Lu Sili’s ears burned, and he refused to look at the camera.
Of course Su Yuan would not genuinely make things difficult for him. Whether Lu Sili truly disliked the idea or was simply embarrassed, Su Yuan gently gave him an out.
“I’m teasing you. It’s not like I’m some huge pervert.”
Lu Sili buried his head in the pillow and mumbled, “You kind of are…”
It was very late in Los Angeles. Lu Sili had been busy for days without getting much proper rest, and he was also in heat. His body, after the suppressant injection, constantly felt exhausted.
After saying good night, Lu Sili fell into a deep sleep.
But he did not sleep well. He woke a little after five in the morning, then, after falling asleep again, dreamed that Su Yuan was unhappy and angrily hanging laundry at home.
Staring at his messy hair and the tired face in the mirror, Lu Sili brushed his teeth while picking up his phone to check the time and his flight.
He needed to go to the office that morning for a meeting with headquarters Finance. His flight was in the afternoon.
There was no real hurry.
Lu Sili had very little luggage, just a travel bag and the laptop bag he carried with him. After checking out, he headed straight for a nearby luxury-goods store.
There was not a single cheap thing on Lu Sili from head to toe. Even his travel bag was a limited edition, so the sales associate welcomed him enthusiastically.
“I’d like to look at ties,” Lu Sili said.
The sales associate immediately led him over, showed him several styles currently available, and asked what kind of occasion the tie was for.
“It’s a gift,” Lu Sili said.
Lu Sili coughed lightly and picked up a black tie with a subtle dark-blue pattern.
The sales associate said, “This is one of our reissued designs. It was originally from 1972…”
Before the explanation was finished, Lu Sili quietly asked, “Is it sturdy?”
The sales associate said, “Huh?”
“I mean… the material looks very good,” Lu Sili said, immediately feeling that the clarification sounded extremely weak.
“Please wrap this one for me. Thank you.”
Lu Sili also chose two shirts, one for himself and one for Su Yuan.
As the sales associate wrapped the tie, Lu Sili watched the box being packaged and thought again about what Su Yuan had said the night before.
What he had said was: Give me a tie. Use it to bind my hands, control me, sit on my…
Lu Sili’s scream had cut off everything that came next, but he knew perfectly well what Su Yuan had been about to say.
Su Yuan had later claimed that he was only teasing him.
But could Lu Sili really not tell whether it had been a joke or something Su Yuan genuinely wanted?
Ever since Su Yuan had asked to kneel while soothing him, Lu Sili had begun to suspect that Su Yuan’s sexual preferences were a little unusual.
But Lu Sili had to admit that he did not dislike them.
The flight lasted thirteen hours. Lu Sili slept for three or four of them, then reviewed two project proposals, doing his homework on each while writing his approvals.
Neither Fiona nor Xiaxia had come on this business trip because Jiang Que’s new film initiative happened to be holding its launch ceremony during these two days. Since Lu Sili was away, he had his closest assistants attend in his place.
The initiative was called Flying Bird. F&A was putting a substantial amount of money into it, but the threshold was high too.
The Flying Bird initiative covered a very broad range, from independent filmmakers all the way down to university short-film clubs. Anyone with a complete proposal and script could apply, but Lu Sili represented F&A. Even if only to avoid embarrassing the company, he could not invest in just anything.
So far, the only project that had actually received money was Jiang Que’s Glass. The managers under Lu Sili had gradually screened out two more candidates, and he was reviewing them now.
Arthouse films were relatively difficult to evaluate, and while reading the proposals Lu Sili again felt out of his depth.
When a work could not be judged by questions such as “Is the director famous?”, “Can the actors carry the box office?”, or “Which release window can we secure?”, Lu Sili became uncertain.
He thought of Parker’s predicament.
The plane was currently flying over the Pacific. First class was very quiet. Lu Sili gently closed his laptop, and his tired, anxious mind could not stop turning things over.
If this was Parker’s ceiling, then where was his own?
Lu Sili even felt that, in the short term, he could not reach Parker’s current level of professional competence.
By the time he landed in Licheng, it was already six in the morning the next day. Lu Sili had clearly told Su Yuan not to come pick him up because it was too early and he could simply take a taxi home.
But the moment the flight information updated, Su Yuan called.
“I’m waiting for you at the exit.” Su Yuan had gotten up a little after four and driven from home to the airport. He had barely spoken that morning, so his voice was hoarse.
Lu Sili was walking out with his travel bag in hand. Hearing that, he quickened his pace and could not even bring himself to say, “Didn’t I tell you not to come?”
Including the travel time, they had not seen each other for five days.
They had already been married for several months, but had only truly acknowledged their feelings a few days ago. It was impossible not to miss each other.
The moment Lu Sili came out, he began looking for Su Yuan and soon spotted him waving in a T-shirt and knitted cardigan.
Unable to suppress his smile, Lu Sili jogged toward him while Su Yuan followed the barrier toward the exit.
“Have you been waiting long?” Lu Sili asked.
That short run made Lu Sili, already tired from the trip, breathe faster.
Su Yuan took the travel bag from Lu Sili and naturally slipped an arm lightly around his shoulders. “No. I timed it pretty well. You must be exhausted.”
“I’m okay,” Lu Sili said.
The airport was full of departures and reunions, everyone busy with their own lives. Lu Sili and Su Yuan were like any ordinary young couple, holding back their excitement until they got into the car and could finally exchange the longing they had felt for each other.
“Mm…” Unable to catch his breath, Lu Sili gently pushed Su Yuan away.
Su Yuan cupped Lu Sili’s face in one hand. After their lips separated, he lightly rubbed the corner of Lu Sili’s mouth with his thumb. “Let’s go home first. I’ll make you breakfast. You said a couple of days ago that you had no appetite, and I was worried sick.”
Lu Sili smiled. “It was probably the suppressants.”
Su Yuan’s heart ached, but he would not say anything to obstruct Lu Sili’s work. He knew how important work was to him.
“Next time, I’ll definitely be there.”
It was Saturday. Lu Sili had originally planned to go home and rest. After breakfast, he meant to sleep for a while to recover from jet lag so they could go to Grandma’s for dinner that evening.
Unexpectedly, after he had slept only two hours, the company called. There was a problem with the afternoon premiere of a major imported film.
Lu Sili thought about it and decided he still needed to step in and coordinate.
“What happened?” Su Yuan had been awakened by the call too.
Lu Sili sighed helplessly. “There’s a premiere. An actor got into a conflict with the media. I’m going to sort it out.”
Su Yuan said nothing. He only placed a hand on Lu Sili’s back and gave it a gentle pat.
“It’s a franchise film, so it has a lot of influence and the actor is very popular. The media outlet is a television station too. We can’t afford to offend either side. It’ll be easier if I handle the mediation myself.”
After explaining, Lu Sili bent down and kissed Su Yuan’s cheek. “I’ll get it sorted as quickly as I can, then we’ll go to Grandma’s together.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you.” Su Yuan watched Lu Sili dress and wash his face, then got up as well. After seeing Lu Sili leave for work, he stood blankly in the entryway for a moment and turned to look at the spacious home.
The little calico cat, who had been hiding because she was unfamiliar with Lu Sili, came out and watched Su Yuan from beside the table.
Su Yuan crouched down and stroked the cat’s head. “Once your little dad finishes being busy and comes home, he’ll give you a name.”
F&A held dozens of premiere events every year and had encountered all kinds of problems. In truth, the staff knew how to handle situations like this.
Lu Sili could have chosen not to go, but this time a foreign actor had clashed with state media, which would be difficult for the staff to manage. With the Asia regional headquarters about to be established, Lu Sili did not want anything going wrong.
When he arrived, he discovered that the atmosphere was extremely tense. The audience and other media had been left sitting in the screening hall. The host kept trying to maintain the mood, but the audience had already sensed something was wrong and begun calling out from their seats.
Lu Sili learned the details. The media organization was a major outlet and had been given an advance one-on-one interview slot. The actor’s staff had failed to communicate that arrangement properly beforehand. After the interview was reluctantly completed, the media then asked an impolite question.
Lu Sili first went to see the two supporting actors who had come with the lead and asked them to go interact with the audience.
Lu Sili had also worked at headquarters for a long time. The actor was someone who collaborated closely with F&A, and they had met before, so the actor remembered him.
Lu Sili appealed to their relationship while also laying out the facts. There was a contract, and now a senior executive had personally stepped in, so both sides agreed to give some ground. The actor cooperated and completed the premiere activities, while the media outlet sent a different reporter.
By the time Lu Sili finished handling the premiere, it was already nearly seven. He had calls from both Su Yuan and Grandma on his phone, and rushed straight to Grandma’s without stopping.
Fiona had something else to do that day and had not come. Lu Sili had also worked until this late, so Grandma kept sighing and nagging him. If Su Yuan had not been there, the two of them probably would have argued again.
Lu Sili did not eat much dinner.
After they returned home, Su Yuan cooked him some sweet fermented-rice tangyuan. Lu Sili had always liked it before, but this time he could not even finish one bowl.
“I don’t have much appetite,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan knew the side effects of the suppressants, and Lu Sili was under a great deal of stress too, so he did not force him to eat.
With his laptop in his arms, Lu Sili typed furiously. The premiere fiasco had been resolved smoothly, but he was angry about such a basic procedural mistake.
The employees kept apologizing in the work chat, but after apologizing they blamed the actor’s team for being difficult to communicate with, then claimed the media outlet seemed to have altered its interview script without permission, offering excuses for which they had no evidence.
Lu Sili was already exhausted and could not stop himself from losing his temper in the work group chat.
As his anger surged, he dry-heaved twice. Su Yuan, who had just managed to catch the cat, hurried over. “Feeling sick?”
Lu Sili lightly patted his chest and took a moment to recover. “I’m fine.”
Then he looked up and saw Su Yuan holding the cat. His eyes lit up. “Kitty!”
Lu Sili reached out to hold her, but the frightened cat immediately jumped away.
“She still isn’t very familiar with you.” Su Yuan sat down to comfort him. Seeing Lu Sili both unwell and disappointed made Su Yuan’s chest feel tight, and he forced a small smile. “Give her a name.”
“Why don’t you do it? She doesn’t even recognize me,” Lu Sili said.
Su Yuan shook his head. “You name her. I deliberately waited for you to come back.”
But Lu Sili’s mind seemed unable to turn. He thought and thought without coming up with anything suitable and could only smile bitterly. “We can’t just call her Kitty, can we?”
Su Yuan sighed, pulled Lu Sili against him on the sofa, and said, “It’s fine. Let your brain rest first.”
“Okay.” Lu Sili took a deep breath and moved his laptop aside. Then he saw his travel bag still sitting beside the sofa and remembered the gift he had bought and the short trip he had promised Su Yuan.
“You’re off both days next weekend, right? Let’s see where we should go.”
Su Yuan adjusted his position so Lu Sili could lean against him. “Okay.”
Tourism was well developed in many of the counties and cities around Licheng, so they had plenty of choices.
“How about here? The seaside should be relaxing, though it’s still too cold to go in the water.”
“Or somewhere like this? A little more untouched, but the round trip alone would take an entire day.”
“Wow! So pretty. Are the cherry blossoms and peach blossoms already blooming?”
“Su Yuan, do you like street snacks? I haven’t eaten this kind of food in ages. I’m practically a fake Licheng local.”
Lu Sili kept scrolling through travel guides and murmuring his thoughts aloud, but his body was exhausted. As he spoke, he began nodding off. By the time Su Yuan returned after going to pour some water, Lu Sili had curled into a ball and fallen asleep on the sofa.
“Mm…” Su Yuan crouched beside the sofa and looked at Lu Sili’s face, his brow still furrowed anxiously even in sleep.
He reached out and lightly tapped between Lu Sili’s brows. Lu Sili made a small sound, and at last his expression relaxed.
Su Yuan carried Lu Sili into the bedroom and tucked the covers around him.
“Mm?” Lu Sili briefly woke. Seeing Su Yuan’s face, he mumbled sleepily, “Which place do you like?”
Su Yuan could not help laughing. He kissed Lu Sili’s face. “Sleep.”
Lu Sili sank back into deep sleep.
Su Yuan returned to the living room, shut down Lu Sili’s computer, then went to his former bedroom and brought out his own laptop.
How could he let his wife worry this much over it?
Su Yuan thought back over Lu Sili’s preferences while they had been looking at travel guides. In the end, he chose a resort with convenient transportation, opened PowerPoint, and typed a line onto the title slide.
Weekend Date Guide 1.0