Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 74 Dead End

A blazing fire shot into the sky.

Longgang Road was enveloped in orange-red flames, and half of the night sky in Haidian District was tinged with a dark red.

The sirens of fire trucks came from all directions.

Following closely behind were the major newspapers.

The Beijing Evening News, Beijing Entertainment News, Star Weekly... one after another, they were all crammed together on the dirt road.

Outside the cordon, the crowd grew larger and larger.

Wrapped in pajamas, wearing military overcoats, shuffling in cotton slippers... more and more residents were startled by the fire and emerged from the alley in twos and threes, forming a circle outside the cordon and craning their necks to look at the fire.

Several daring reporters attempted to slip through the police cordon amidst the chaos.

After the firefighters discovered it, they sternly reprimanded him:

"Are you out of your mind?! Entry is strictly prohibited inside the cordon!"

After he finished speaking, he gave a look to the police officer next to him.

The police officer understood immediately and gave a stern warning:

"Anyone who trespasses again will be treated as obstructing official business and detained!"

The remaining reporters looked at each other, then hesitated and pulled back.

Forcing their way in was out of the question, but they were unwilling to leave empty-handed.

The seasoned veterans exchanged glances, and the next second, their recorders, microphones, and cameras all turned towards the onlookers outside the police cordon.

"Sir, do you live around here? When did this fire start?"

"Big sister, what did you see? Did anyone run out from inside?"

"Master, do you know where this place is?"

The flashes of light crackled and popped, illuminating the pale, sleepy faces wrapped in pajamas.

The old man who was stopped looked bewildered and knew nothing when asked. He was quickly pushed aside by the next reporter.

The older woman in the floral-patterned cotton-padded jacket was quite talkative.

"This looks like a filming location. There were so many cars coming here yesterday morning, it was so lively."

"Yes, yes, I think it's called something like 'Love Apartment.' There's been a lot of news about it in the newspapers lately, and it's all over the internet, talking about cultural invasion," the middle-aged man next to him chimed in.

The older woman clicked her tongue, giving me a look that said, "I already know the truth."

"This is offending a big shot. I wonder who it was that actually set the fire."

"Huh?" The old man was terrified. "Did someone set this on fire?"

The older woman rolled her eyes. "Sir, there's nothing here in the middle of nowhere. If someone didn't start the fire, how could it have burned so quickly?"

She looked around and whispered, "My daughter has been following this show and told me that it was sabotaged. Halfway through filming, the actors and equipment were all stolen."

The old man couldn't understand at all, but the middle-aged man next to him became curious:

"Robbed? Who robbed it?"

The older woman shook her head. "How would I know? It's just those big companies, you know. Sigh, these kinds of things happen everywhere these days."

The middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully.

Several reporters watched as these people started chatting amongst themselves.

All the media personnel broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a chill run straight to the top of their heads.

……

……

When Ye Daying parked his car downstairs at Ying's Film and Television Building, it was still dark.

He didn't sleep well last night.

Or rather, he hasn't had a good night's sleep since a certain kid's show became a hit.

Ye Daying pushed open the driver's side door, adjusted the collar of her coat, and strode into the building.

The receptionist at Ying's Media had just started work and was drinking soy milk from a cup.

When she saw Ye Daying push the door open and come in, she choked and almost spilled soy milk on the keyboard.

"Ye, Ye Dao".

The receptionist hurriedly put down the cup, grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands, and avoided eye contact with him.

Ye Daying frowned, said nothing, and continued walking inside.

As I passed by the conference room door, Lü Xiaopin happened to push the door open and come out.

The two met face to face.

When Lü Xiaopin saw him, she stopped abruptly, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she swallowed it back.

That look in her eyes was exactly the same as the receptionist's.

He dodged, hesitated to speak, and there was something else mixed in that was hard to explain.

Ye Daying felt a surge of irritation.

"What do you want? Just say what you have to say!"

Lu Xiaopin was startled and almost dropped the notebook she was holding.

He subconsciously took a half step back, about to speak, when Yingda came out of the office and said to Ye Daying:

"Come to my office."

Lu Xiaopin felt as if he had been granted a pardon, stepped aside to make way for him, and walked away quickly with his head down.

As Ye Daying watched Lü Xiaopin's retreating figure, the nameless anger intensified.

He snorted heavily and followed Yingda into the office.

Before the door was even fully closed, Ye Daying couldn't contain his anger and demanded an explanation in a stern voice:

"What are your people doing?"

Yingda sat behind his desk, a cigarette between his fingers.

He didn't get up to exchange pleasantries as usual, but simply raised his eyelids and glanced at Ye Daying.

His gaze was incredibly complex, as if he were looking at a huge problem.

"Did Tan Lin call you?" Yingda asked.

"no."

Ye Daying frowned and asked, "Why would he call me for no reason?"

Yingda didn't answer, leaning back in his chair, his tone revealing no emotion.

"Try calling him."

Ye Daying's face darkened.

He didn't understand what was going on today. From the moment he entered, the receptionist's eyes were strange, and Lu Xiaopin behind him looked like he wanted to punch someone. Now even Yingda was putting on airs here!

Are they all possessed by evil spirits?

"Just fucking say what you have to say!"

Ye Daying's voice turned cold, and he said, word by word, "Stop beating around the bush."

Yingda acted as if he hadn't heard him, and simply repeated, "You make the call first."

boom!

Ye Daying slammed his hand on the desk, making the pen holder wobble twice.

"What are you fighting for!"

He roared, veins bulging on his forehead:

"Stop playing games with me! What's going on?!"

Yingda remained unperturbed and continued, "You'll find out once you try."

Ye Daying's chest heaved violently a few times.

He stared intently at Yingda's face and said through gritted teeth:

"Fine! I'll see what you're up to."

He took out his phone, flipped it open, found Tan Lin's number in his contacts, and pressed the call button forcefully.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

Then, a standard female voice came out, devoid of any emotion:

The number you dialed is currently switched off.

Ye Daying paused for a moment.

He glanced down at his phone screen to make sure he hadn't dialed the wrong number, then put it back to his ear.

The number you dialed is currently switched off.

……

"It's turned off, right?" Yingda's voice came from the other end.

Ye Daying opened his mouth, but something seemed to be blocking his throat, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

Yingda glanced at him, turned around, and picked up a briefing from his desk.

"See for yourself."

Ye Daying dared not hesitate any longer, grabbed the newspaper, and looked down at it.

With just one glance, his pupils contracted sharply.

It was a bold, black title that spanned three entire columns:

"Fire breaks out on the set of 'iPartment' late at night!"

Below the title is a photo that takes up most of the page.

The photo shows the ruins of an abandoned factory on Longgang Road, with charred steel frames exposed, looking particularly gruesome.

Ye Daying felt a "buzz" in his mind, as if something had exploded, and his breathing suddenly became heavy.

He glared at Yingda and said sternly:

"I didn't do it!"

Yingda lowered his eyes slightly and said calmly:

"It's no use telling me that."

Ye Daying said with a gloomy face:

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't you understand?"

Yingda couldn't help but glare and say, "The situation is out of control! A fire like this will be reported by all the media, and it's only a matter of time before the feud between you and Lin An is fully exposed!"

He said earnestly, "Old Ye, there are few people in this world who care about the truth, especially those hot-blooded young students."

No matter how much Ye Daying and Lin An argued before, it was ultimately an internal matter of the film and television industry, and outsiders weren't particularly sensitive to it. But now everything is different... Yingda said with a serious expression:

"So many people were invited to Lin An's filming launch ceremony—students, media, and his neighbors... What do you think their reaction will be? What will they do? What will they say to those around them?"

Ye Daying's body trembled slightly, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"...There's one more thing you need to know."

Yingda glanced at the dark clouds outside the window, his feelings a mix of emotions, and said:

"This morning, a lot of news about the fire appeared online, and your name appeared on various websites and forums."

He withdrew his gaze, looked at Ye Daying, and said, word by word:

"I think you know very well what you did before. People can make connections between things."

Yingda pursed his lips and remained silent.

The room fell into a deathly silence.