The moment they got off the plane, the promotional campaign kicked into high gear.
Photoshoots, press conferences, fan meetings… The entire cast and crew were as busy as spinning tops.
By the time they finally returned to the hotel, Lian Jue Xiu had barely finished showering before he charged straight into Yan Su Ang’s room, only to find him spraying on cologne. “You’re going out?”
Yan Su Ang glared at him. “Didn’t your elementary-school teacher ever teach you to knock before entering someone else’s room?”
“They only taught me to close the door when I got home.” Lian Jue Xiu said, “You left yours wide open. Don’t tell me you were waiting for Xiao Bai?”
Yan Su Ang said, “If you have that much garbage to spew, please go outside and find a trash can.”
“You’re throwing me out? After all these years of friendship, you’re actually throwing me out when I need someone to confide in the most?”
Yan Su Ang turned around and looked at him very seriously. “You’re impotent?”
…
Lian Jue Xiu grabbed a pillow off the bed and hurled it at him.
Yan Su Ang caught the pillow. “Other than that, don’t bother me even if the hotel catches fire!”
Realization suddenly dawned on Lian Jue Xiu. “Don’t tell me tonight you’re planning to…”
Yan Su Ang smiled smugly.
“What if I tell you there are reporters in this hotel too?”
“Then I’ll buy the most expensive advertising space in their newspaper.”
Looking at his utterly unconcerned expression, Lian Jue Xiu sighed. “Lust has set your brain on fire.”
Yan Su Ang sighed too. “Fine. I’ll give you three minutes.”
Lian Jue Xiu sprang up from the bed. “I think Jia Zhi Qing and I might actually have a chance.”
“A tragic drama is still a drama.”
Ignoring the bucket of cold water Yan Su Ang had just dumped over him, Lian Jue Xiu continued, “I think he might be a little attracted to me.”
Yan Su Ang considered this. “How many zeroes from your bank balance did you tell him about?”
Lian Jue Xiu glared.
“All right. Actually, Jia Zhi Qing is a man who cannot be corrupted by wealth.” Yan Su Ang struggled heroically to finish the sentence.
The temperature in the room slowly dropped.
Lian Jue Xiu said, “Do you have anything more comforting?”
Yan Su Ang said, “Uh… actually, you’re a very charming man.”
Lian Jue Xiu nodded. “Now that is the truth.”
“Especially when you’re glowing with the light of US dollars.”
“…”
Yan Su Ang pointed to his watch. “Three minutes.”
Lian Jue Xiu stood and headed for the door, then leaned against the frame. “One last thing.”
“Say it.”
“Your cologne today smells a little like cat piss.”
Yan Su Ang pressed the doorbell to Xiao Bai’s room.
Jia Zhi Qing opened the door.
“The wonderful thing you did yesterday.” Those were the first words Yan Su Ang said.
Jia Zhi Qing’s heart clenched. Had the matter been exposed already? But even if it had, he ought to be receiving praise. His heart bobbed up and down in suspense. “Great God, which thing do you mean?”
Yan Su Ang gave him a sidelong look. “Did you do a lot of wonderful things yesterday?”
Jia Zhi Qing thought hard. “Does using the bathroom and not washing my hands afterward count?”
Yan Su Ang lowered his gaze to the hand Jia Zhi Qing had resting on the doorknob. “Where’s Xiao Bai?”
“He’s showering.”
Yan Su Ang said, “You’ll be fine sleeping alone tonight, right?”
…
Was Great God planning to make his move tonight?
Jia Zhi Qing’s heart lifted slightly, overcome by an indescribable mother-bird sentimentality.
When Yan Su Ang saw him remain silent for so long, he added, “You do realize I wasn’t asking for your permission.”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “It’s Xiao Bai’s first time.”
“…”
“Be gentle.”
“…”
“Use plenty of lubricant.”
“…”
“I heard the first time hurts and can bleed. You’d better prepare some anti-inflammatory medicine too.”
“…”
The bathroom door suddenly opened.
Xiao Bai stepped out in a bathrobe. Seeing the two of them standing at the doorway, he asked curiously, “What are you talking about?”
“First-aid measures for wilderness survival,” Yan Su Ang answered with remarkable composure.
Jia Zhi Qing added, “And painkillers.”
Xiao Bai came out, took some clothes from his travel bag, and returned to the bathroom. “I’m changing. You two can keep talking.”
The door closed.
Yan Su Ang said, “Why did you think of showing him that video?”
Jia Zhi Qing froze for a moment before confirming that this really was the matter Yan Su Ang meant. He immediately became ingratiating. “Because I wholeheartedly support you and Xiao Bai.”
“The truth?”
“Can you stop trying to pair me up with Lian Jue Xiu?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Jia Zhi Qing inexplicably felt a little disappointed, along with an emptiness he could not quite describe.
“So this is your version of ‘besieging Wei to rescue Zhao’?”
Elio’s Notes: “Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao” is a classical Chinese stratagem: rather than confronting the immediate threat directly, attack another vulnerable point and force the opponent to divert their attention.
Jia Zhi Qing said, “No. My main purpose was to demonstrate that Great God and I will always stand on the same side.”
Yan Su Ang said, “I’d find that more convincing if your title became Mrs. Lian.”
…
Jia Zhi Qing cried indignantly, “Great God, you can’t sacrifice someone else’s happiness for your own benefit!”
Yan Su Ang raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t be happy with Lian Jue Xiu?”
Jia Zhi Qing countered, “Would I be?”
“Well, how would you know without trying?”
“…”
“As far as I know, the people who want to marry Lian Jue Xiu, male and female alike, could form a line from here all the way to Beijing.”
“Are they standing a thousand kilometers apart from each other?”
When Xiao Bai came out after changing, Jia Zhi Qing was already gone.
“Where’s Zhi Qing?”
“He went to find Jue Xiu.” Yan Su Ang paused, then added, “They’ve been getting along pretty well lately.”
“Oh.”
Seeing that Xiao Bai remained completely unmoved, Yan Su Ang added more fuel to the fire. “In fact, things between them have gotten pretty heated.”
…
“Then should we go stop the fight?” Xiao Bai asked worriedly. If things were that heated, how badly were they fighting?
Yan Su Ang hurriedly explained, “I mean their relationship has heated up.”
Xiao Bai nodded.
Yan Su Ang said, “Come sit in my room for a while.”
Xiao Bai asked, “Are we going to do it now?”
…
Yan Su Ang thought: The Chinese language is vast and profound, and its greatest profundity lies in its ambiguity.
He loved Chinese.
Xiao Bai followed Yan Su Ang back to his room.
Yan Su Ang had deliberately ordered a bottle of red wine.
Xiao Bai asked, “Are we going to shower together?”
Yan Su Ang was momentarily startled. “Didn’t you already shower?” Does Xiao Bai like bathing together?
Xiao Bai looked confused. “But the video I watched started with the two of them showering.”
…
Yan Su Ang poured a glass of wine. “Starting now, you can completely expel that video from your mind.”
Xiao Bai obediently stood still. “Okay. What do I do now?”
“Drink.” He swirled the wineglass.
Xiao Bai reached out, but Yan Su Ang brought the glass to his own lips instead. He extended his tongue and took a sip, letting the red wine slowly flow between his lips. Holding it in his mouth, he put down the glass, wrapped an arm around Xiao Bai’s waist, and slowly lowered his head.
Xiao Bai cooperatively tilted his face upward.
Their lips pressed together.
As Yan Su Ang’s tongue tangled with Xiao Bai’s amid the wine, he thought, Xiao Bai really is an excellent student.
The alcohol sharpened both their senses.
Yan Su Ang felt heat travel from the tip of his tongue into every corner of his body.
Xiao Bai’s eyelashes trembled faintly like the wings of a little butterfly dampened by rain.
Yan Su Ang’s tongue wandered from his teeth to his lips, then his nose, the bridge of his nose, and the space between his brows…
Xiao Bai could not suppress a moan.
Holding Xiao Bai by the waist, Yan Su Ang took two steps backward, planted one knee on the bed, and laid him flat against the mattress.
Xiao Bai held both hands against his chest and looked at him uneasily, his moist eyes making him resemble a startled white rabbit.
The corner of Yan Su Ang’s mouth lifted. Two teasing fingers traced over Xiao Bai’s soft belly, gradually nudging his T-shirt upward. When his fingertips passed the two pink points, they lingered, circling them again and again.
Xiao Bai’s hands retreated along with the rising shirt until they reached his mouth. He mumbled aggrievedly, “It tickles.”
“Don’t say it tickles.” Yan Su Ang slowly bent over him, bracing one elbow beside Xiao Bai’s left side. His left leg slid gently between Xiao Bai’s thighs as he half covered him with his body. In a low voice, he said, “Don’t say ticklish. Say Ang.”
“Ang,” Xiao Bai obediently called.
Feeling the growing restlessness in his lower abdomen, Yan Su Ang finally could not resist putting a hand on Xiao Bai’s waistband.
They were sweatpants with an elastic waist, so all he had to do was tug them down.
Yan Su Ang’s hand slipped into the pants like an eel, then beneath Xiao Bai’s underwear.
Xiao Bai shifted awkwardly. “It wasn’t like this in the video.”
“They haven’t acted in as many scenes as I have,” Yan Su Ang said perfunctorily, gently kneading the softness of Xiao Bai’s buttock with his palm.
Xiao Bai frowned and arched upward slightly. “Uncomfortable.”
Yan Su Ang’s palm exerted a little more pressure. “This is enjoyment.”
His fingers slid down along the cleft, just about to reach their destination, when someone began pounding heavily on the door.
It was like having someone dump a bucket of filthy water over him in the middle of an award speech. Yan Su Ang practically roared, “Damn it! Can’t you see the DO NOT DISTURB sign outside?”
“The hotel’s on fire!” the person outside roared back.
Yan Su Ang exploded. “I’m on fire too!”
On the way to the replacement hotel, Yan Su Ang wore a dark expression the entire time.
Lian Jue Xiu gloated. “I heard that when the hotel caught fire, you were in the middle of spontaneously combusting?”
Yan Su Ang snapped, “Haven’t you heard the phrase bringing the fire upon yourself?”
“I’ve only heard of setting yourself on fire and getting burned.”
Yan Su Ang ground his teeth. “If I hear one more word related to fire tonight, I cannot guarantee I won’t hit somebody.”
From the front, the driver suddenly exclaimed, “Damn, the engine won’t fire up!”
…
Lian Jue Xiu said, “Calm down. At least until we reach the next hotel, spare his life.”
Yan Su Ang said, “I’d better never find out who started that fire, or I swear I’ll chop him in half.”
“I heard it was only a minor accident.”
“A minor accident?”
“Mm. Just a small fire.”
“In other words, it wouldn’t have reached my room.”
“Correct.”
Yan Su Ang’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then why exactly did we have to leave the hotel in such a hurry?”
“Because there would have been firefighters, police, and reporters swarming the place. I don’t want that kind of news interfering with the promotion for Tears of a Man.” The media were always more interested in negative stories. If they learned that the cast and crew were staying at the hotel, every question afterward would undoubtedly revolve around the fire.
“At least you could have waited another half hour.”
“Half an hour is enough for you?” Lian Jue Xiu deliberately glanced at his crotch.
“Lian Jue Xiu…” Yan Su Ang’s fists were itching badly.
Lian Jue Xiu made a zipping motion across his lips.
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