Yu Hua, who was brushing his coat and shirt with his hands. Being aware of Sun Ming's anger for losing the role, Hu Jing Yao rushed towards the duo with director Lin on his tail.

"What happened?" Hu Jing Yao asked coldly, his eyes on Yu Hua's wet shirt.

"Mr. Hu, I accidentally crashed into him and my champagne ended up on his shirt. I am so sorry," the petite man said with an apologetic look and director Lin rubbed his back to comfort him.

Such a bad actor, Hu Jing Yao clicked his tongue with irritant and grabbed some tissues from the bar table and handed them to Yu Hua.

"What to do? Maybe you should leave for today," Sun Ming said, revealing his initial intention.

Yu Hua looked at Sun Ming with daggers in his eyes. Earlier the man blocked his way and said he stole the role from him, then he poured the champagne on him, but now he was acting all innocent. It might portray him as a rogue, but Yu Hua had no intention to let the sinister man win, no matter how sad he was for his ruined clothes.

"No, I won't leave, it is just champagne," he said firmly, looking down at Sun Ming.

"But-" Sun Ming started; however, Hu Jing Yao cut his words.

"He is the second male lead, it wouldn't be nice if he left because of a small accident," the CEO said, boring holes in Sun Ming's face, and led Yu Hua towards the toilet.

"Already making enemies, ha?" Hu Jing Yao teased the other as he leaned on the cold tiles, watching Yu Hua wiping his clothes.

Yu Hua halted and looked at the CEO through the mirror, "so you know it was intentional?"

Hu Jing Yao nodded with a 'duh' expression.

Yu Hua also nodded thoughtfully before asking "he said I stole his role, is it true?"

The CEO folded his arms, "what if it is true? Will you quit the drama?"

The new actor sighed and leaned on the sink, his head drooping. He remained silent for a second, then he said "I can't."

Hu Jing Yao chuckled silently, "don't worry too much, in this industry, everything is about connections. He got the role because he sleeps with the director, not because he was a fit."

Yu Hua turned around swiftly and looked at the CEO with wide open eyes, "really?"

"You look very cunning, but you are really naive," he said with pity, "of course it is true, you read the script, do you think he is a good choice for the character?"

Yu Hua just shrugged as he wouldn't want to comment on something he wasn't an expert on.

"We will go to my hotel tonight, so don't leave until I say so," the CEO just blurted out from nowhere and left the toilet, leaving the shocked man behind.

Now, I am screwed for sure...