Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 68 A Complete Solution

Lin An was woken up by the ringing of the telephone early in the morning.

The Samsung A-288 flip phone buzzed, and the blue light from its screen flickered in the dim room.

He took out his phone and glanced at the caller ID—Ji Tao.

"Feed?"

Something's happened.

Ji Tao's voice was inexplicably urgent.

Lin An's sleepiness vanished almost instantly.

He sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard, his voice steady:

"explain."

"The equipment rental company called and said that some of the equipment they rented to us needs to be moved."

Lin An frowned: "We signed a contract."

"It's no use; the other party has a million ways to avoid legal compensation."

This damn era… Lin An cursed under his breath, his voice turning cold:

"There has to be a reason, right?"

Ji Tao on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then said in a hoarse voice:

"The equipment was requisitioned by Feng Xiaogang's film crew for 'Big Shot'."

Feng Xiaogang... Lin An's forehead vein throbbed.

Ji Tao continued:

"Sun Haibo said that if we are willing to wait, the equipment will be available in three months and we can use it first, with a 50% discount on the rental fee."

It sounds like a sincere effort, but how long is the broadcast cycle of a TV series?

Three months later, the daylilies were all cold.

Thinking of this, Ji Tao started cursing:

"How shameless! They actually resorted to such despicable means."

Lin An nodded in agreement.

He had anticipated Ye Daying's, or rather the Beijing entertainment circle's, retaliation, but he never expected the methods to be so crude.

This practice of completely trampling on the rules and ignoring the law is truly infuriating.

After venting his anger, Ji Tao calmed down again.

"I'll contact other production companies to see if we can urgently allocate a batch of equipment. Do you... have any other channels? I know you have connections."

"Many connections..." Lin An's lips twitched slightly, and he forced a smile as he said:

"I'll give it a try."

After hanging up the phone, the room became quiet.

Lin An sat on the bed, his fingers unconsciously stroking the keypad of his phone.

Before he could come up with a solution, his phone vibrated again.

The screen displays: Father of Extra gum.

Lin An paused for a moment, then pressed the answer button.

"Teacher Zhang Hua."

"woke up?"

Zhang Hua's voice came through the receiver, as always, calm and unreadable.

"There's been a problem with the equipment," Lin An said.

"really."

The soft clinking of a cup lid came from the other end of the phone; Zhang Hua was clearly drinking his health-preserving tea.

"I have some students from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles who have signed contracts with me, and they will most likely choose from your film crew."

"...When?" Lin An didn't ask what the school's attitude was; Zhang Hua's phone call had already explained a lot.

"It should be in the next day or two."

Zhang Hua paused for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"Go to Shanghai. With the reputation and ratings of your work, there are plenty of companies there willing to take you on, and Shanghai TV won't make things difficult for you."

However, don't even think about competing with "Internet Addicts' Diary". Just rearranging the set and getting the crew together will take at least one or two months.

By then, the Spring Festival will have long passed, and the issue of script credits will only remain a mess.

Lin An was also aware of these things. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and said:

"That's all we can do."

Zhang Hua was surprised that he agreed so readily. While relieved, he was also somewhat puzzled:

"Are you willing to accept this? In my memory, you're not someone who's easy to talk to."

"Where did I not speak properly..." Lin An silently protested, then softly explained:

"I orchestrated this whole thing because I was annoyed at being treated like a fool. Now that the series is airing smoothly, and they've used resources of this caliber to suppress me, it's already proven my worth. So what's there for me to complain about?"

The main reason is that he has already become famous with "iPartment", and his goal has been achieved, so there is no need to continue to make trouble.

Zhang Hua on the other end of the phone was stunned.

He felt he might really be getting old, as he couldn't keep up with the thought processes of today's young people at all.

"Okay, as long as you can take it easy."

Zhang Hua remarked, "To get Ye Daying to mobilize such resources, you've definitely made your mark on film history."

Lin An twitched the corner of his mouth, about to say something, when his phone vibrated again.

He took the phone away from his ear, and a new message popped up on the screen. The sender was Gao Yuanyuan.

"Are you up? Would it be convenient for us to meet alone?"

Lin An was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Hua's voice continued on the receiver, rambling on about how he was ostracized back then, how he endured humiliation and hardship, and how he rose again when others thought he had collapsed...

"Okay, then that's settled."

Lin An replied absentmindedly, his finger already pressing the hang-up button.

"You little brat..."

Zhang Hua's angry and shocked voice was cut off by the call ending notification tone.

The room fell silent again.

Lin An looked down at his phone screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard for a moment, before finally placing the phone face down on the bedside table and getting out of bed.

After washing up, he changed into a hoodie and put on a cotton coat. Just as he was about to bend down to tie his shoelaces, a voice came from above.

"What happened again?"

On the second bunk bed, Doraemon, who had woken up sometime earlier, was clinging to the bed railing, looking down at Lin An with his eyes fixed on him.

"Is it the person who stole your script back then?"

Lin An did not answer and walked out of the room on his own.

Just as he gripped the handle, Doraemon's voice rang out behind him again:

"Whatever you want to do this time, take me with you."

Lin An paused for two seconds, opened the door, and walked out.

……

……

The wheels rolled over the dirt road, raising a trail of yellow dust.

The taxi's heater wasn't working properly, so Lin An pulled his hoodie over his head, put his hands in his pockets, and rubbed the balance needle.

"At that intersection ahead," Lin An suddenly said.

The driver responded, turned on the right turn signal, and pulled over to the side of the road.

Lin An paid the fare, opened the door, and got out of the car.

A cold wind rushed into his collar, and he shrank his neck. He looked around and quickly found a small coffee shop behind a row of dead trees.

Lin An didn't see the name of the coffee shop clearly, nor did it matter.

As I pushed open the door, a brass bell rang, and the warm, bitter aroma of coffee wafted towards me.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, there weren't many people in the store.

Gao Yuanyuan sat in a corner by the window.

She wore a dark green, thick coat today, with the collar turned up, hiding half of her face inside.

Lin An walked over, pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down, only to find that her eyes were bloodshot and her complexion was frighteningly bad.

"What's wrong with you?" Lin An couldn't help but ask.

Now that the production crew is on the verge of disbanding, he's the one who should be crying, right?

Gao Yuanyuan didn't speak, staring blankly at the withered locust tree outside the window.

Lin An didn't rush him. He waved to the waiter, spent 15 yuan, and ordered an Americano.

While waiting for his coffee, he took out the balance pointer from his pocket and glanced at it.

The pointer remained firmly stuck on the black end, indicating that the misfortune was not over.

He put the things back, and when he looked up again, he found that Gao Yuanyuan had turned her head and was staring straight at him.

"My brother came to see me last night," she said in a hoarse voice.

Lin An blinked: "Your brother?"

Gao Yuanyuan lowered her eyelashes, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of the glass:

"He said there was a play starring Zhang Guoli, with Feng Xiaogang involved, adapted from Lao She's 'My Life,' and he wanted me to act in it."

She paused for a moment, then gave a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of her mouth:

"They say this is a rare opportunity, and if you miss it, it'll be gone forever."

Lin An leaned back in his chair, his gaze calm:

What are you thinking?

Gao Yuanyuan did not answer immediately.

The waiter brought over an Americano and placed it in front of Lin An. The coffee sloshed in the cup, spilling a few drops onto the tray.

She waited until the waiter's footsteps faded into the distance before she spoke:

"I don't want to go."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange certainty.

Lin An looked at her.

She kept her head down, and the collar of her dark green coat was turned up, making her look rather thin.

He sighed and said, "Let's go anyway."

Gao Yuanyuan was stunned, looked up, and stared at him in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Those beautiful eyes were filled with confusion and disappointment.

Lin An looked away, picked up his Americano, took a sip, and recounted the events of that morning.

Gao Yuanyuan listened quietly, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Her expression changed from confusion to seriousness, and finally to anger.

"Now that the Beijing elites have made their move, there's no reason for them to stop."

Lin An put down his coffee cup and looked out the window at the bare locust tree:

"If it's not you, it will be someone else; even without an invitation, it will be something else."

He paused, his voice lowering slightly:

"An actress's prime years are only a few years. It's not worth jeopardizing her career for a little bit of dignity."

Gao Yuanyuan gripped the cup tightly, her knuckles turning white:

Do you think I care about these things?

Lin An turned to her and said:

"You don't care, but I do."

A flicker of reminiscence crossed his eyes, and his voice grew somber:

"I don't want to experience that feeling of dragging down those around me because of my own mistakes again."

Gao Yuanyuan wasn't stupid; she quickly realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise:

"You...have implicated your family?"

Lin An did not answer, and quietly drank his coffee.

The coffee shop was quiet for a few seconds.

Gao Yuanyuan lowered her head, looking at the latte in her cup that had gone cold, and said softly:

"It sounds like you lost a lot because of that mistake."

Lin An tugged at the corner of his mouth, then turned to look out the window again, his eyes filled with sorrow and self-mockery.

"I've lost everything."

……

……

The coffee shop fell into a deathly silence.

The young man's profile was reflected in the misty glass, his gaze fixed on something outside the window.

Gao Yuanyuan's lips parted slightly, her face filled with disbelief.

Losing everything... What kind of thing could make someone use the word "everything"?

What kind of thing could make the light in his eyes go out completely when he talks about it?

she does not know.

But then she suddenly understood something.

I understand why he never discusses business with his family.

I understand why he single-handedly carried the entire crew.

I understand why he immediately chose to give up after being suppressed by Ye Daying on set.

He is not carefree.

He's used to it.

I'm used to bearing everything alone, used to taking all the blame upon myself, and used to picking up the pieces one by one after losing something.

Lin An's gaze had been turned away from the window at some point.

Seeing Gao Yuanyuan's dejected expression, he assumed she was still blaming herself and said:

"There's no need for that. You're just leaving the group, it's not like you're dying."

He smiled and said, "I'll arrange for your character to be temporarily offline. Once you're done with that, 'iPartment' will welcome you back anytime."

Gao Yuanyuan opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something.

"Besides..."

Lin An's lips curled up slightly: "Shanghai TV has been trying to send someone to the crew. If I go there this time, I'll inevitably be nagged and threatened. With you temporarily offline, it'll be easier for me to operate."

He blinked, a smug look on his face, as if to say:

See, haven't I turned misfortune into a blessing?

Gao Yuanyuan's lips trembled slightly, countless words stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered.

Finally, she burst out laughing.

"How can you comfort someone like that?"

She raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, her voice a mix of crying and laughing.

Lin An did not respond.

After a long while, Gao Yuanyuan spoke again, her voice much calmer:

"Then...when do I leave?"

Lin An thought for a moment: "No rush, wait until I finish collecting the wires before you leave. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to the film crew."

Gao Yuanyuan nodded and reminded her:

"My brother mentioned you yesterday. He was analyzing what Tan Lin might have filmed."

Lin An asked, puzzled, "What is it?"

Gao Yuanyuan blushed and mumbled:

"It's probably a group photo or something."

Lin An understood and waved his hand, saying, "A lie can't become the truth, it's alright."

The entire crew, from top to bottom, saw just how busy he was.

These days, mainland entertainment reporters still have some integrity. Unless there are solid evidence of holding hands in photos or genuine testimonies, they won't report things recklessly.

One or two group photos are at most considered gossip or interesting anecdotes.

Gao Yuanyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he didn't care.

She wasn't worried about what the media would say, but she was afraid that Lin An's family would misunderstand.

The two chatted idly for a while, as if nothing had happened.

Until Gao Yuanyuan's phone rang.

She glanced down at the screen, her expression changed slightly, and she got up and walked to the corner to answer the call.

Lin An pricked up his ears to gossip, but only caught a few meaningless words like "um," "okay," and "I'll get back right away."

Gao Yuanyuan hung up the phone and walked back, her face looking even worse than when she arrived.

"I have to go."

She picked up her bag, paused, looked at Lin An as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded and turned to walk towards the door.

The door closed, and a cold draft blew in through the crack, causing the tissues on the table to flutter slightly.

Lin An withdrew his gaze and took out the balance pointer from his pocket.

The pointer remained firmly fixed on the black end, without moving an inch.

His brows gradually furrowed.

Equipment was moved, actors were poached, and students were contacted: three things happened, and the pointer showed no sign of bouncing back.

This means the misfortune is not over yet.

What exactly is Ye Daying up to behind the scenes?

Lin An put the pointer back in his pocket and unconsciously tapped his fingers twice on the table.

Just then, the coffee shop door was pushed open again.

The force was rapid, creating a strong gust of wind.

Doraemon stood at the door, his round body wrapped in an obviously ill-fitting dark blue coat, panting as if he had run all the way.

Lin An stared in disbelief and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Doraemon was startled and subconsciously looked away.

It doesn't sound good to talk about being followed.

But he quickly remembered his business, rushed to the table, braced himself on the edge, and said urgently:

Never mind that! I have something urgent to tell you!

Lin An asked speechlessly, "What is it?"

Is the dorayaki making machine broken?

Doraemon was about to speak, but he swallowed his words back.

Lin An frowned slightly: "What's wrong?"

Doraemon pondered for a while before recounting what had happened.

As he listened, Lin An's smile gradually faded, and his eyes turned sinister.

……

……

Dusk, at Dengshikou.

In front of a small clinic.

Neighbors whispered among themselves, some shaking their heads and sighing, some filled with righteous indignation, and most looking bewildered.

The clinic's facade is in a terrible state.

The roller shutter door was pried open, the door frame hung crookedly, and broken glass was scattered all over the floor, creaking underfoot.

Blood pressure monitors, stethoscopes, medicine bottles, medical records... were scattered on the steps, some of them even stepped on.

The most glaring thing is that signboard.

Originally, it was white with green lettering, clean and tidy. Now, someone has splashed red paint on it, and it's flowing down the strokes, like something is bleeding.

Lin Yuan squatted on the ground, with several towels spread out on the steps in front of him. He was picking up the scattered medicine bottles one by one, wiping them clean with the towels, and then putting them into the cardboard box.

Yuan Li stood inside the clinic, her phone pressed to her ear. The sound came through the door frame, sharp, urgent, and intermittent.

Lin Yi stood on the street corner, holding the wailing Lin Meng, watching everything with a solemn expression.

Across the alley, under a locust tree that had withered halfway.

Lin stood there quietly.

He stared at it for a long time.

It was long enough for the sunset to turn from orange-red to dark purple, for the neighbors to gradually disperse, and for Yuan Li's voice to change from sharp to hoarse.

He took out his phone and dialed Zhang Hua's number.

After the call connected, Lin An said calmly:

"I'm not going to Shanghai."

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

Zhang Hua's voice turned serious: "Why?"

Looking at the shattered glass on the ground and the hunched back, Lin An calmly said:

"I'll resolve this matter here."

He paused for a moment, then said, word by word:

"A complete solution."