Chapter 44 – Diary
Qiao Huaiyao suddenly stopped and repeatedly stared at that line of small text. In his memory, he had never put Aunt Meng’s contact information on the blacklist. He touched the string of numbers, which led to the blacklist, and inside, there was only Aunt Meng’s contact information.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment, then opened the chat app. He had been friends with Aunt Meng before. But now, this friend was also gone. They were also in the blacklist. Aunt Meng couldn’t contact him through any means except for himself, and there was only one other person who could touch his phone…
Qiao Huaiyao slowly raised his gaze towards the kitchen.
But why would his brother block Aunt Meng’s contact information?
Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t understand. He rarely contacted Aunt Meng because it might add to her workload due to her job. So most of the time, Aunt Meng would contact him when she had free time, sometimes not even once in six months. He had never noticed that his contact information had been blacklisted. He tightened his grip on the juice, and blocking Aunt Meng’s contact seemed like an intentional act to avoid her. Why?
Qiao Huaiyao’s lips curled slightly as he couldn’t help but think back to his past life. In his previous life, he was focused on his studies and spent most of his time in the laboratory. It was isolated from the world, and he rarely checked his phone. Occasionally, in his free time, he tried to subtly inquire about Bai Jinyan’s situation from Aunt Meng. Entertainment news was often filled with sensational content, and Qiao Huaiyao didn’t trust it.
But Aunt Meng’s responses had always been, “He’s doing well,” “His heart is fine,” “He’s reading a new script,” and so on, as if reporting on Bai Jinyan’s work. At the time, he didn’t think much of it, maybe just knowing that Bai Jinyan hadn’t thought of contacting him, he felt a little disappointed.
But now, with this contact information lying in the blacklist, was Bai Jinyan suddenly distancing himself from him and having something to do with Aunt Meng?
Qiao Huaiyao furrowed his brow, feeling that something might not align with what he knew.
Aunt Meng’s behavior at the funeral in his past life had also been strange.
Even if he and Bai Jinyan were close, he was still an outsider in such matters. He had only helped at the time because he thought Aunt Meng was too distressed and overwhelmed by the situation, which required his assistance. Now, thinking back, all these things seemed peculiar.
“Why do you look so troubled?” Bai Jinyan came out to see Qiao Huaiyao’s worried expression. “Is something bothering you?”
“It’s nothing,” Qiao Huaiyao replied softly, quickly swiping the phone screen with his fingertips to exit the blacklist interface. He didn’t bring up the blacklist issue with Bai Jinyan.
Qiao Huaiyao casually said, “Maybe I woke up too early this morning and I’m a bit tired.” He put down his phone and asked, “Brother, is today the last day of filming?”
“Yeah,” Bai Jinyan said, even though they hadn’t received a text message from Zhao Jiamo yet. But when they met him in the kitchen earlier, he had mentioned that today was the last day.
“The production team will review today’s footage tonight. If there are any issues, they’ll schedule additional shoots with the guests tomorrow. If not, this season’s filming will be completed.”
Bai Jinyan added, “If everything goes smoothly, we can leave tomorrow, and I’ll accompany you back to school.”
“We still have a few days of vacation,” Qiao Huaiyao thought, wanting to confirm something. “I might not go back to school.”
Qiao Huaiyao took a sip of juice and asked, “Brother, where are you going? I want to visit home.”
“I’m going to attend the Golden Movie Awards,” Bai Jinyan said. “It’s a prestigious award in the industry, held every two years, and it’s only for films, including awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting roles, among others. It’s decided through a combination of judging panels and online voting. I might ask the director if we can leave tomorrow.”
Qiao Huaiyao composed a message to the director. After a while, he received a reply from Zhao Jiamo: [Tomorrow? Jizhen and the others have already booked their flights for today. Some guests have a late dinner, so the group shot is delayed until 5 pm. If everything goes smoothly, we can finish recording the final scene tonight. The awards ceremony tomorrow night, can you make it in time?]
Qiao Huaiyao was surprised. [Didn’t we need to wait for the review of the footage before leaving?]
Zhao Jiamo replied, [Yes, but some of the guests have other commitments, so we’re allowing them to leave early. If there are any issues, we can call them back for reshoots. Even if the show has officially started airing, we can still reshoot the final episode if necessary.]
“Brother,” Qiao Huaiyao handed the phone to Bai Jinyan, “let’s leave tonight too.”
Bai Jinyan wasn’t in a hurry, but since Qiao Huaiyao suggested leaving early, he agreed, “I’ll have Lu arrange the tickets.”
“Don’t trouble Lu. I’ll do it,” Qiao Huaiyao said, scrolling through today’s flight options and estimating the time it would take to get from the rural lodge to the airport. After considering various options, he chose the earliest flight that fit their schedule. Just as he placed the order, he heard a light chuckle next to him.
“Why the rush?” Bai Jinyan smiled and asked.
Qiao Huaiyao cleared his throat and casually replied, “After all, we only have a few days left of vacation.”
“Right,” Bai Jinyan said, taking the juice from him. “I’ll go rest for a bit. Zhao Jiamo will notify us when it’s time to shoot.”
Qiao Huaiyao was about to say that he wasn’t tired, but he remembered that he had previously used tiredness as an excuse. So, he reluctantly agreed. However, lying in bed, he couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was filled with thoughts about his brother and Aunt Meng, making it even harder to sleep.
With nothing else to do, Qiao Huaiyao decided to start packing his luggage. After he returned to his room, Bai Jinyan left the guesthouse with his phone. The sound of running water from the faucet masked most of his conversation as he made a call.
Bai Jinyan’s voice was cold as he said, “Don’t ever contact Huaiyao again.”
On the other end of the phone, Meng Zeng chuckled and said, “Bai Jinyan, you’re getting bolder. Now you’re giving me orders? Are you afraid I’ll tell him about the diary?”
“I’m warning you, Bai Jinyan. Remember who I am, remember my last name, and remember my identity!”
Meng Zeng exclaimed in frustration, “I’ve put so much effort into this. I’ve raised you from nothing to where you are now. Your perfect persona, your achievements, they’re all absolutely perfect and irreplaceable. Do you want to drag yourself into a public relations whirlpool by turning this into a stain on your record? Do you want to bring Qiao Qiao down with you?”
Bai Jinyan’s voice remained firm, “I’m warning you one last time, Meng Zhen. Stay away from Huaiyao.”