《In Name Only》 CH 1 Xu Jingzhe fumbled around in the car for a baseball cap he had bought earlier. After looking around for a bit, he found it underneath the passenger seat. He also happened to find a gossip magazine that Zhang Man had given him earlier that day. The front page had a sensational headline printed in red and black¡ªShocking! Several Top Celebrities Caught At A Sex Party! The headline was accompanied by a photo of him as he exited the hotel. ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe put the baseball cap on his head. After thinking about it, he put on a mask and sunglasses as well. Then, he took a few glances in the rearview mirror before finally getting out of the car. Zhang Man had delivered the news in a timely manner. Even though time was short and the situation was critical, she managed to remain calm from beginning to end. ¡°We¡¯ve already contacted public relations. Don¡¯t say anything on social media. We know we¡¯re innocent, so we don¡¯t need to say too much.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I know.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°The magazine¡¯s just trying to attract people¡¯s attention.¡± Xu Jingzhe was silent for a moment. Then, he said, ¡°The internet¡¯s already become super developed. I must be pretty popular for a magazine to be able to sell out.¡± Zhang Man seemed to let out a laugh. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you still have the energy to say this.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t say anything more. He bought a watermelon at the fruit shop by the corner. As he was scanning the QR code to pay, Zhang Man sent him another message. ¡°What exactly were you doing there?¡± she asked. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me?¡± Xu Jingzhe replied with four words, ¡°It¡¯s a private matter.¡± Zhang Man stopped asking. Xu Jingzhe picked up the watermelon and turned into an alley. After his teacher, Ren Qing, retired, she moved into the old city district. Xu Jingzhe would come to see her twice a year. The old lady still insisted on acting in stage plays every month despite her age. She was always running around for her performances. Xu Jingzhe needed to make an appointment to even catch a glimpse of her. The old house had a courtyard and a pond. Xu Jingzhe squatted down by the pond to help his teacher switch out the fish. Ren Qing cut up the watermelon and carried it out. ¡°Don¡¯t come to see me if you¡¯re busy.¡± Ren Qing wrapped a cloak wrapped around her shoulders. She quietly asked, ¡°Did something happen recently?¡± Xu Jingzhe stood up. His hair had gotten a bit longer because of his next project. It was going to be a period costume drama. The two strands of hair by his temples nearly reached his shoulders. He casually tucked them behind his ear. ¡°It¡¯s just a couple of rumors,¡± Xu Jingzhe said. ¡°You don¡¯t need to take it seriously.¡± Ren Qing nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe them. I know what kind of person you are.¡± Pc atf fcv, We Alcuhtf mtbrf cba ab rajs ja Efc Hlcu¡¯r tberf obg vlccfg. Cr tf kjr kjixlcu yjmx ab tlr mjg, tf mbeiv offi rbwfbcf kjr obiibklcu tlw atf fcalgf kjs. Aera jr tf kjr jybea ab gbii vbkc tlr klcvbk jcv ulnf atfw j qlfmf bo tlr wlcv, tf uba j qtbcf mjii ogbw Itjcu Zjc. When he picked up the call, his tone wasn¡¯t too happy. The person on the other side immediately picked up on it. ¡°Don¡¯t get into a fight. Now is not the time.¡± Xu Jingzhe smashed his fist down on his horn. Zhang Man waited for the harsh beep to pass. Then, she calmly said, ¡°You haven¡¯t shown any evidence about what you were doing there. The media obviously isn¡¯t going to just let it go. We need to come up with an excuse for you.¡± ¡°Anything will do,¡± Xu Jingzhe said irritably. ¡°Fuck, they have their camera lenses right up against my windshield!¡± Zhang Man: ¡°Just let them photograph you. Your face is so handsome. It¡¯s literally worth millions. I actually think it¡¯s a shame for you to keep this beautiful face to yourself. Let them get their fill!¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man seemed to have suddenly figured out the answer. She became a lot more energetic for some reason. ¡°You haven¡¯t had any injections or surgeries, yet you¡¯re able to maintain such good condition. Even in high-definition, your face doesn¡¯t have a single bad angle, and you don¡¯t even need photoshop! What other celebrity around your age is able to produce such high-quality photos?!¡± Xu Jingzhe placed a hand against his forehead. He was a little tired. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s talk about the actual issue at hand. Quit complimenting me.¡± Once Zhang Man saw that her compliments had worked, she stopped. She didn¡¯t waste any time speaking nonsense. ¡°We¡¯ve come up with a plan. You were on a date with someone at that hotel. You are in a secret relationship, and you¡¯re about to get engaged.¡± Xu Jingzhe interrupted her, ¡°Wait, am I dating someone, or am I engaged?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°You¡¯ve been dating for three or four years. You¡¯re about to get engaged.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little unhappy. ¡°You sure are amazing. When did you arrange a three or four year relationship for me? I didn¡¯t even know about it.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°Isn¡¯t that why I¡¯m discussing it with you now? You haven¡¯t done anything besides work for these past couple of years. Our public relations team hasn¡¯t had anything to do. They¡¯re finally coming into use now. A secret relationship of three years, you get to wash yourself clean and show off your lovey-dovey relationship. It¡¯s a perfect plan.¡± There was no response from Xu Jingzhe. She wasn¡¯t sure whether he would cooperate or not. Zhang Man has been working with him for almost ten years. She witnessed Xu Jingzhe earn the title of Drama Emperor for three years in a row. He just won an incredibly prestigious TV award for Best Male Actor earlier this year. Besides having a pretty face and a good body, he was also humble and low-key in private. During filming, Xu Jingzhe would usually bring just a single assistant at most. He did everything himself, and he was hardworking and patient. His professional image was so perfect it almost felt fake. The most important point was that he didn¡¯t cause trouble for his management team. He never ran his mouth or caused scandals. To be honest, Zhang Man felt a lot of pressure working with Xu Jingzhe. She felt that, if she made even the slightest misstep, she may leave a smear upon his perfect life. Xu Jingzhe was too dedicated to his work. He was so dedicated that, if he were to lose his temper, you would feel that he was right in losing his temper. You would feel that it must¡¯ve been you who did something wrong. For example, Xu Jingzhe was losing his temper right this very moment. He was actually rather polite to the paparazzi. He would never swear at them to their faces. At the very most, he would just give them a cold glare, but the paparazzi still badmouthed him for being rude. However, he was really, truly attractive. As long as he appeared within the public eye, he was sure to be flawless. His face would not be swollen. There wouldn¡¯t be any dark circles under his eyes. Even his lips would be clean and perfect. It was absolutely impossible for him to have acne or sallow skin. Anyway, it was exactly as Zhang Man said. Even if the camera was right against his face, it wouldn¡¯t be able to capture a single pore or wrinkle. There wasn¡¯t a single part of him that wasn¡¯t perfect. There was a paparazzi on the side of his car. He actually had the camera lens pressed against the window of his car. Xu Jingzhe expressionlessly glanced at the camera. Then, he tore off the magazine cover and plastered it on the car window. He was talking on the phone as he was turning the steering wheel. ¡°Who¡¯s willing to cooperate with us?¡± Zhang Man knew this meant he was relenting, so she took a deep sigh of relief. She quickly said, ¡°There are several female celebrities, and there are also male celebrities. Same-sex marriage has been legalized for several years now. There¡¯s a high level of acceptance for this sort of thing. That hotel wasn¡¯t just any hotel. A five star hotel like that receives tons of guests every day. How were they supposed to know there was going to be sex scandal? There was sex, gambling, and drugs involved. Of course it¡¯s going to be a big deal. Everyone¡¯s teams are all in a hurry right now. Your conditions are good, so you can take your pick.¡± Xu Jingzhe thought about it for a while. Then, he said, ¡°Pick a guy. If it¡¯s a female celebrity, the break up might end up affecting her career. It¡¯s better to go with a guy.¡± Zhang Man was helpless. ¡°Even at a time like this, you¡¯re still acting like a gentleman.¡± Xu Jingzhe drove the car a little further. He could still see the paparazzi in the rearview mirror. He couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°So annoying!¡± Zhang Man coaxed him, ¡°Don¡¯t get annoyed. I¡¯ll help you pick a suitable candidate.¡± Xu Jingzhe hung up the phone. His WeChat received another notification. It had only been twenty four hours since this incident occurred, yet his notifications were even more lively than New Year¡¯s Day. A lot of people were rushing up to show their loyalty. They said they believed in him, asked if he was okay, asked if he needed help. As for who was trying to get information from him and who was being sincere, Xu Jingzhe was actually very clear. He replied to a few people and scrolled down. Then, he saw Dr. Chen¡¯s message. ¡°How is your sleep these days? How is your reaction in the mornings?¡± Xu Jingzhe stared at this message for a long time. He suddenly felt very tired. He threw his phone aside. He didn¡¯t really want to touch it again. Zhang Man¡¯s abilities did not need to be questioned. She said that she would help Xu Jingzhe find a suitable candidate, so she was definitely going to find someone that Xu Jingzhe would be satisfied with. However, she hadn¡¯t expected someone to send themselves up to her before she had even started her search. Liang Yu had also gone to that hotel that day. Furthermore, his photo seemed to have been leaked because his team wasn¡¯t able to negotiate an acceptable price for it. When Zhang Man heard the news, she felt as if a slice of pie had just fallen into her lap. Zhang Man felt like she was dreaming. She asked the person next to her, ¡°What kind of lucky day was it? Both the Movie Emperor and the Drama Emperor booked a room there.¡± People in the industry knew that film and television drama were two different realms. In terms of celebrity status, the big screen definitely comes out on top. It had little to do with popularity or marketing and everything to do with one¡¯s acting ability. Liang Yu was the one who stood at the very top of this realm. To this very day, he had yet to come back down. He hadn¡¯t debuted very early, but he did have a famous director helping him out. Plus, he was also very good at picking out good roles. In his very first role, he won three of the most prestigious awards in the country. Zhang Man had seen his performances. From a professional point of view, he was simply born to act. He was destined for this lot in life. She¡¯d never said this in front of Xu Jingzhe. It wasn¡¯t because her boss was a petty person. However, Zhang Man knew that Xu Jingzhe had always wanted to appear on the big screen. These past couple of years had been smooth sailing for him within the television industry. All he needed was an opportunity. Meanwhile, Liang Yu managed to win several international awards in a single jump. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t just act in movies meant for film festivals and award shows. He was capable of pulling in big numbers at the box office for his commercial films as well. Of course she was annoyed. Xu Jingzhe never complained to her about films that were being made, about the allocation of resources, or about so-and-so¡¯s awful acting. He was the type of person that spent his time working away like an ox. He didn¡¯t have time to gossip behind other people¡¯s backs. However, Liang Yu was definitely under a lot more pressure from the sex scandal than Xu Jingzhe was. He was about to film a movie that was aimed for the Oscars. He had already signed the contract, and they were just about to announce him as a member of the cast. It would¡¯ve raised his international celebrity status by another level. He also had another movie planned for the end of the year. It was a cooperation with a well-known commercial director. He had taken on a value-adjustment mechanism and invested his own money into it. He even had some high-end endorsements lined up for next year. With all of these added together, he would definitely be screwed if even one of them went south. So, when his management team took the initiative to contact her, Zhang Man was actually very calm. The two big bosses didn¡¯t show their faces. Instead, the people who worked beneath them battled it out first. Yang Jierui and Liang Yu were also long-time partners. He and Zhang Man were of about the same status within the industry. They each had their own resources. Both of them were people who could get their jobs done well and, at the same time, keep their bosses happy. Yang Jierui had a very good attitude. He suggested cooperation right away. This way, both sides would be able to get through this difficult situation. Zhang Man smiled brightly. ¡°If Mr. Liang Yu is willing to cooperate, we will naturally welcome him¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°Mr. Xu has a good reputation. We¡¯d feel assured cooperating with someone like him.¡± The two of them politely smiled at each other for a bit before finally getting to the point. Zhang Man nevertheless needed to ask clearly, ¡°Mr. Liang only happened to be there, right? He really didn¡¯t participate?¡± Yang Jierui looked as if he had been insulted. He righteously declared, ¡°He obviously didn¡¯t participate! Mr. Liang isn¡¯t that kind of person!¡± Zhang Man wasn¡¯t so easy to deceive. She had looked into Liang Yu quite a bit. This person had a big reputation and a big temper as well. It wasn¡¯t that he liked to put on airs because of his status. Rather, he just didn¡¯t like being disciplined. He was headstrong and rash. He had gotten used to being unruly and self-willed. They were actors after all. They all had a little bit of pretense to them. Even someone as perfect as Xu Jingzhe was like this. Zhang Man had once marketed him under a ¡°rough and ready¡± persona. Of course, there was some truth to it. However, Liang Yu seemed to be completely separated from all of that. He came out of the closet very early on. He didn¡¯t market himself under some false persona. Because of the sheer speed of his career, no one was able to catch up to him. Even those few criticisms about his private life didn¡¯t seem to faze him. His management team didn¡¯t find him particularly hard to deal with. Liang Yu didn¡¯t cause any big issues. He had a couple of relationship scandals, and they were with relatively well-known colleagues as well. Zhang Man didn¡¯t know whether he paid them off or not, but their breakups were never ugly or public. He was also very generous with his friends. He was always brutally honest towards the media, yet the media seemed to eat it up. Zhang Man recalled this one fashion magazine that put him on their annual cover photo. Several big brands were rushing to provide the latest haute couture for him. The designer in charge of the photoshoot¡¯s direction that day commented that N¨¹wa must¡¯ve put in a lot of overtime when she was creating Liang Yu¡¯s face. What was even more amazing was that no one found this compliment to be exaggerated. Everyone accepted it as a matter of course. Yang Jierui didn¡¯t believe that Zhang Man would reject them. In any case, this cooperation could be regarded as a ¡°strong alliance¡± and a ¡°good match¡±. If they really wanted to split hairs about it, it was Xu Jingzhe who was winning out. After all, Liang Yu¡¯s movie resources were exactly what the other party needed right now. Zhang Man didn¡¯t dare make a decision herself. She still needed to ask Xu Jingzhe for his opinion. ¡°Mr. Xu is rather pure. It¡¯s hard for me to say whether he¡¯d agree.¡± Yang Jerry kept his composure. He laughed and said, ¡°Zhang jie, let¡¯s stop beating around the bush. He¡¯s a man in his thirties. Who¡¯s actually going to believe that he¡¯s pure? Do you believe it? Anyway, I don¡¯t believe it. ¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­¡± Translator¡¯s Note: I picked this novel because MC and I share a birthday! CH 2 Because the sex scandal involved drugs, Xu Jingzhe even went out of his way to get a drug test. The studio then posted proof of his innocence onto his Weibo. This was able to appease at least some of his fans. However, there were still a bunch of anti-fans jumping up and down, analyzing every aspect of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s perfect facade. They claimed that his public persona had collapsed. They claimed his private life was actually super chaotic and messy. They listed all kinds of little details, making their argument seem somewhat plausible. Xu Jingzhe simply uninstalled his social media. Out of sight, out of mind. Actors all cared about their image, and Xu Jingzhe was no exception. ¡°Liang Yu?¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°Why was he there?¡± Zhang Man sighed. ¡°How should I know? Also, what are you surprised about? It¡¯s strange enough that you were there too.¡± As soon as this topic came up, Xu Jingzhe kind of didn¡¯t want to continue the conversation anymore. He was reading a script. The costume drama he had coming up had a lot of historical themes. The drama had a lot of lines, and they were difficult to memorize. Zhang Man: ¡°I won¡¯t force you to tell me about your private affairs. Liang Yu¡¯s team already took the initiative to contact us. The conditions they put forward will definitely be the best. The most important thing is that the both of you are similar in status. If you two get into a relationship, your fans will accept it.¡± Xu Jingzhe glanced at her and said, ¡°You sure know a lot.¡± ¡°How could I not know?¡± Zhang Man said confidently, ¡°Fans will look at both sides when they¡¯re shipping. It¡¯s just like how a mother-in-law will judge her son-in-law. He has to be worthy of her son or daughter.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Aren¡¯t there still girlfriend fans?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°It¡¯s okay. They can just pretend that they¡¯re starting a harem!¡± Xu Jingzhe asked suspiciously, ¡°¡­ How do you know so much about this stuff?¡± Zhang Man said proudly, ¡°I even know about those fans that like to feminize their idols. Do you know the nickname your antis have for you? Rem. Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fansites were rather professional. He didn¡¯t interact with them, but Zhang Man¡¯s team seems to know about them. He had solid works and awards, and his status within the industry was rather high. An average fan of his tended to be on the older side, and they were usually pretty tolerant. They didn¡¯t get into fights at the drop of a hat. For the most part, they were rather easygoing. However, the community as a whole was still rather spectacular. They weren¡¯t afraid of putting money down, and they usually stuck around for a long time. It wasn¡¯t difficult to clear up the sex scandal, but the boss already made it clear. He wanted to be completely absolved of it. In addition to his upcoming costume drama, Xu Jingzhe still had two television dramas waiting for him next year. Although his losses weren¡¯t as heavy as Liang Yu¡¯s, they weren¡¯t small either. Besides, he was a very hardworking person. He refused to carry this bad reputation. Zhang Man: ¡°Sort out some personal items that you¡¯ve used in the past three or four years. We¡¯ll collect them and exchange them with Liang Yu¡¯s team. Over the next few days, we¡¯ll release some material and test the waters. By the way, the two of you should schedule an appointment for dinner. I¡¯ll contact a team to take a couple photos.¡± Xu Jingzhe still was not at ease. ¡°Have his previous relationships been dealt with?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°If they haven¡¯t been dealt with, how could I possibly have the guts to send you over to him? However, let¡¯s talk about you. I haven¡¯t had to wipe your ass for you even once when it comes to relationships. Since when have you been okay with men?¡± We Alcuhtf: ¡°Qtb rjlv atja P¡¯w bxjs klat wfc?¡± Itjcu Zjc kjr raeccfv. Vtf rjlv, vewyobecvfv, ¡°Ktfc kts vbc¡¯a sbe pera olcv j kbwjc?¡± We Alcuhtf qegrfv tlr ilqr. Ktfc, tf weaafgfv ecvfg tlr ygfjat, ¡°P¡¯w cba gfjiis bxjs klat kbwfc flatfg.¡± Itjcu Zjc: ¡°¡­¡± Cr wfcalbcfv fjgilfg, We Alcuhtf¡¯r yluufra jvnjcajuf kjr tlr vfvlmjalbc. Lf kjr nfgs jkjgf bo atf yfcfolar bo kbgxlcu klat Oljcu Te. Pa kjr j klc-klc obg ybat bo atfw, jcv atf gfreiar kbeiv vfolclafis wjxf ybat bo atfw tjqqs. We Alcuhtf kjrc¡¯a j sbecu lvbi, rb atfgf kjrc¡¯a jcs glrx bo ibrlcu tlr ojcr yfmjerf bo atlr. Pc ojma, atfgf kfgf rfnfgji atgfjvr vlrmerrlcu tlr rfzejilas yfmjerf tf tjv yffc rlcuif obg rb ibcu. Ljio bo atfw yfilfnfv tf kjr rfmgfais wjgglfv, jcv atf batfg tjio yfilfnfv tf kjrc¡¯a mfgajlc. Zhang Man probably also thought that he was a little abnormal. She had mentioned it a bit over the past two years. ¡°I never restricted you from falling in love. You¡¯re a male celebrity over the age of thirty, and you¡¯ve earned several awards. It¡¯s about time you started thinking about stuff like marriage. It would also be a good opportunity to transform your image. The public thinks a lot more favorably about someone who is a ¡®husband¡¯ or a ¡®father¡¯. Most importantly, it¡¯ll improve your status within the industry. After all, investors always like cooperating with stable and reliable partners. Who wouldn¡¯t want something like that?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t speak. Of course he understood what Zhang Man was saying. Unlike female celebrities, marriage for a male celebrity was just a bargaining chip. In the future, they would be able to maintain roles as a ¡°good husband¡± and a ¡°good father¡±. It was no exaggeration to say that they would be able to enjoy this benefit until the day they die, living an entire life as an artist. However, the problem was that Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t play that game. Even in the face of this awful scandal, he would not consider ¡°female celebrities¡± as potential partners. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to, but he felt it was unfair to the other party. Zhang Man tried to persuade him several times. In the management team¡¯s opinion, Xu Jingzhe should have gotten married ages ago. Maybe they could take this opportunity to turn something fake into something real. He would be able to naturally start a relationship. Then, he¡¯d be able to start a family, and his career would go up another level. However, that was exactly what Xu Jingzhe was afraid of. ¡°I already told you not to look for female celebrities.¡± Xu Jingzhe was sitting in the nanny van. He had just finished an interview. It was his official statement regarding the sex scandal that his team had specially arranged for him. Zhang Man had been running around so much that she was now consistently ranked first on her WeChat Sports. She helped him take care of everything, inside and out. Zhang Man had no choice. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to look for them, then I won¡¯t.¡± She added, ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and contact Liang Yu. The two of you should at least meet with each other first.¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s silence meant that he was acquiescing. He seemed to daze off for a little while. Then, he suddenly thought of something and frowned slightly. ¡°He really didn¡¯t participate in that sex party? What did the drug test say?¡± Yang Jierui held Xu Jingzhe¡¯s drug test report in his hand. He seemed satisfied. Then, he carefully glanced at the man in front of him, who was on the rowing machine. Liang Yu had a very strict and high-standard fitness schedule. He changed personal trainers often throughout the year. Sometimes, Liang Yu would feel that his personal trainer wasn¡¯t good enough and switch him out. After finishing his last set, he stood up and wiped his head with the towel handed by the personal trainer. Then, he turned towards Yang Jierui. Yang Jierui had to admit, even after watching him for more than ten years, Liang Yu¡¯s face was still as striking as the first time he saw it. He had deep eye sockets and a tall nose bridge, which was rather rare among Asians. The angle of every shadow on his face looked as if it was measured. He looked perfect in any lighting, regardless of the angle. This was as long as he didn¡¯t speak. ¡°So what if he didn¡¯t take drugs? It¡¯s not like you¡¯d be able to tell if he fucked around.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s tone contained a bit of ridicule. Because of how beautiful he was, even his malice appeared vivid and lively. ¡°He might¡¯ve done it more than ten times that night, men and women.¡± Yang Jierui didn¡¯t really approve. ¡°Xu Jingzhe hasn¡¯t had a single scandal after all these years. I looked into it, and his team didn¡¯t suppress anything. It¡¯s just that the paparazzi weren¡¯t able to get anything on him. If he was really that messy of a person, there¡¯s no way there wouldn¡¯t be any clues.¡± Liang Yu snorted. Then, he snarked back, ¡°You sure have looked into him a lot. You want to switch employers or what?¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu took another look at the drug test report. He quickly flipped through it. Then, he threw it aside rather irritably. Yang Jierui felt a headache coming on. ¡°What about him are you dissatisfied with?¡± Liang Yu blankly commented, ¡°He looks like a playboy. I bet he¡¯s a scumbag.¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°?¡± Liang Yu was indeed at the hotel that night, but, like Xu Jingzhe, he couldn¡¯t reveal what he was actually doing. Although Yang Jierui wasn¡¯t entirely clear about it either, he still knew a little bit. Many celebrities kept information about their families a secret, and Liang Yu was no exception. He wasn¡¯t professionally trained. He was already twenty-five by the time he debuted. Some information about his background had come up before, but none of it was definite. In the end, Liang Yu ended up suppressing a lot of it using money. He had worked as a model before becoming an actor. If he hadn¡¯t become an actor, he probably would¡¯ve become an international supermodel. That was the reason why his resources within the fashion industry had always been very good. Of course, his sexual orientation was also exposed at that time. Within the fashion industry, nine out of ten men were gay. The last guy had a high probability of being bisexual. Liang Yu¡¯s team planned to use this ¡°date¡± as proof that he did not participate in the sex party from the beginning. Liang Yu was gay, so they didn¡¯t need to find a woman to help with the cover up. After looking through their options, Xu Jingzhe was the only male celebrity that fit the team¡¯s requirements. However, Xu Jingzhe was so clean that Yang Jierui wasn¡¯t sure whether the other party would be able to accept a man. So, when Zhang Man¡¯s team responded that they would cooperate, Yang Jierui thought to himself, ¡°Xu Jingzhe sure has hidden himself well.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to lose out.¡± Liang Yu sat in the back seat and closed his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s got the awards and the popularity. He¡¯s already got a strong foothold in the industry. The public likes him. His sexual orientation isn¡¯t going to affect him at all.¡± Yang Jierui huffed, ¡°You¡¯re talking about yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t deny it. This wasn¡¯t the first time he was being this narcissistic. If it wasn¡¯t for how cringy it was, he would probably call himself ¡°Young Master¡±. Today was going to be the first time the two main characters would meet. They were going to meet at a Japanese restaurant in the center of Beijing. The place seemed to be rather hidden, but Zhang Man and Yang Jierui had actually secretly arranged everything in advance. When it came to the relationship between paparazzi and artists, they were often pretty antagonistic with each other, but there were also occasions where they worked together. For example, someone on the artist¡¯s side would pretend to have something to expose and reveal a little bit of info. Then, the paparazzi would sniff out the gossip and squat around for a headline. Xu Jingzhe was in his car. His personal makeup artist was still doing his hair for him. He and Liang Yu would definitely have their photo taken, so, in order to not lose to Liang Yu in terms of appearance, Xu Jingzhe took the initiative to get his hair professionally done. It was hard for Zhang Man to comment on his all-around hard-working attitude. She knew that Xu Jingzhe cared a lot about appearances. To some extent, it was good for an artist to have a high bottom line, but, if it was too high, it was easy for the people under him to have nothing to do. ¡°It¡¯s already perfect.¡± Zhang Man looked at the time. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to find a problem even if you pressed a microscope against your face.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked down at his shoes. ¡°I feel like I need to change my socks.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­ Liang Yu really isn¡¯t going to look at your socks.¡± Everything else might¡¯ve been fine, but Zhang Man turned out to be wrong about the socks. They were having Japanese food. When Xu Jingzhe took off his shoes and stepped onto the tatami, Liang Yu, who had arrived ahead of schedule, unabashedly turned his attention towards his socks. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu¡¯s gaze stayed on his socks for a little too long. Xu Jingzhe subconsciously wanted to pull his feet away, but he held back. He paused for a bit. Then, he took a few steps forward and sat down at the low table. Liang Yu was still looking at him. This man didn¡¯t seem to know the meaning of the word ¡°hidden¡±. His gaze was blunt and direct. Xu Jingzhe felt like a machine gun was sweeping across his face. Those eyes could shoot holes into people. ¡°I have to say, Mr. Xu.¡± Liang Yu changed his sitting position. He leaned forward and held his chin in his hand. Then, he gave him a fake smile and said, ¡°The color of your socks is kind of ¡­ lame?¡± CH 3 Xu Jingzhe deeply regretted not changing his socks before getting out of the car. The color of his socks wasn¡¯t actually that bad. However, it was a little bit oversaturated. It wasn¡¯t exactly the classiest color to go with. Liang Yu didn¡¯t look like he was at a Japanese restaurant. He sat very casually. The attendants serving their food were all wearing kimonos. When they entered, they would say ¡°sumimasen¡°. Xu Jingzhe took off his hat and smiled at the girl. Then, he took the wasabi from her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Liang Yu watched from the side. As long as outsiders were present, Xu Jingzhe would behave the same as he did on set. He was very professional, and his tone of voice was familiar and considerate. ¡°Would you like more wasabi or less?¡± Liang Yu swept his tongue across his molars and said lazily, ¡°More.¡± Xu Jingzhe gave him half of it. He even added a bit of soy sauce. The girl in the kimono looked back at them a few more times. She wasn¡¯t quite able to control her expression. She hid her face behind the serving tray and backed out of the room. Liang Yu laughed and said, ¡°You sure are impatient. I bet everyone outside knows by now.¡± Xu Jingzhe pushed the sashimi in front of Liang Yu. He said lightly, ¡°The paparazzi are just there for show. There¡¯s always going to be people who claim the photo¡¯s fake. However, it¡¯s actually very easy to get people to believe it. We just have to act like we did just now.¡± Japanese food wasn¡¯t really to Liang Yu¡¯s liking. The fatty tuna in front of him made him rather picky. He didn¡¯t really touch it. He took a sip of umeshu and prepared to talk about business. ¡°You already know everything about the agreement, right?¡± Xu Jingzhe nodded. ¡°I know.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Although it¡¯s going to be ¡®fake¡¯, I don¡¯t like working with people who can¡¯t honor an agreement. A fake relationship is still a relationship. You¡¯d better be able to keep it in your pants.¡± Xu Jingzhe probably hadn¡¯t expected him to speak so directly. He found that the real Liang Yu was completely different from the Liang Yu in front of the camera. The man who appeared in the public eye was a man of few words and even fewer facial expressions. His style was that of a cool guy. However, Xu Jingzhe was starting to realize why he didn¡¯t speak much. After all, everything he said in just this short period of time was enough for him to end up on the trending list. Xu Jingzhe looked at him like he was an endangered animal. ¡°If you really knew about me, you would know that I haven¡¯t had a single scandal even after all these years.¡± Liang Yu gave him a disdainful look. He said sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯re very good at hiding from the paparazzi.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t help but wonder aloud, ¡°How are you acting like such a straight man when you¡¯re gay? Would it kill you to say something nice once in a while?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t get angry. He even laughed, as if he had heard a joke. He pushed the sashimi plate back in front of Xu Jingzhe and said, ¡°You ordered it. Make sure to finish it. Don¡¯t waste food.¡± Dbat afjwr mjwf lc cjccs njcr. Pc bgvfg ab wjxf atlcur jqqfjg wbgf gfjilralm, Tjcu Alfgel ybjgvfv Itjcu Zjc¡¯r mjg jcv lcragemafv atf vglnfg ab ajxf Oljcu Te¡¯r cjccs njc firfktfgf. Ktfs tjv qgfqjgfv atlr lc jvnjcmf. Coafg tjnlcu j wfji abufatfg, atf akb bo atfw kbeiv ufa lcab atf rjwf mjg jcv tfjv ab Oljcu Te¡¯r gfrlvfcmf. Ktfs kbeiv rajs atfgf ecali jybea atgff bg obeg lc atf wbgclcu. Ktfc, We Alcuhtf kbeiv tfjv yjmx. All of this would definitely be photographed by the paparazzi. So, although the two agents didn¡¯t have anything to say to each other, they still waited together in the car. It was Xu Jingzhe who paid the bill at the front desk. Liang Yu stood right behind him. He was very close. Before getting into the film industry, he was a professional runway model. Liang Yu was 188 centimeters tall. He was significantly taller than Xu Jingzhe, who was just over 180 centimeters. When he looked down, he could see into the other party¡¯s collar. Xu Jingzhe had his head bowed and was earnestly scanning the code to pay. His neck was fair and slender. Because he was rather thin, the joints of his spine were very pronounced. ¡°Get a parking coupon.¡± Liang Yu reminded him. Xu Jingzhe asked the boss for a parking coupon. The other party had clearly recognized who the two of them were. It was super obvious from his expression. Liang Yu placed his sunglasses on his head. Then, he placed a hand against Xu Jingzhe¡¯s waist as if no one else was around. It would be a while before the nanny van arrived, so Xu Jingzhe stood under the eaves of the restaurant. He and Liang Yu were standing shoulder to shoulder, idly looking around. ¡°The paparazzi sure are dedicated,¡± Liang Yu suddenly said. ¡°They even pulled out the aerial cameras.¡± Xu Jingzhe subconsciously wanted to look for the cameras. He was worried that there would be an issue with the angle. He didn¡¯t want the pictures to come out badly. Liang Yu stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Xu Jingzhe froze mid-way. ¡°?¡± Liang Yu¡¯s eyes met his. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t tell whether he was joking or not. ¡°Why don¡¯t we give them something interesting to look at?¡± Xu Jingzhe was still in a daze. ¡°What?¡± In the next second, Liang Yu¡¯s lips pressed down on his. This was a gentlemanly and restrained kiss. It was like a kiss between teenagers who were afraid of being found out yet still couldn¡¯t help themselves. It was the kind of kiss that was persistent yet cautious, a first kiss for the person you like most. Liang Yu had both hands in the pockets of his overcoat, maintaining a distance from the other the entire time. He simply bent forward and kissed Xu Jingzhe. Xu Jingzhe could hear the sharp sound of the camera shutter from above them. He didn¡¯t refuse the kiss. Instead, he calmly waited for Liang Yu to end this sudden, one-sided kiss. Liang Yu even ended the kiss with an ambiguous ¡°pop¡±. Liang Yu didn¡¯t speak after he backed away. He did all of this so naturally. He even had the spare time to take a look at the aerial camera. Xu Jingzhe ducked into the camera¡¯s blind spot and wiped his lower lip with his hand. He calmly said, ¡°This could be considered going off script. I could sue you for sexual harassment.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s house was located within 3rd Ring Road. It was less than three hundred square meters. Even though he bought it early, it was still pretty expensive. ¡°Liang Yu doesn¡¯t usually stay there,¡± Yang Jierui explained. ¡°He usually stays at the apartment by 5th Ring Road.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really care where Liang Yu lived. Zhang Man had told him it would be best for the two of them to live together after the engagement was announced. ¡°Mr. Xu owns a house in the suburbs. It is a bit further away, but it¡¯s convenient if you need to get to the airport.¡± Zhang Man was a little nervous about Liang Yu. After all, he was a movie emperor. He wasn¡¯t someone she could offend. ¡°Mr. Liang, what do you think?¡± Liang Yu glanced at Xu Jingzhe. He was rather indifferent. ¡°In that case, I would have to move out in front of all the paparazzi after our ¡®break up¡¯. The headlines are all going to say that I was ¡®kicked out of the house¡¯.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe had a bit of a headache. He said, ¡°I can move you into your place. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Liang Yu stared at him for a while. Then, he suddenly smiled. ¡°I¡¯m joking. Why is Mr. Xu taking it seriously?¡± Zhang Man probably didn¡¯t expect Liang Yu to have this kind of personality. Not to be cliche, but he was like a rose with thorns. The rose-colored glasses were instantly gone. Looking back, Xu Jingzhe was still better. His requirements were a little strict, but at least he was emotionally stable. He definitely wouldn¡¯t go around offending people. Since they needed to wait until three or four in the morning, the four of them simply started playing mahjong in Liang Yu¡¯s basement. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t very good at mahjong to begin with. Plus, his luck was kind of bad today. He lost to Liang Yu several times. It was clear that Liang Yu was an old hand at the game. Towards the end, Yang Jierui almost lost his pants. The funny thing was that Liang Yu finally seemed a bit more normal when he was playing mahjong. It was probably because he was very serious when it came to earning money. He didn¡¯t really say much besides ¡°Pong¡±, ¡°Kong¡±, and ¡°Mahjong¡±. Of course, he was also very proficient when it came to calculating money. He actually had a ledger which contained records about everyone who owed him money. Xu Jingzhe was a little shocked when he saw it at first. He turned a few pages and saw the signatures of several acquaintances and famous directors. His mood became even more complicated. Zhang Man saw that it was about time, so she called for a driver to bring the nanny van. She also had a ¡°middleman¡± let a little bit of information slip along the way, letting the paparazzi know to keep their spirits up. There was going to be a scoop soon, so they couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Xu Jingzhe was obediently putting his shoes on by the door when Liang Yu suddenly stopped him. ¡°Wait.¡± Xu Jingzhe saw that Liang Yu was holding onto the ledger. Xu Jingzhe frowned. He figured he would probably have to pay up all the money he lost today. He was worried that Liang Yu might make him sign his name in his ledger. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t do that. The man went upstairs. Then, he came back down after a while with an overcoat in his hand. ¡°Put it on,¡± Liang Yu ordered. Xu Jingzhe was rather sleepy at this point. He didn¡¯t think much about it and obediently put on the overcoat. Liang Yu looked at him with satisfaction. ¡°¡®Lingering Late Into The Night, Leaving In His Boyfriend¡¯s Jacket¡¯. There. I¡¯ve already thought of a subheading for them.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man was very happy to see that Liang Yu was cooperating so well. She wasn¡¯t worried about Xu Jingzhe, but, since she wasn¡¯t familiar with Liang Yu, it was a little difficult for her to relax. After spending some time with him, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t quite normal, but she didn¡¯t have any complaints about his professionalism. ¡°Would you like someone to help clean up the villa?¡± Zhang Man was still replying to her WeChat messages. Both her and the PR team would not be sleeping tonight. As soon as the media exposes the relationship, they would need to begin public relations right away. Anyway, she was way past the point of feeling sleepy, so she decided to discuss work matters with her boss. ¡°It¡¯s best for the rooms to be on the same floor. If there¡¯s anything inconvenient lying around, you can clean it up in advance. You guys can visit IKEA together. I¡¯ll arrange for some paparazzi to take pictures. We can let everyone know that you two are getting engaged and living together. The two of you are probably going to be trending for the rest of the year.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked out the car window. His mind was elsewhere. Zhang Man didn¡¯t know what he was thinking about. After a while, he suddenly asked, ¡°How many years will this cooperation last?¡± Zhang Man blanked. She looked down at the notes on her phone and replied, ¡°Three years.¡± ¡°Three years¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe sighed, seemingly talking to himself. He said, ¡°It¡¯s like I¡¯ve taken on another endorsement.¡± Zhang Man was speechless for a moment. She could only echo along, ¡°I am glad you¡¯re so dedicated to your work.¡± Xu Jingzhe gave her a strange look. His expression seemed to say, ¡°Isn¡¯t this only natural?¡± Then, he continued to brief her on work matters, ¡°However, don¡¯t go out of your way to buy a spot on the trending list. It¡¯s not good for public opinion.¡± Zhang Man nodded. ¡°The team knows what to do.¡± Xu Jingzhe added, ¡°If I recall correctly, Mr. Liang has a holiday film coming up. Go contact their team. Do I need to show my face and help with the promotion?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man tried to hold herself back, but, in the end, she couldn¡¯t help it. She cautiously asked, ¡°Boss, are you aiming for employee of the year or something?¡± CH 4 In an industry where people were always coming and going, it was quite a feat for an artist to stick with the same management team for over two years. It meant that this celebrity either had a lot of status or was simply too unpopular and couldn¡¯t afford to switch. Zhang Man had been Xu Jingzhe¡¯s agent for more than ten years. She had been with him since his debut. At the beginning, they were still under an entertainment company. She had been managing two other artists besides Xu Jingzhe. It proved that a celebrity¡¯s popularity had very little to do with the management team and everything to do with the celebrity themselves. Xu Jingzhe went from male supporting actor to male lead, from Best Newcomer to Drama Emperor. When he established his personal studio, Zhang Man followed him without hesitation. Within the industry, Xu Jingzhe was known for placing a lot of importance on his relationships. All of his assistants had been with him for at least five years. Since one of his assistants was going to be on maternity leave, he had no choice but to hire another personal assistant. Zhang Man personally conducted the interview. Zhu Xiaoxiao was a little nervous. She had just graduated. She wasn¡¯t able to land herself a good job right out of college, so, by some freak combination of factors, she was recommended to work as an artist¡¯s assistant. The only experience she had was as a temporary assistant on an idol talent show. She had never actually worked for someone as famous as Xu Jingzhe. Zhang Man flipped through her resume for a while. Then, she picked up her phone again to deal with some work. She was very busy. Ever since Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu¡¯s ¡°relationship¡± was exposed, the entire team, including her, hadn¡¯t had a single chance to rest. They had been working around the clock. ¡°That¡¯s why I told you. The two of them were on a date and booked a room at the hotel. How could they have participated in the sex party?¡± Zhang Man explained things for the nth time to who knows what media outlet. ¡°What did they book a room for? What do you think they booked a room for? What a waste of breath.¡± ¡°When did they get together? Didn¡¯t we already make it clear? They¡¯ve been together for three years now. They¡¯re getting ready to move in together. Where are they going to live? There¡¯s no way I can tell you something like that. We¡¯re all professionals here. Please don¡¯t make things difficult for us.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man took the time to point at the sofa in front of her, signaling that she could sit down. Then, she continued speaking on the phone. ¡°The drug tests are public information. It¡¯s not like we could¡¯ve faked them. Both of them are adults, so we¡¯re not super clear on all the details of their relationship either. Outstanding individuals will naturally want to be with someone even more outstanding. I don¡¯t mean to say that Mr. Xu isn¡¯t as good as Mr. Liang. Pay some attention to the wording when you¡¯re writing it up.¡± ¡°Influence? What kind of influence is it going to have? Times are changing. Society¡¯s a lot more open nowadays. Isn¡¯t it a good thing for two excellent individuals to get together? Mr. Xu spends all his time filming. He doesn¡¯t do things like this just for publicity. Everyone knows this. Both management teams have nothing but respect for their relationship and their choices.¡± Zhang Man paused for a moment, as if thinking about what else to add. Finally, she politely said, ¡°If I could trouble you to let us take a look at the draft when you¡¯re done, that would be great. We¡¯ll provide a photo of Mr. Xu. However, we won¡¯t release any photos of the both of them for the time being. You want a photo of both of them on the front cover? Oh, I¡¯ll be honest with you, dear. That¡¯s not really something we can decide. You know just how much status Mr. Liang and Mr. Xu have. I have to get their approval first. Isn¡¯t that right, dear?¡± As soon as Zhang Man finished speaking, Cai Cai walked over with a phone. Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t know what Cai Cai showed Zhang Man, but the latter nodded. The next second, Zhang Man smiled and switched up the conversation. ¡°Ah. Dear, didn¡¯t I see you last time at Yanhua Beauty Salon? What a coincidence! I just so happened to have two VIP membership cards! I¡¯ll send it to you real soon. Oh, don¡¯t be polite! I still have to rely on you for this article. Yup, same email as last time. I¡¯ll have Cai Cai look over it and send you feedback. Okay. Bye bye, dear.¡± Cai Cai listened on with a blank expression. She didn¡¯t blink an eye. She waited until Zhang Man hung up the phone and asked, ¡°New editor-in-chief?¡± Zhang Man took a deep breath. ¡°New director. I heard that she¡¯s really impressive. V Society spent a lot of money to recruit her. I wouldn¡¯t mind giving them the first dibs on the story, but X Bazaar offered a lot of money for it.¡± She glanced at Zhu Xiaoxiao on the sofa and suddenly remembered that she was still here. She pressed a hand against her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m just really busy. Darling, would you be able to wait for a bit?¡± Naturally, Zhu Xiaoxiao could only sit and wait. She was forced to listen to a bunch of stuff most people couldn¡¯t even pay to hear. Cai Cai was looking through a list in her hands. She was usually in charge of arranging schedules. These past couple of days, she had taken over a lot of the work meant for a personal assistant. At this moment, there was no one who wanted Zhu Xiaoxiao to join the team more than her. Zhang Man was chatting about work issues through WeChat as she listened to Cai Cai¡¯s report. ¡°There¡¯s a luxury brand invitation at ten o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. In the afternoon, there¡¯s going to be a trip to IKEA. We¡¯ve already contacted several media outlets. Will he be livestreaming in the evening?¡± Cai Cai asked. Itjcu Zjc atbeuta jybea la obg j yla. ¡°Pa tjrc¡¯a yffc atja ibcu rlcmf tlr ijra ilnfragfjw. Pa¡¯r j ilaaif abb rbbc obg jcbatfg bcf. Cveiar afcv ab yf wbgf qglnjaf klat atflg gfijalbcrtlqr. Qtja vb sbe atlcx? Qbeiv la yf yfaafg obg tlw ab lcafgjma klat atf ojcr bg cba?¡± Vtf qjerfv. Ktfc, rtf mtjcufv tfg wlcv jcv rjlv, ¡°Mbgufa la. Ofa¡¯r jrx Zg. We.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao used to work with small-time celebrities. The agents she met almost always called their idols by their nicknames. This was the first time she was hearing an agent as prolific as Zhang Man refer to their artist so politely. Zhang Man personally made a phone call to Xu Jingzhe. He quickly picked up the phone. First, she talked about the arrangements for tomorrow. Finally, she asked the other party about the possibility of a livestream. It sounded like Xu Jingzhe refused. Zhang Man didn¡¯t try to persuade him. She simply nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± As Zhu Xiaoxiao listened on, she subconsciously straightened her back a little bit. Zhang Man hung up the phone and finally had time to finish the interview. She continued calling Zhu Xiaoxiao ¡°darling¡± this and ¡°darling¡± that. ¡°I won¡¯t beat around the bush with you. I¡¯ve already looked over your resume a long time ago. I¡¯ve also contacted your previous employer and learned about the artists that you worked with before.¡± Zhang Man swept up the manila folder Zhu Xiaoxiao brought with her and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re careful with your words and meticulous about your job. To be honest, you¡¯re a pretty good fit for our team.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was a little flattered. Before she had entered the industry, she hadn¡¯t been very interested in celebrities. Of course, Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu didn¡¯t count. The two of them were like the song ¡°Tonight Is Unforgettable¡°. They were national figures. ¡°Mr. Xu¡¯s very nice, so you don¡¯t have to be too nervous.¡± Zhang Man motioned Cai Cai to hand her a USB flash drive. Then, she gave it to Zhu Xiaoxiao. ¡°This is all the information on Mr. Xu¡¯s living habits. You can get started as soon as possible. Also, he¡¯s currently living with Mr. Liang, but that doesn¡¯t matter. You just have to listen to Mr. Xu. No one but Mr. Xu is your boss.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded and stuffed the USB flash drive into her bag. Cai Cai had already brought over the employment contract. If there weren¡¯t any problems, they were going to go ahead and sign it. ¡°That¡­¡± Before signing the contract, Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn¡¯t help but be a little bit nosy. She was half expectant and half cautious as she asked, ¡°If Mr. Liang isn¡¯t my boss, is he the boss¡¯ wife?¡± After hanging up the phone, Xu Jingzhe stood on the second floor and looked down. Yang Jierui was overseeing the people who were moving things into the villa. Liang Yu didn¡¯t just bring daily necessities and clothes. He also brought a bunch of furniture over. Xu Jingzhe caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a Renaissance vase and furrowed his brows. Yang Jierui shouted from below, ¡°Be careful! That vase is £¤90,000! Don¡¯t drop it!¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Yang Jerry then went up the stairs. When he saw Xu Jingzhe, he smiled. ¡°Oh, Mr. Xu. I¡¯m so sorry to bother you.¡± Xu Jingzhe swept a glance behind him and asked, ¡°How much more is there?¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°Not much. There¡¯s just one bed, two sofas, and three wardrobes left. Does your house have a movie room?¡± Of course he had a movie room. The rest of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa was rather simple, but he spent a lot of money on the movie room. It was pretty much a VIP theater. The two of them had decided to live together. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t so stingy that he wouldn¡¯t even share his movie room. He was quite self-aware. Since they were going to be working together, they would naturally need to get along in public, but they should also try to get along in private as well. Either way, they signed a three year contract. He didn¡¯t want to end things on a bad note. They didn¡¯t need to be hostile towards each other. Yang Jierui was quite satisfied. He was kind of like a parent who was helping their child check out a new house. He looked around the entire villa, both inside and out. He didn¡¯t hold back when making requests and said bluntly, ¡°After all, you guys will be living together for three years. It¡¯ll be more comfortable for the both of you if we¡¯re upfront from the very beginning. Isn¡¯t that right, Mr. Xu?¡± Xu Jingzhe gave him a good-natured smile. This pretty much meant that he was accepting it. Yang Jierui was still at the villa when Zhang Man brought Zhu Xiaoxiao over. It was the first time the girl had met an actor as famous as Xu Jingzhe. It was clear as day, and her face quickly turned red. She nervously stood beside Zhang Man, a little bit at a loss. ¡°Zhu Xiaoxiao,¡± Zhang Man introduced. ¡°She¡¯s pretty good. She¡¯ll be accompanying you from now on.¡± Xu Jingzhe glanced at Zhu Xiaoxiao and nodded politely. ¡°Hello,¡± he said. Zhu Xiaoxiao was scared out of her skin. She quickly bowed her head and said, ¡°Hello, Mr. Xu. I¡¯ve watched a lot of your stuff. I¡¯m a big fan.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man burst into laughter. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be like this. It doesn¡¯t work on him, and he doesn¡¯t care. It¡¯s better if you¡¯re not a fan.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was still hesitant, but Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t feel particularly awkward about it. Yang Jierui clearly didn¡¯t have any intention to leave. He took the initiative to walk over and greet everyone. ¡°A new assistant? Mr. Xu seems to be in a hurry to recruit people.¡± Zhang Man smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Mr. Xu isn¡¯t a difficult person, so it¡¯s easy to find an assistant for him.¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°In that case, should Mr. Liang¡¯s assistant come and familiarize herself with the environment as well?¡± Zhang Man glanced at Xu Jingzhe. He didn¡¯t seem to have any objection, so Zhang Man stubbornly reminded Zhu Xiaoxiao, ¡°You just need to listen to Mr. Xu while you¡¯re here. Don¡¯t worry about anyone else.¡± Yang Jierui heard this as well. He let out a snarky ¡°ha¡± but didn¡¯t say anything. Zhang Man couldn¡¯t stay for too long. She still had other work to do. Zhu Xiaoxiao stayed behind at the villa and helped overlook things as the movers wrapped things up. Yang Jierui had to leave as well. He actually ended up arranging for an assistant to come. He said that she would arrive with Liang Yu sometime that evening. ¡°Mr. Liang has work tonight, so he might be late coming back.¡± He smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Xu, don¡¯t forget to leave a door open for him.¡± At about 1:00 AM, Liang Yu¡¯s nanny van finally drove into Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa. Xiao Luo got out of the car first and helped Liang Yu carry his bag. She was speaking in dialect and had a strong southern accent. ¡°Would you like me to go inside with you?¡± Liang Yu told her no. Xiao Luo handed him his bag. ¡°Should I pick you up tomorrow morning?¡± Liang Yu asked, ¡°What do I have scheduled tomorrow morning?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°You don¡¯t have anything scheduled in the morning. You¡¯ll be visiting IKEA in the afternoon.¡± Liang Yu impatiently replied, ¡°Then why are you picking me up in the morning? Do I not need to sleep?¡± Xiao Luo pursed her lips and said, ¡°This is someone else¡¯s house. You have a hard time falling asleep if it¡¯s not your own bed. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to sleep well here.¡± Liang Yu was a little speechless. ¡°I brought my bed with me. Stop worrying about it.¡± Xiao Luo nodded obediently. Then, she subconsciously followed Liang Yu. When she got to the door, Liang Yu stopped her. ¡°You said it yourself. This is someone else¡¯s house. Don¡¯t casually come in. Go back.¡± Xiao Luo said, ¡°Oh.¡± Liang Yu looked at her expression and persuaded her, ¡°Come back tomorrow. Yang Jierui already told them that my assistant would come and familiarize herself with the environment, and they agreed. You can look around tomorrow morning.¡± Xiao Luo happily agreed. She was a simple person. She straightforwardly said, ¡°Mr. Xu is a good person.¡± Liang Yu huffed, seemingly finding her comment ridiculous. He mercilessly started raining on her parade. ¡°How is he a good person? He¡¯s a good person just because he was a little polite? The sex scandal hasn¡¯t even been cleared up yet. Do you actually think someone who looks like that is completely uninvolved?¡± He seemed to still have a bit of anger pent up. Liang Yu was silent for a while before he said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. If he¡¯s not having sex with people, what¡¯s he here for? Isn¡¯t that just a waste of his good looks?¡± CH 5 Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived very early the next day. She stayed up all night looking over every detail of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s living habits. She had to admit that it made sense for him to be so popular and so well-regarded. Although she hadn¡¯t been in the industry for very long, she still knew that there was no such thing as a ¡°perfect¡± celebrity. It was now the industry standard for celebrities to market themselves under certain personas. After reading through the information on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s living habits, she was somewhat in disbelief. It wasn¡¯t that Xu Jingzhe was incredibly perfect or anything. Rather, he was too ordinary. He was the low-key kind of person who didn¡¯t have a lot of desires, normal and ordinary. That celebrity aura didn¡¯t seem to exist at all within his day-to-day life. What was even more incredible was that Xu Jingzhe was able to maintain his self-awareness as a ¡°normal, ordinary person¡± despite working within such a bizarre, impetuous, and restless industry. In the eyes of others, it was simply unbelievable. When Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived at the villa, the housekeeper was still cooking breakfast. She seemed to already know that there was a new assistant. The housekeeper politely invited her in and helped her get a pair of slippers. ¡°Mr. Xu just woke up,¡± the housekeeper said. ¡°Have you had breakfast yet?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao immediately replied that she already ate. She was too nervous to even sit comfortably on the sofa. Instead, she perched on the very edge of the couch cushion. After waiting for a while, she saw Xu Jingzhe coming downstairs. The man seemed to have just washed his face. His long hair was tied behind his head. Xu Jingzhe, who was wearing white stay-at-home clothes, looked very relaxed. He seemed to have already completed his skincare routine since his skin looked so good. There wasn¡¯t a single flaw to be seen. He took the initiative to greet Zhu Xiaoxiao, ¡°Good morning.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao hurriedly stood up. She nodded and bowed. ¡°Sir, good morning.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe seemed to reveal a helpless expression on his face. He said, ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°Water is fine. You don¡¯t need to worry about me. Go ahead and have breakfast.¡± Xu Jingzhe sat at the dining table. The housekeeper had prepared toast and freshly squeezed orange juice for him. Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t know much about the eating habits of other actors, but Xu Jingzhe had a meal plan prepared for every meal. He would never eat something outside of his meal plan so as not to affect his skin and figure. ¡°We¡¯ll enter the venue at 10:00. Your outfit is in the nanny van. Man jie has already checked it. There aren¡¯t any problems. Styling will be done by Mr. Neo, same as usual.¡± While Xu Jingzhe was eating, Zhu Xiaoxiao reported today¡¯s schedule to him, ¡°We just need to get there by 8:30.¡± Xu Jingzhe nodded. He wasn¡¯t a fast eater. He tended to chew his food slowly. He waited until he had swallowed what was in his mouth before he spoke. ¡°Auntie, prepare some lunch for Liang Yu when he wakes up.¡± The housekeeper smiled and said, ¡°Sure. What does Mr. Liang like to eat?¡± Ite Wljbzljb delmxis ibbxfv ja We Alcuhtf. Lf yijcxfv obg pera j rfmbcv. Ktfc, tf mjrejiis gfqilfv, ¡°Lf vbfrc¡¯a ilxf fjalcu rfjobbv nfgs wemt. Vafk rbwf mtlmxfc rbeq, jcv rxlw boo rbwf bo atf bli. Gbc¡¯a jvv rjia. P atlcx atfgf¡¯r ralii rbwf xjif lc atf gfoglufgjabg. Mgs atja eq. Lf ilxfr la.¡± The housekeeper said, ¡°Okay.¡± Then, she turned towards the kitchen to get to work. Zhu Xiaoxiao was a little shocked. She stared blankly at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. After finishing off his orange juice, Xu Jingzhe stood up as if nothing had happened. He tilted his head and said, ¡°What are you doing? Come on. Let¡¯s go.¡± This neighborhood was very sparsely populated. All of the properties were very far apart from each other. Zhu Xiaoxiao had the nanny van drive up to the villa first. After a while, she saw the van driving up, followed by another vehicle. Xu Jingzhe had probably recognized it to be Liang Yu¡¯s nanny van. He stood in front of his nanny van and didn¡¯t move. Once the other car drove into the villa, a little girl got off. Xiao Luo didn¡¯t expect Xu Jingzhe to personally greet her by the door. Her expression showed that she was rather flattered. The two of them finally met each other face-to-face. Xu Jingzhe nodded towards her and said, ¡°Mr. Liang is still sleeping. If you¡¯re waiting for him, you can just go inside and take a look around.¡± Xiao Luo quickly replied, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Xu. In that case, I¡¯ll head inside.¡± Xu Jingzhe nodded once more. Then, he stepped into the car, and Zhu Xiaoxiao followed behind him. Just as the car was about to leave the neighborhood, she couldn¡¯t hold back and asked, ¡°Mr. Liang¡¯s assistant¡­ She knows that you and Mr. Liang¡­¡± ¡°She knows,¡± Xu Jingzhe interrupted her before she could finish, ¡°But the housekeeper doesn¡¯t know.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°So it¡¯s like that¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Our management teams naturally need to know about it. However, the less people who know about it, the better.¡± After saying this, he glanced at Zhu Xiaoxiao and seemed a little apologetic. ¡°You guys have worked hard.¡± Zhu felt a sense of panic. It was the kind of panic you¡¯d feel when your boss is being nice to you so he can cut your salary. She said sincerely, ¡°This is what I should do, Mr. Xu. If you need anything at all, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask. You don¡¯t need to be so polite with me. ¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s image as a simple and straightforward person wasn¡¯t fake. He truly did not like to bother other people at all. He arrived at the venue and changed his clothes. The organizer of the event had specially prepared an exclusive dressing room for him. Neo was already waiting inside. As soon as he saw Xu Jingzhe, he shot him a sly smile. ¡°Mr. Xu really hid himself well,¡± Neo joked around as he did Xu Jingzhe¡¯s makeup. ¡°If my friends knew you swung that way, they would¡¯ve never let you go so easily.¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed and said, ¡°You guys should just let me go.¡± Neo was a little envious. ¡°You bagged a movie emperor. I can¡¯t believe you. You¡¯re usually so low-key, but it turns out that was all fake. You¡¯ve secretly got the romance of the century going on.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t get annoyed. He responded amiably, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely go back and tell Liang Yu that you like him very much.¡± Neo squealed several times. Then, he turned around and finished putting on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s makeup. He didn¡¯t forget to tease Xu Jingzhe one more time. ¡°If you guys ever break up, don¡¯t forget to call me.¡± He shot him a wink. ¡°Either one of you is fine.¡± Luxury brands considered everything from the celebrity to their management team when sending out invitations. Brands like Chanel, Dior, and the like rarely found Asian celebrities to serve as their spokespersons. However, they did have a few Asian celebrities serve as brand ambassadors. When it came to the fashion industry, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s team had always been a little picky. Zhang Man looked down on the position of ambassador. She just wanted to get the role of brand spokesperson for Xu Jingzhe. ¡°Why can¡¯t you have what Liang Yu has?¡± Zhang Man was a little unwilling to admit defeat. ¡°He might be more famous than you are internationally, but, domestically, there isn¡¯t a single person who isn¡¯t captivated by you. We just want to be their Chinese representative. Is that too much to ask for?¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you say this stuff in front of me, but you shouldn¡¯t say this kind of stuff in front of anyone else.¡± Zhang Man sighed. ¡°You¡¯re too laid back about this.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°If I was really that laid back, how could I have started up my own studio? How else would I pay all of your wages and bonuses?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°If you become their spokesperson, you¡¯ll be able to pay me even more. Boss, I¡¯m begging you. I still want to buy a house.¡± Xu Jingzhe left his signature on the billboard before the stage. There were tons of cameras and reporters surrounding the platform. This was his first public appearance since he announced his ¡°relationship¡±. Everyone was itching to ask questions. Someone even went ahead and shouted, ¡°Congratulations on your marriage!¡± Xu Jingzhe calmly returned the pen. Then, he picked a particularly flattering angle and smiled. ¡°We haven¡¯t gotten married just yet. Don¡¯t rush.¡± Another reporter asked him, ¡°Are you going to hand out candy when you get married?¡± Xu Jingzhe replied, ¡°If you give me a red envelope, I¡¯ll give you candy.¡± As long as he didn¡¯t give them nasty looks, the media usually tended to like him a lot. He had a high emotional quotient, he was eloquent, and he was able to catch their jokes. It was rare for an actor as influential as him to be so down-to-earth. There was a saying within the industry. There was always going to be a rising star, but Xu Jingzhe would still be Xu Jingzhe. The most popular celebrity was always changing every year, but Xu Jingzhe was always there. The stage was mainly for taking pictures. Several people from the brand¡¯s side came today, and he needed to take a photo with all of them. Zhang Man really wanted to grab ahold of this endorsement. Even after the event ended, she was still chatting with the brand¡¯s people. Zhu Xiaoxiao accompanied Xu Jingzhe to an interview. Zhang Man asked her to keep an eye on him. If he encountered any difficult questions, she had to help Xu Jingzhe change the subject. ¡°We gave them a list of questions, but some reporters like to go off book and do their own thing for the sake of internet traffic.¡± Zhang Man urged her, ¡°Either way, just keep an eye on Mr. Xu¡¯s face. If it looks like he¡¯s having a hard time, help him refuse the question.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was a little confused. ¡°What does Mr. Xu look like when he¡¯s having a hard time?¡± Zhang Man actually didn¡¯t know how to respond to her for a while. After thinking it over for a long time, she simply said, ¡°You can just adapt according to the situation.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe did a very good job maintaining his condition. He knew that the lighting would be very bright today, so his makeup was very light. Even if the lights were right up in his face, it wouldn¡¯t come off as greasy at all. ¡°Has Mr. Xu lost weight?¡± It was clear that this reporter was a fan of his. She was very genuinely concerned for him. Xu Jingzhe smiled at her. ¡°My next role is a bit on the thinner side, so I¡¯m preparing for it in advance.¡± Next to him, one of the cameramen praised him for his dedication. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°In that case, could you film from my left side? My left side is my good side.¡± He was really easy to talk to today. All of the media personnel were a little flattered by how amiable he was. One of the more daring reporters yelled out, ¡°Mr. Xu¡¯s in such a good mood today. It looks like your relationship is really sweet.¡± Xu Jingzhe seemed to be stunned for a moment. Zhu Xiaoxiao saw this and thought that he was troubled. Just as she was about to intervene, she heard Xu Jingzhe say, ¡°Is it that obvious?¡± He pretended to unconsciously raise a hand to his cheek. He seemed to be a little embarrassed. Ordinarily, it would be a little strange for someone of his age to be acting tender and innocent. However, maybe Xu Jingzhe¡¯s acting skills were just too good, but it truly looked very natural. Soon after, he regained his composure and poked a little fun at himself. ¡°You can¡¯t post this part. Liang Yu¡¯s definitely going to laugh at me when he sees it.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was too nervous to even breathe. She couldn¡¯t help but take a look at everyone else. It was clear from their expressions that they had completely believed it. Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn¡¯t blame them. If she hadn¡¯t known that it was fake, she would¡¯ve started riding this ship right away! The reporters were completely distracted by Xu Jingzhe¡¯s excellent performance. Many of the questions that followed were entirely besides the point. The reporter from earlier even made a declaration of her loyalty. ¡°You and Mr. Liang are truly a perfect match. I will always support you. I wish you both all the best and hope the two of you grow old together.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and thanked her several times. Meanwhile, Zhu Xiaoxiao watched from the side with a very complicated expression. She also told Zhang Man about it later. As an experienced agent, she wasn¡¯t surprised at all. ¡°Mr. Xu is just like this. You don¡¯t have to worry about him not doing good enough. You only need to worry about whether you¡¯re good enough for him.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was about to cry. ¡°What if I¡¯m not good enough?¡± ¡°Be more confident,¡± Zhang Man comforted her. ¡°Even someone like Liang Yu managed to be good enough. How could you not be good enough?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± CH 6 Liang Yu didn¡¯t get up until it was almost noon. He hastily washed his face and walked downstairs wearing a headband. Xiao Luo was chatting with the housekeeper, yammering away. It was as if this place was her own home. She was very at ease. ¡°Ge.¡± Xiao Luo happily called out to him when she saw him. ¡°You woke up?¡± Liang Yu¡¯s morning grumpiness hadn¡¯t subsided yet. He was a little annoyed to see the others, so he didn¡¯t respond. He finally paused at the end of the stairs. Xiao Luo seemed to have just discovered something and asked, ¡°Ge, did you bring this vase with you as well?¡± Liang Yu nodded. There were actually flowers within the vase. It could be seen that it had been specially arranged. The flowers had a sort of disorderly elegance about them. The housekeeper smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Xu got up early this morning to arrange it. He even worried that you wouldn¡¯t like it.¡± Xiao Luo blinked. She gave Liang Yu a glance, her expression clearly revealing her surprise. Liang Yu didn¡¯t respond. He sat down at the table and instructed Xiao Luo, ¡°Order some takeout.¡± The housekeeper found this a little unexpected. ¡°Is Mr. Liang not going to eat at home? Mr. Xu already had me prepare lunch. I was just waiting for you to wake up.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiao Luo awkwardly held her phone in her hand. She couldn¡¯t order takeout like this, but she also couldn¡¯t not order takeout. Liang Yu was speechless for a moment. Then, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s there to eat?¡± The housekeeper: ¡°I simmered some chicken soup and stir-fried some kale. Mr. Xu said that you liked kale. I also skimmed the oil off the chicken soup. I haven¡¯t added salt.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± He had been building muscle recently. He had a very strict meal prep regimen. His housekeeper helped him cut up the chicken. The chicken breasts were neatly arranged on a plate and the green kale leaves were placed next to it. He knew better than anyone that it didn¡¯t actually taste that good, but, surprisingly, it didn¡¯t look too bad. Xiao Luo took a photo and sent it to Liang Yu¡¯s personal trainer. Liang Yu looked at her for a second. Then, he suddenly said, ¡°Take a picture for me too.¡± ¡°?¡± Xiao Luo raised her phone and aimed it at his face. Liang Yu¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to take a photo of me.¡± Xiao Luo found him completely unfathomable. ¡°Then what am I supposed to take a photo of?¡± Liang Yu pulled out his cell phone and gestured towards the plate of chicken for a long time. Then, he gave his assistant another order, ¡°Turn on the flashlight. Give it some lighting from the side.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°¡­It¡¯s already bright enough, ge.¡± When Zhu Xiaoxiao first received the Weibo notification, she subconsciously swiped it away after a glance. It wasn¡¯t until she realized that something wasn¡¯t quite right that she finally ended up scrolling back. She found that Liang Yu, whom she had given a special following, had sent out a new Weibo post. Ktf qbra kjr mjqalbcfv ¡°Obnf Dfcab¡± klat j qlmaegf bo mtlmxfc jcv xjif. ¡°¡­¡± Ite Wljbzljb¡¯r tjcv agfwyifv j yla. Vtf qijmfv j tjcv bnfg tfg wbeat jcv oegalnfis uijcmfv bnfg ja We Alcuhtf, ktb tjv tlr fsfr mibrfv. Vtf rtbeafv lc tfg tfjga, ¡°Ktfgf¡¯r cb cffv! Vlg! Tbe vbc¡¯a cffv ab rfii la rb tjgv!¡± Qtfc rtf gfogfrtfv atf qjuf, atf kbgv ¡°yfcab¡± tjv wjvf lar kjs bcab atf agfcvlcu ilra, obiibkfv ys j ilaaif ijyfi atja rjlv ¡°fzqibrlnf¡±. Zhu Xiaoxiao looked out into the distance. Her eyes were blank. She looked like a statue. Liang Yu seemed to have set some sort of a precedent. All of a sudden, netizens were all showing off their own lunches. Underneath his original posts, everyone was furiously tagging Xu Jingzhe. It was a good thing he hadn¡¯t redownloaded Weibo. As of right now, he was still blissfully unaware. Zhang Man didn¡¯t know how to deal with the current situation. She had no choice but to contact Yang Jierui and get straight to the point, ¡°Does Mr. Liang always do things like this? He won¡¯t even give us a heads-up?¡± Yang Jierui didn¡¯t seem to think there was a problem. ¡°Why does he need to give a heads-up for this? He¡¯s just showing off their relationship.¡± Zhang Man was incredulous. ¡°But it¡¯s fake.¡± Yang Jierui laughed. ¡°So you do know it¡¯s fake. How come you didn¡¯t think of that when Mr. Xu was acting sweet for the camera?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­¡± Actually, it wasn¡¯t just Xu Jingzhe¡¯s team. Liang Yu¡¯s team wasn¡¯t too happy either. They had already agreed that this would be a cooperation for the sake of their mutual benefit. As a result, their cooperation had just started, the management teams hadn¡¯t even done anything, yet their bosses were already competing for employee of the year. One showed off before the media while the other showed off on social media. Are you two for real?! Was a man¡¯s natural desire to win supposed to be used for something like this?! More importantly, Yang Jierui couldn¡¯t control Liang Yu. If it was when Liang Yu first started out, Yang Jierui might¡¯ve been able to rely on his experience and his identity as a successful agent to intervene in Liang Yu¡¯s affairs. However, over the past couple of years, Liang Yu had grown a lot. When Liang Yu opened up his own studio, Yang Jierui made up his mind to follow him. Since then, the two of them became boss and subordinate. Aside from working hard, Yang Jierui¡¯s only other job was to listen to Liang Yu. Like right now, for example. He was only bold enough to make a phone call. ¡°Who cares if I posted it.¡± Liang Yu was picking out the clothes he¡¯d wear this afternoon in the cloakroom. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa had a huge upside. There were two cloakrooms. He would get a lot of sponsored clothing from affordable luxury brands every year. He ended up moving them all over. ¡°You just treat it like any other job.¡± Yang Jerry sighed. ¡°You really don¡¯t have to work so hard. That photo of you guys¡ªwhat was it? The ¡®Kiss of the Century¡¯? It ended up paralyzing Weibo for an entire day. Now you¡¯re coming out with this again. Can¡¯t you have a little bit of pity for the programmers?¡± ¡°There¡¯s also Douban.¡± Yang Jerry continued to list things off at him. ¡°Your Douban group and Jingzhe¡¯s Douban group were arguing about who had better results. Both fan groups are pretty entertaining. They didn¡¯t bother to argue about whether you two were a match or not. Instead, they went straight for your performances. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fans want to call the ship name JingYu, but your fans refused. They wanted to call it YuJing. It¡¯s pretty interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡± Liang Yu did seem to think it was quite interesting. He actually laughed out loud. Yang Jerry knew that he would react like this. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to scold him. He persuaded him to please calm down, stop trending every five seconds, and finally hung up the phone. Xiao Luo¡¯s loud voice rang out from downstairs. Xu Jingzhe had come back as well. After Liang Yu changed his clothes, he leaned against the second floor railing and looked down. Xu Jingzhe was still standing at the entrance. He seemed to have noticed something and looked up, making eye contact with him. The two of them hadn¡¯t actually seen each other for a couple of days. Liang Yu had come back really late last night. Xu Jingzhe was someone who stuck to a rigid schedule. So long as he had a job the next day, he absolutely had to go to bed early and get his beauty rest. Therefore, it stood to reason that the two of them could be considered reunited lovebirds. ¡°Hi.¡± Liang Yu raised his hand as a greeting. Zhu Xiaoxiao instantly made herself invisible. She had just told Xu Jingzhe about Liang Yu¡¯s Weibo post in the car. Xu Jingzhe had only just now redownloaded Weibo. The housekeeper hadn¡¯t left yet. The two of them would need to continue acting. ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± Xu Jingzhe asked casually. Liang Yu: ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I be letting you down if I didn¡¯t?¡± The words themselves sounded very flirty, but, when it came out of Liang Yu¡¯s mouth, it took on a strange tone. Xu Jingzhe let the housekeeper get off work first. Then, he went to the other cloakroom on the second floor to change clothes. They still needed to visit IKEA in the afternoon. The furniture was secondary. Their main goal was to get the photos. Zhu Xiaoxiao and Xiao Luo were both calmly waiting downstairs. Liang Yu wasn¡¯t so well-behaved. He wanted to go into Xu Jingzhe¡¯s cloakroom. Xu Jingzhe felt a little helpless. ¡°You wait outside. I¡¯ll change clothes.¡± Liang Yu said lazily, ¡°Your aesthetics aren¡¯t that good.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe was somewhat offended. ¡°Are your aesthetics good?¡± Liang Yu pointedly said, ¡°Either way, I wouldn¡¯t have worn those socks that day.¡± Xu Jingzhe stared at him for a while. After thinking about it for a bit, he let him into the cloakroom. Liang Yu looked around, but he didn¡¯t seem to be very satisfied with anything. Finally, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s pick something out from my cloakroom.¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated. ¡°Will they fit me?¡± Liang Yu laughed somewhat ambiguously. He looked Xu Jingzhe up and down, his eyes landing on the other man¡¯s neck and shoulders. He circled around him. Then, he withdrew his gaze as if it never happened and said lightly, ¡°I received a few new pieces of clothing, women¡¯s clothing. Why don¡¯t you try it on?¡± Many luxury brands made oversized clothing. They could be worn by both men and women. Of course, some designs were softer and prettier than others. Women tended to prefer these designs. Liang Yu selected some casual attire from a niche designer for Xu Jingzhe. The top was embellished with lace cuffs, and it was paired with a pair of well-worn jeans. The socks were white this time. Liang Yu glanced at him and, surprisingly, didn¡¯t make any snide comments. ¡°Is your birthday March 5th or March 6th?¡± Liang Yu suddenly asked. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°March 6th.¡± He was a little surprised. ¡°You know my birthday?¡± Liang Yu laughed at him. ¡°Your name sure is convenient.¡± This wasn¡¯t the first time that Xu Jingzhe had been told this. His mentor, Ren Qing, also praised his name. She said that he was born on a good date and given a good name. Before he had debuted, his very first company had even invited a fortune teller to do divinations. His fortune said that he would hit it big and experience a meteoric rise in success, so they didn¡¯t even bother to make up a stage name. Xu Jingzhe straight-up made his debut with his given name. The two of them had probably stayed in the cloakroom for too long. The assistants downstairs were starting to get restless. Xiao Luo was a bit more daring and was the first to urge them. ¡°Ge, are we leaving yet?¡± Liang Yu stuck his head out with a bit of an impatient look on his face. ¡°What time is it?¡± he asked. Xu Jingzhe took a look at the time. He felt that it was about time to leave, so he stood up and started heading out. Liang Yu grabbed him once more. ¡°You should wear some accessories.¡± Xu Jingzhe asked, ¡°Should I wear a necklace? Or would a ring be better?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t speak. He glanced at Xu Jingzhe. Then, he took off the watch on his wrist. His movements were a bit rough as he put it on Xu Jingzhe. Xu Jingzhe waited for him to fasten the buckle. Then, he raised his arm and said, dumbfounded, ¡°It¡¯s a little big.¡± Liang Yu shot back, ¡°You¡¯re too skinny.¡± The two of them went downstairs one after the other. Xu Jingzhe went to change his shoes by the entrance. When Zhu Xiaoxiao saw his watch slide down his wrist as he tied his shoelaces, she almost choked on the spot. She couldn¡¯t help looking up at Liang Yu. He had already put on a pair of espadrilles and was acting as if nothing had happened. He was still talking to Xiao Luo. The two of them were speaking in a dialect Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn¡¯t understand. She was still staring at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s watch with a stupefied expression on her face. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t seem to think there was anything wrong. Going out on a trip was just like going to work for him. He instantly entered his ¡°deeply in love¡± persona. He maintained this performance in the car and off the car, in IKEA and out of IKEA. He even clasped hands with Liang Yu very naturally. ¡°Let¡¯s switch spots.¡± Xu Jingzhe suddenly said as he was whispering ¡°sweetly¡± into Liang Yu¡¯s ear. Liang Yu was smiling, but his tone of voice was calm and cool-headed. ¡°Why?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°This angle doesn¡¯t really suit me. My left side looks better.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± CH 7 When Liang Yu had just debuted, he didn¡¯t have any money, so he lived in a basement. Later, he received some more modeling jobs and was able to start renting his own apartment. It was only then that he managed to save enough money to shop at a place like IKEA. Of course, he didn¡¯t shop there anymore. Even if it was something as simple as a vase, Liang Yu was going to buy the most expensive vase there was. Two A-list celebrities definitely weren¡¯t going to IKEA just for the sake of buying furniture. Zhang Man had arranged a lot of paparazzi. It was as people said within the circle. The masses loved to watch superstars show an ordinary, down-to-earth side from time to time. Xu Jingzhe actually managed to keep the camera aimed at his left side the entire time. Sometimes, the paparazzi were so hidden that even Liang Yu didn¡¯t notice them, but Xu Jingzhe was able to instantly point them out. Then, he would adjust his angle and positioning on the spot. Liang Yu felt that he was a little amusing. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you care a little too much about your image?¡± Xu Jingzhe glanced at him and said calmly, ¡°We¡¯re working right now.¡± Liang Yu slightly raised his eyebrows. He seemed to want to roll his eyes, but he held himself back. Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and turned Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face toward him. Their faces were incredibly close. From the camera¡¯s point of view, it looked as if they were kissing, but, in actuality, he had only brushed his lips across the other¡¯s cheek. They maintained this pose for a second or two before Liang Yu finally put some distance between the two of them. His arms were still wrapped around Xu Jingzhe¡¯s neck. He leaned into Xu Jingzhe¡¯s ear and chuckled as he said, ¡°This is what you call working. Remember to take some more initiative next time.¡± The IKEA in Beijing was outrageously large. Even the most dedicated paparazzi wouldn¡¯t be able to keep following for several hours on end. Xu Jingzhe actually ended up buying something. He had a bit of a compulsion to perform as realistically as possible when he was acting. In fact, the things he bought were all couples sets. For example, he got matching slippers, matching towels, and even matching toothbrush holders. Liang Yu cooperated very well from beginning to end. The two of them were like a true same-sex couple, and not just any same-sex couple, but a couple who had been together for many, many years. In the end, the two hard-working protagonists headed to the IKEA Restaurant for a very modest dinner. Xu Jingzhe needed to lose weight, so he only ordered a vegetable salad. Liang Yu¡¯s dinner was slightly better. He ordered some chicken. The girl who delivered their meal clearly recognized the two of them. Xu Jingzhe gave her a good-natured smile. She immediately pulled out her phone. She might¡¯ve been a little too excited, and they were in really close proximity with each other. However, she almost ended up shoving the camera into his face. Liang Yu reached out, his palm facing her, and blocked it. His tone of voice wasn¡¯t too friendly. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you not to take photos. Let him eat his meal in peace.¡± Ktf ulgi lwwfvljafis jqbibulhfv, tfg ojmf aegclcu gfv obg rbwf gfjrbc. Vtf vlvc¡¯a rffw eqrfa bg jcsatlcu. Ejatfg, rtf rffwfv qgfaas fzmlafv jybea ktb xcbkr ktja. We Alcuhtf ralii ujnf tfg jc jeabugjqt. Cr rtf ifoa, rtf rjlv lc j ibk nblmf, ¡°P klrt atf ybat bo sbe j ibcu jcv tfjiats gfijalbcrtlq! TeAlcu obg ilof!¡± ¡°?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand, but he still said thank you out of habit. After the girl left, Xu Jingzhe said to Liang Yu, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal if they take photos. You were a little too mean just now.¡± Liang Yu seemed to think he was being difficult. He clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said your left side looks better?¡± Xu Jingzhe had a bit of a dumbfounded expression on his face. Liang Yu stared at him for a while. Then, he suddenly stretched out his hand and spread his fingers. The palm of his hand almost covered Xu Jingzhe¡¯s entire face. ¡°Your face is so small.¡± He asked, ¡°Have you ever had work done?¡± Xu Jingzhe tilted his head back and yanked Liang Yu¡¯s hand down. His cheeks were rubbed red, and his bangs were a little messy. ¡°No one caught that on camera, right?¡± This was what Xu Jingzhe was most concerned about. He used the black screen of his phone as a mirror to straighten his hair. Liang Yu laughed. ¡°Just let them. Don¡¯t you know anything about flirting?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Man arranged for a nanny van to pick the two of them up that evening. When Zhu Xiaoxiao saw them continue holding hands even after getting into the car, her expression was truly indescribable. She knew very well that all of this was fake. She absolutely could not start shipping it for real. However, these two bosses were far too hard-working, too dedicated. Even if it was manufactured, she was still no match for their beautiful faces and top-notch acting skills, especially when they were showing off their fake relationship. She basically had no choice but to ship it. When Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at the paparazzi photos, she had, on more than one occasion, suspected that her ship was actually real. However, when she looked at the others in the car, she was met with the sight of Zhang Man and Xu Jingzhe analyzing their internet traffic and popularity. Meanwhile, Yang Jierui was cursing out who knows which marketing account and threatening to sue. ¡°¡­¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao shrank into the last row. Her phone was still signed into the ship¡¯s super topic, her face pale and confused. She felt so bitter. Her ship felt so, so real, yet she knew better than anyone that it wasn¡¯t. The suffocation was almost killing her. ¡°It¡¯s easy for public opinion to turn against us if we keep trending all the time.¡± Zhang Man finally concluded, ¡°From now on, you guys don¡¯t need to deliberately go on dates or show off the relationship. Just go with the flow. However, the engagement, the marriage, that¡¯s still going to happen. Mr. Liang had a holiday film that¡¯s going to be released at the end of the year. Mr. Xu will arrange his schedule when the time comes.¡± She turned and asked Yang Jierui, ¡°Do you want to draw up a cooperation plan?¡± Yang Jierui looked pretty satisfied and agreed immediately, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll definitely get Mr. Liang to give Mr. Xu a big red envelope!¡± Zhang Man grinned from ear to ear. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. If there happens to be a movie role available, remember to say a few good words for Mr. Xu, recommend him a bit¡­¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Liang Yu suddenly interrupted the two of them. He was sitting next to Xu Jingzhe. Because of his height, his legs could only stretch forward as much as possible. His sitting posture seemed to give off a sense of oppression. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss the holiday movie later. We still have other jobs lined up before then. It¡¯s not like we can just avoid the media. Have you thought about how to control the trending list issue?¡± This was actually the first time Zhang Man had her professional capabilities questioned by someone else. She replied a little awkwardly, ¡°We¡¯ll definitely prepare a list of questions for the media¡­ Of course, we¡¯ll need the two of you to rein it in a little in front of the cameras.¡± Liang Yu scoffed, ¡°How are we supposed to rein it in? Do you really think that, if we rein it in, we won¡¯t end up on the trending list? Feelings Change As The Wedding Day Draws Close, is that the kind of headline you want to see?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Also, what happened to the honeymoon period? Aren¡¯t you supposed to go on dates while you¡¯re in the honeymoon period of a relationship? What else are we supposed to do? Stay home all day and sleep together?¡± When Zhang Man heard the words ¡°sleep together¡±, she felt a ¡°thud¡± in her heart. She subconsciously looked at Xu Jingzhe. His expression seemed rather calm. He didn¡¯t seem to take it seriously. Yang Jierui had no choice but to say, ¡°If all else fails, we can just pay for the trending topic to be withdrawn.¡± ¡°Do I have that much money?¡± Liang Yu mocked. ¡°You¡¯re going to earn it back for me?¡± Yang Jierui obediently shut his mouth. He shouldn¡¯t have said anything. ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter if we end up trending or not.¡± Xu Jingzhe finally spoke up. He looked at Liang Yu and said patiently, ¡°The thing that people find annoying isn¡¯t the act of getting on the trending list, but the thing that you¡¯re on the trending list for. A lot of celebrities end up trending for the most trivial, irrelevant matters. To be honest, neither the celebrities nor the fans want to see this kind of thing too often.¡± He thought for a moment. Then, he continued, ¡°People probably won¡¯t get too annoyed if it¡¯s something worth trending for.¡± ¡°I think so as well.¡± Zhang Man immediately added, ¡°For example, interviews about how you guys met, how you fell in love, did you guys send each other any meaningful gifts, this kind of stuff should be fine. If I were a fan, I would also want to know.¡± Yang Jierui clapped his hand together and pretended to understand. ¡°That¡¯s the, what¡¯s it called ¡­ the ¡®my ship is real¡¯ kind of feeling?!¡± Liang Yu barked out a laugh. ¡°What kind of meaningful gift? A love letter? I can¡¯t write stuff like that. I started working right after middle school, so I¡¯m an idiot when it comes to literature. My family¡¯s poor. I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± Xu Jingzhe glanced at him, his gaze void of any disdain. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll write you a love letter. You can memorize it, right?¡± CH 8 Xu Jingzhe said that he would write a love letter, and he really did end up writing a love letter. The photos and videos of their visit to IKEA ended up sitting on the trending list for a day and a half. There were even a bunch of GIFs created as a result of it, two of which were incredibly popular. One was a GIF of their fake kiss, and the other was a GIF of Liang Yu covering Xu Jingzhe¡¯s entire face with his hand. It was only much later that Xu Jingzhe learned about what JingYu and YuJing meant. He didn¡¯t really care about this kind of stuff. The only reason he found out about it was because he happened to see Zhu Xiaoxiao scrolling through the tags. ¡°I was just taking a look.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was very embarrassed after having been caught. ¡°I was trying to get a better understanding of the situation.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really feel anything. He calmly asked, ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao smiled awkwardly, ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! This was a ship between the two great gods of the entertainment industry! How could the situation not be good? Look at all this content we¡¯re getting! However, Zhu Xiaoxiao wasn¡¯t going through the tags just for fun. She needed to take note of comments and opinions and report them all to Zhang Man. Because Xu Jingzhe was so hardworking, no one in his team wanted to hold him back. Zhang Man had been under so much pressure recently that she picked up a habit of mopping the office floors. She had already broken three mops, and a fourth was on its way. Today, all of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s activities were in the afternoon. He needed to take the promotional photos for his next drama. At noon, Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived at the villa. Xiao Luo was also there, meaning that Liang Yu hadn¡¯t left the villa yet. This girl was a little different from ordinary assistants. She was a little too comfortable being at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s place. She didn¡¯t treat herself as an outsider. Instead, she came and went as she pleased, and she spoke as loudly as she wanted. ¡°Mr. Xu, you should wear some more.¡± Xiao Luo had even brought him a coat as he put on his shoes. ¡°It¡¯s cold outside.¡± Xu Jingzhe accepted the coat. When he looked at it, he realized that it wasn¡¯t his. Xiao Luo smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s Liang Yu¡¯s coat. He wears this one a lot. It¡¯s very thick.¡± Xu Jingzhe wore the coat over his clothes and said politely, ¡°Thank Mr. Liang for me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Xiao Luo followed them to the door. ¡°Liang Yu said that he¡¯ll pick you up once you¡¯re done with the photoshoot. You don¡¯t have any other arrangements, right?¡± These past couple of days, Liang Yu had been coming back really late at night. He liked to stay in bed, and it was common for him to sleep until noon. It is difficult for Xu Jingzhe to even catch a glimpse of him. ¡°P vbc¡¯a tjnf jcs batfg jggjcufwfcar.¡± We Alcuhtf jrxfv, ¡°Vtbeiv kf fja bea?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll book the restaurant. When the time comes, Liang Yu will take you there.¡± We Alcuhtf cbvvfv. Ktfc, tf obiibkfv Ite Wljbzljb lcab atf cjccs njc. Ycmf atfs wjvf la bcab atf gbjv, Ite Wljbzljb mbeivc¡¯a tfiq mbwqijlclcu j ilaaif yla. ¡°Qtja fzjmais lr tfg gfijalbcrtlq klat Zg. Oljcu? Pr la bxjs obg tfg ab yf vblcu atlr wemt?¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Liang is fine with it, so that¡¯s all there is to it. Besides, Liang Yu¡¯s gay. He¡¯s not interested in women.¡± When Zhu Xiaoxiao heard this, she was immediately full of zeal. However, she was too embarrassed to ask directly. She held it in until her face turned red before finally asking, ¡°In that case, you and him¡­¡± ¡°Him and I?¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°Are you talking about our relationship?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. Then, she quietly added, ¡°A real relationship.¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed once more and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± After a pause, he added, ¡°The main thing is that I¡¯m not a good fit. He probably wouldn¡¯t like someone like me.¡± As long as it was something work-related, Xu Jingzhe would always arrive at least half an hour in advance. Based on how these photoshoots usually went, someone of his status within the industry would be provided with his own makeup room. Sitting before the lighted mirror, Xu Jingzhe closed his eyes. The makeup artist started applying his eyeliner. She was halfway through when she sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t even have any dark circles under your eyes. You¡¯ve maintained your skin very well.¡± Xu Jingzhe responded politely, ¡°I have a habit of sleeping early is all.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao bought milk tea and coffee for all of the staff members. This was the usual practice for Xu Jingzhe¡¯s team. Xu Jingzhe did not drink any of it himself. He took a straw and inserted it into a bottle of mineral water. ¡°Mr. Xu is way too self-disciplined.¡± The make-up artist put the wig on for him. ¡°You must¡¯ve lost at least ten pounds, right?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do. I¡¯m over thirty. My metabolism can¡¯t compare to that of a young person.¡± He got up and, with the help of the staff, changed into his costume. The role he was playing this time was that of a godly doctor. The green-colored robes looked light and fluttery, but they were actually rather heavy and had a lot of layers. It was difficult to move in it. For this photoshoot, his chest was partially exposed and his hair was a little messy, creating an almost frail sense of beauty. The outdoor set had already been set up. After the photographer finished adjusting the sun visor, Zhu Xiaoxiao helped Xu Jingzhe hold up the hem of his clothes as he walked to the center. The director was also there. His last name was Liu. He and Xu Jingzhe had collaborated on several dramas before, and all of them had been very highly rated and incredibly popular. He had Xu Jingzhe strike a couple of poses. Then, he looked through the photos that the photographer pulled up and made a couple comments. ¡°Try to make your gaze a little softer.¡± Director Liu cracked a joke, ¡°Think about how you usually look at Xiao Liang.¡± Before Xu Jingzhe could even react, the people around him had already started laughing. ¡°Director Liu, you¡¯re being too much.¡± Xu Jingzhe seemed a little helpless. Still, that was where his complaints ended. In seconds, he adjusted his gaze and looked into the camera. Director Liu clapped. ¡°Wow, what a sweet gaze. Pull it back a little.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She was not afraid of Xu Jingzhe messing up. Rather, she was afraid that she would not be able to take it anymore and accidentally reveal something. This feeling of wanting to ship yet knowing that it wasn¡¯t real made Zhu Xiaoxiao feel like she was going crazy. It didn¡¯t take long for Xu Jingzhe to finish up the final set of promotional photos. He was able to get into the mood very quickly, and he was cooperative. He would even stick around and take a look at the photos after the photoshoot. ¡°This last one is really good.¡± Director Liu pointed at the photo and complimented him, ¡°Look at the line from your shoulders to your neck. It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t changed out of his costume yet. He was wearing a black riding outfit. The collar was tailored very neatly, bringing attention to his neck and jawline. As he was bending over to look at the photos, a sudden commotion broke out by the entrance of the studio. Director Liu looked back. He was stunned for a moment. Then, he started laughing. ¡°Look who it is. What are you in such a hurry for? Afraid we¡¯ll keep him?¡± Xu Jingzhe blinked and slowly turned his head. Sure enough, he saw Liang Yu standing in the crowd not too far away. He was someone who had walked the runway before. He was born with a model-like figure. No matter where he stood or where he went, he would always stand out from the crowd. There were certain female celebrities that you wouldn¡¯t want to take a photo with, but the same was true for male celebrities. Nine out of ten male celebrities probably wouldn¡¯t want to be in the same frame as Liang Yu. ¡°Director Liu.¡± It was really cold outside, but Liang Yu wasn¡¯t wearing very much. He was wearing a trendy sweatshirt and sweatpants. He was also wearing a pair of boots. The coat he was wearing and the coat that Xiao Luo gave Xu Jingzhe were from the same brand. It was just the details that were a little different. Xiao Luo stood behind him, handing out cakes to the staff. She said things like ¡°you¡¯ve worked hard¡± or ¡°please take care of Mr. Xu¡±. For some reason, Xu Jingzhe felt a little bit like he was losing to Liang Yu. He adjusted his expression and said warmly, ¡°You¡¯re here? Was there a lot of traffic?¡± ¡°It was alright.¡± Liang Yu reached out very naturally and wrapped his arms around Xu Jingzhe¡¯s waist. Then, he looked down at the photos. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I got here early. I got to see something good.¡± Director Liu was amused. ¡°You¡¯ve got the real thing right in front of you. What do you need the pictures for?¡± Liang Yu turned around and took in Xu Jingzhe¡¯s outfit. He didn¡¯t reveal much shock or amazement, yet it seemed as if he was looking at something extraordinarily beautiful. His eyes were clear and earnest. ¡°It suits you very well,¡± he said. Xu Jingzhe was a little dazed. He kept feeling as though Liang Yu was bringing him into the play, his face turning hot. He lowered his head, as if embarrassed, and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to go change. Wait for me?¡± Liang Yu let go and helped him call for Zhu Xiaoxiao. Zhu Xiaoxiao still felt a little conflicted after Xu Jingzhe finished changing. She watched her boss straighten out his hair in the mirror. She was both excited and a little anxious. ¡°Mr. Liang¡¯s a little too careless. What if someone had taken a photo of the two of you just now? You guys would¡¯ve probably ended up on the trending list again.¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand froze. He absentmindedly pulled at his bangs and said, ¡°He actually didn¡¯t touch me at all. It only looked like he did.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao choked. Her ship had overturned once again. It was a little hard for her to accept right away. Xu Jingzhe probably thought that her expression was too amusing and let out a huff of laughter. He put on his wristwatch and threw Liang Yu¡¯s coat over his clothes. Then, he opened the door and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We shouldn¡¯t make Mr. Liang wait for too long.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao subconsciously looked at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand. The band of his wristwatch was obviously too big for him. It looked like it would slide off his wrist at the slightest moment, but, in the end, it finally settled on a position, loosely laying upon Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fair wrist. CH 9 Surprisingly, there weren¡¯t any paparazzi bothering them during the dinner. Still, the two of them were recognized by two of the waitstaff. The waitstaff kept their cool and served the two of them very calmly. It wasn¡¯t until checkout that they finally asked for an autograph and a photo. ¡°An autograph is okay.¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t pretend to be polite. ¡°A photo is not. He¡¯s still in costume. This can¡¯t be leaked.¡± The waitstaff naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse. An autograph was already more than enough. Xu Jingzhe followed Liang Yu into the nanny van. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Are you always like this towards your fans?¡± Liang Yu glanced at him. ¡°Those were your fans.¡± Xu Jingzhe raised an eyebrow. Liang Yu: ¡°According to our current relationship, your fans¡±¡ªhe pointed to himself¡ª¡±are all my rivals.¡± Xu Jingzhe really laughed this time. He skipped a couple grades in acting school and, as a result, made his debut very early. At that time, he was just eighteen or nineteen years old. He still had a face full of baby fat. It was clear that he had an excellent facial structure, but, from certain angles, he still looked cute and chubby. It was a far cry from the exquisite facial features he had now. Xu Jingzhe had the kind of face that didn¡¯t seem to age. The older he got, the more outstanding and brilliant he became. Whenever he smiled, the folds in his eyelids became deeper, and his brows smoothened out. He was truly alluring. Liang Yu stared at his face for a while. Then, he calmly looked away and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you act in movies?¡± Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t expected him to ask about this, but it wasn¡¯t like he was opposed to talking about it either. He honestly replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t had the chance. There haven¡¯t been any good scripts either. I made my debut through television. I guess my career went a little too smoothly. After all, you can¡¯t have everything, right?¡± Liang Yu looked up at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t something bad happen this time? Now, you have to act out this fake relationship with me. How is this ¡®smooth¡¯?¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled. He was quite optimistic. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll turn things around. Besides, I get to act out this relationship with Mr. Liang. I¡¯m not the one losing out.¡± Liang Yu was silent for a while. His tone of voice became a little more earnest. ¡°What were you doing there that day?¡± Xu Jingzhe probably hadn¡¯t expected Liang Yu to ask so directly. He wasn¡¯t able to recover right away. The reason was actually a little difficult for him to speak about. Thus, the expression on his face seemed a little more guilty. ¡°Forget it.¡± Liang Yu suddenly became angry, his expression visibly worsening. His words were once again covered in thorns. ¡°If you like to play around, that¡¯s your business. What¡¯s it got to do with me?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu shut his mouth. He really didn¡¯t want to overreact too much, but he couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Why do you have to go sleeping around? You¡¯re just going to let someone take advantage of you? Look at your face. Can¡¯t you just find someone better¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Liang.¡± Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t keep listening. He interrupted Liang Yu and tried to reply as tactfully as he could. ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. I don¡¯t actually have that kind of desire.¡± ¡°?¡± The anger had clearly gone to Liang Yu¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t actually understand what Xu Jingzhe said. ¡°What are you talking about? You want an award or something?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± We Alcuhtf kjrc¡¯a gfjiis regf lo atfs kfgf olutalcu bg cba yfmjerf Oljcu Te fcvfv eq tjnlcu ab ifjnf atja cluta. Lf gfmflnfv j ijra wlceaf cbalmf lcobgwlcu tlw atja j mbeqif bo rmfcfr cffvfv ab yf gfrtba, rb Tjcu Afggs ktlrxfv tlw jkjs ab atf jlgqbga gluta jkjs. Zhu Xiaoxiao had Xiao Luo¡¯s WeChat. The two of them kept in touch frequently. ¡°It seems like something happened between them.¡± Xiao Luo sent over a voice memo. She was probably eating something as her voice was a little muffled. ¡°Liang Yu¡¯s mood has been awful these past couple of days. It¡¯s making the staff kind of nervous. They¡¯re worried about setting him off.¡± Ite Wljbzljb gfqilfv, ¡°Tbe vbc¡¯a rffw ab yf nfgs cfgnber.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°I¡¯m used to it. Anyway, Mr. Xu has such a good temper. I¡¯m so jealous of you.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao thought to herself, ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous of me. You have no idea how many times I¡¯ve built my ship and torn it back down. It¡¯s a kind of pain that no other shipper could understand.¡± It was clear that Xiao Luo liked chatting with others. ¡°Tell Mr. Xu to coax him a little bit. He might have a bad temper, but he¡¯s really a good person. He¡¯s actually a big softie. ¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t quite agree. She said, ¡°Why does Mr. Xu have to coax him? It takes two to have a fight. Isn¡¯t Mr. Liang a little too old for others to have to coax him?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Sigh. You don¡¯t understand. In a relationship, this is called flirting.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded. ¡°What relationship? It¡¯s all fake.¡± ¡°So what?¡± Xiao Luo nonchalantly remarked. ¡°A fake relationship is still a relationship. Mr. Xu is really dedicated to his job, so I¡¯m sure coaxing someone¡¯s easy-peasy for him. Besides, Liang Yu¡¯s probably waiting for Mr. Xu to coax him. He¡¯s just too embarrassed to say it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao was a little surprised. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why do you support them so much?¡± It took a while for Xiao Luo to get back to her. For some reason, she took on the tone of a mother-in-law towards her daughter-in-law. ¡°I used to think that no one was good enough for Liang Yu, but ¡­ how should I say it? Liang Yu¡¯s around that age already, and Mr. Xu is actually pretty good.¡± ¡°What are you chatting about?¡± Zhang Man plopped a stack of materials on Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s head. ¡°What¡¯s this about ¡®Mr. Xu is pretty good¡¯?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao quickly muted her cell phone. She brought the stack of materials down from her head and asked, ¡°Do you want me to pick up Mr. Xu?¡± Today was one of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s rare breaks. He said that he was meeting a friend, so he left without taking anyone with him. Zhang Man was actually rather worried that he would be followed by paparazzi, but, after thinking about it, she waved the thought away. Liang Yu wasn¡¯t going to be there, so there probably wouldn¡¯t be anything for the paparazzi to catch. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go if he doesn¡¯t call for you.¡± Zhang Man wanted to be lazy today. ¡°Mr. Xu also needs to rest.¡± Due to the sex scandal from last time, Dr. Chen was very careful when picking a location this time. In order to meet with celebrities without getting caught, it was necessary for his clinic to have more than one location. Xu Jingzhe drove himself to a high-end residential area in the suburbs. After parking his car, he walked for nearly twenty minutes before arriving at the door of the psychological clinic. ¡°I saw the news.¡± Dr. Chen was over fifty. His hair was graying, but he still looked full of energy. ¡°You guys looked good in the photos.¡± Xu Jingzhe sat down on the treatment chair. The treatment was mostly conversational, but, for comfort, the clinic was equipped with soft reclining chairs in which he could lie down and rest. ¡°It¡¯s just work.¡± Xu Jingzhe was lying down. Dr. Chen had been treating him on and off for two or three years. In terms of psychogenic erectile dysfunction, this wasn¡¯t a short period of time. When Xu Jingzhe first discovered that there was a problem, he assumed that it was because he was under too much pressure. However, he wasn¡¯t someone with a lot of sexual desire to beign with, so he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it at first. That was until he discovered that he couldn¡¯t get it up even with his hand. It was only then that he realized that he couldn¡¯t go on like this. Even if he didn¡¯t sleep with anyone, the fact that he couldn¡¯t get it up was a matter of pride. No matter how open-minded Xu Jingzhe was, he still felt a faint sense of insecurity and frustration about it. This was something he could not escape. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not like there hasn¡¯t been any improvement.¡± Dr. Chen looked through some files and asked, ¡°Have you had any morning wood recently?¡± Xu Jingzhe thought for a while and said, ¡°Maybe twice a week.¡± Dr. Chen encouragingly asked, ¡°Did you masturbate at all?¡± ¡°No.¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated. Then, he said, ¡°It usually calms down pretty quickly.¡± Dr. Chen: ¡°You don¡¯t need to be too nervous. Whenever it happens, just think about happy thoughts. Has anything good happened recently?¡± Xu Jingzhe awkwardly said, ¡°I really don¡¯t have that kind of relationship with Liang Yu. We¡¯re cooperating with each other right now. We¡¯re just ordinary friends at most.¡± Dr. Chen hummed in response. Then, he suddenly said, ¡°Have you ever thought about starting a new relationship? Having someone you can share secrets with? Sometimes, keeping too much stuff to yourself can cause psychological pressure.¡± He pointedly said, ¡°Who knows? Maybe Mr. Liang can be that person for you.¡± Xu Jingzhe was silent. He didn¡¯t look too opposed to the idea, but he wasn¡¯t exactly happy with it either. He thought about it a lot before finally replying, ¡°He¡¯s a man. And he likes men.¡± Dr. Chen: ¡°Isn¡¯t that good¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel particularly insecure about myself,¡± Xu Jingzhe calmly interrupted him. ¡°But it¡¯s true that I won¡¯t be able to do it. Even if there were something between us, it would only be an emotional relationship, not a physical one. However, he¡¯s a normal guy, and he has his own desires. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying that anything has to happen between the two of you.¡± Dr. Chen laughed. He looked at Xu Jingzhe and changed the subject. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve been under a lot of pressure recently? Let¡¯s talk about something else then. For instance, what kind of person do you think Liang Yu is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Xu Jingzhe blanked for a long time before finally answering with this. He emptied his gaze and stared at the ceiling of the consultation room. His mind seemed to be drifting off. ¡°He¡¯s completely different from me. He¡¯s got a huge temper. He likes to do as he pleases. He¡¯s headstrong. He¡¯s got a foul mouth. In my mind, he¡¯s like a boiling kettle of water.¡± Doctor Chen: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe paused for a while. Finally, he reluctantly admitted, ¡°Of course, he¡¯s still very charming.¡± This two-hour consultation wasn¡¯t exactly particularly meaningful, but Xu Jingzhe did feel a little more relaxed afterwards. No matter how omnipotent he was, there would still be times when he needed someone to just listen. There were a lot of things he couldn¡¯t say to anyone else, but he could say it to a psychologist. Dr. Chen¡¯s advice was the same as always: reduce anxiety, try masturbating, and open up with others a bit more. This last piece of advice was actually the most difficult for Xu Jingzhe. It¡¯s not like he could just go up to Liang Yu and say, ¡°I can¡¯t get an erection¡±. If he really wanted to get into it, this could be considered sexual harassment. Moreover, Liang Yu¡¯s mood seemed to finally have improved a little bit. The two of them were now able to calmly exchange text messages on WeChat. ¡°What time does your flight arrive?¡± Xu Jingzhe sent him a message. Liang Yu quickly replied, ¡°Four o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up then. What do you want to eat tonight?¡± It took a while before Liang Yu finally replied with a single word: ¡°Whatever¡±. Liang Yu didn¡¯t say anything about what he wanted to eat, but he didn¡¯t reject Xu Jingzhe¡¯s proposal to pick him up either. Xu Jingzhe held his phone and smiled. When Zhu Xiaoxiao saw this, her heart was once again filled with sugar. ¡°Mr. Liang isn¡¯t angry anymore?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao cautiously felt him out. ¡°I heard Xiao Luo say that Mr. Liang¡¯s been in a bad mood these days. I thought that you two were fighting.¡± Xu Jingzhe still had a smile on his face. He patiently explained, ¡°We¡¯re not fighting. There was just a little misunderstanding. When he gets back, I¡¯ll explain it to him.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao responded, ¡°Oh.¡± Then, she heard Xu Jingzhe continue. ¡°Mr. Liang¡¯s a little temperamental. He¡¯ll be fine once you coax him a bit. I was also at fault this time. I didn¡¯t make things clear beforehand. I¡¯ve ended up causing trouble for you all.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t want to hear the word ¡°trouble¡± right now. What about her ship?! When will her ship become real?! The author has something to say: Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°It¡¯s so hard. My ship is being put together and torn apart before my very eyes.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Ship? What ship? That¡¯s my sister-in-law.¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: There it is. The big secret. He has ED. CH 10 There was a certain process for airport pickups. Liang Yu fans were huge in number. He was on track to become an international actor. There were even foreigners showing up at the airport just for the sake of meeting him, let alone fansites. Their respective management teams had already been informed of the fact that Xu Jingzhe was going to pick Liang Yu up from the airport. Zhang Man didn¡¯t invite the paparazzi because the fansites were sure to take pictures. They just needed to keep an eye on the trending list. If they needed to buy a spot on the trending list, they¡¯d buy it. If they needed to remove a topic from the trending list, they¡¯d remove it. Beijing International Airport¡¯s annual passenger flow was in the hundreds of millions. Xu Jingzhe definitely wasn¡¯t going to go through ordinary passenger pickup channels. However, in order to let fans see him, he wasn¡¯t going to hide either. Liang Yu walked up front by himself, swiping his fingers back and forth across his phone screen. Xiao Luo and Yang Jierui had gone to pick up the luggage. Everyone in the work group chat was complaining that he bought too many things. Liang Yu casually sent a red envelope in the group chat. He didn¡¯t bother to see who managed to snatch it and cut back to the chat room at the very top. Xu Jingzhe had just sent him a message one minute ago. ¡°I¡¯m at Gate C.¡± Liang Yu pouted in disdain. He looked up to find Gate C. He ran things by Xiao Luo and the others along the way. Gate C was reserved for VIPs. There was a long glass passage. Although fans couldn¡¯t enter, they could still see the celebrities through the glass. Xu Jingzhe was waiting at the very end of Gate C. He wore a large coat and had both of his hands in his pockets. Every now and then, he¡¯d pull his hand out to check the time on his watch. Since he didn¡¯t disguise himself, all of the fans could see him very clearly. Liang Yu¡¯s fansites were looking over at him, taking photos, long before Liang Yu had even arrived. Liang Yu was walking very quickly. He was tall and eye-catching. Anyone could recognize him with just a glance. Xu Jingzhe had originally been standing around rather casually. When he caught sight of Liang Yu, he subconsciously straightened his back. His smile was far too natural. It was as if he¡¯d truly been looking forward to his lover¡¯s return. He even took a few steps forward and opened his arms, seemingly waiting for a hug. Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± His footsteps paused for one tiny, imperceptible moment. Then, he immediately started running towards him. All Xu Jingzhe felt was this great gust of wind. In the next moment, he was engulfed by Liang Yu¡¯s arms. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± He was a little stunned by the hug. He almost couldn¡¯t tell whether Liang Yu¡¯s enthusiasm was real or fake. Of course, it was always a good thing for the other party to be so dedicated. Xu Jingzhe cooperatively raised his hand and rubbed the back of Liang Yu¡¯s head. ¡°Welcome back.¡± He whispered, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Liang Yu hugged him for a little bit longer before separating. His arms were still wrapped around Xu Jingzhe¡¯s shoulders. He was practically hugging the man even as they walked out. Xiao Luo and Yang Jierui had already picked up their luggage. They dragged five thirty-inch suitcases over and waited outside. The airport¡¯s security guards had formed a cordon in advance. Although Liang Yu had a lot of fans, order was maintained very well. His fans were famous in the industry, and mainstream media had even praised them for their orderly conduct. Liang Yu took the initiative to quickly sign a few autographs. He also received flowers and letters from his fans. The fans didn¡¯t forget about Xu Jingzhe either. They also complimented him, ¡°Mr. Xu must¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Liang Yu waved his fans off. ¡°Run along. Everyone¡¯s worked hard. Make sure to head home early.¡± The fans replied ¡°okay¡± in unison. Liang Yu handed the flowers and letters to Xiao Luo. Then, he threw his arms back around Xu Jingzhe¡¯s shoulder. We Alcuhtf ofia j tfjvjmtf mbwlcu bc ktfc tf rjk atbrf teuf relamjrfr. ¡°¡­Gbc¡¯a sbe atlcx sbe tjnf j yla abb wemt ieuujuf?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ride with you,¡± Liang Yu said. ¡°Xiao Luo and the others can take the luggage back.¡± We Alcuhtf tjv vglnfc tlr bkc mjg, rb la kjrc¡¯a lwqbrrlyif obg Oljcu Te ab ub klat tlw. Ktf gfrajegjca tjv jigfjvs yffc ybbxfv obg atf fnfclcu, rb We Alcuhtf wjvf j qtbcf mjii ab wbnf eq tlr ybbxlcu. Ktfc, We Alcuhtf jcv Oljcu Te tfjvfv ragjluta atfgf. They didn¡¯t eat Japanese food this time. Instead, Xu Jingzhe chose Huaiyang cuisine. Liang Yu looked very tired. Xu Jingzhe heard that Xiao Luo and Zhu Xiaoxiao had been in touch. Zhu Xiaoxiao had told him a lot about the filming that Liang Yu was doing. In order to come back earlier, Liang Yu kept filming late into the night. He¡¯d probably only slept a couple of hours over the past couple of days. Xu Jingzhe wanted to finish the meal early so Liang Yu could go back and sleep. He quietly served him some food without saying anything. After taking a few bites, Liang Yu put down his chopsticks. ¡°Where¡¯s the love letter?¡± he suddenly asked. Xu Jingzhe blurted out an ¡°ah¡±. Liang Yu: ¡°What do you mean ¡®ah¡¯? Didn¡¯t you say you would write a love letter? It¡¯s almost the end of the year. I still have to do a ton of promotional events before the film hits theaters. If you don¡¯t give me the love letter, how am I supposed to fool the reporters?¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little moved by his professionalism. He smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already written it all down. I¡¯ll show it to you when we get back.¡± Liang Yu urged him once more. ¡°Hurry up. We¡¯ve already given the reporters a list of questions they can ask. Don¡¯t let me make a fool of yourself.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. He urged him to eat and promised that he wouldn¡¯t. As they were finishing up their meal, Liang Yu suddenly said, ¡°I was wrong that day.¡± It took Xu Jingzhe a while to realize that he was talking about the sex scandal thing. Liang Yu didn¡¯t look at his face. He continued as if nothing had happened. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you about what I was doing there that day, so I don¡¯t have any right to question you either.¡± Xu Jingzhe quickly said, ¡°Those are Mr. Liang¡¯s private matters. I won¡¯t pry.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu was choked up by the words ¡°personal privacy¡±, and his face turned blue. He angrily replied, ¡°Fine.¡± Then, he added, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious?¡± Xu Jingzhe put on an understanding and considerate appearance. ¡°Everyone has secrets. You don¡¯t need to worry about me. So long as you¡¯re happy.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu wasn¡¯t happy at all. He had a sour face on the entire way back. Xu Jingzhe was a little dull in this regard. He just assumed that he was tired. In fact, he was actually quite happy that they managed to resolve their ¡°misunderstanding¡±. He even started humming to the car stereo. Liang Yu could only close his eyes and pretend to sleep. Xu Jingzhe was still quite sensible. He obediently turned off the stereo for fear of disturbing him. The two of them returned to the villa. Xiao Luo and Zhu Xiaoxiao hadn¡¯t left yet. They were sitting on the ground of the living room and organizing the five suitcases worth of stuff that Liang Yu brought back. Xu Jingzhe let Liang Yu go up to take a bath. Then, he sat down to help out. ¡°What did he buy?¡± Xu Jingzhe squatted down and rolled up his sleeves. Xiao Luo was rather cheeky towards Liang Yu, and she was even more so with Xu Jingzhe. She casually replied, ¡°He bought a lot of jewelry, clothes, and shoes. However, most of them are for you, Mr. Xu. You should try it on later.¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°He bought stuff for me?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Couples¡¯ outfits. He said that your aesthetics aren¡¯t that good, so it¡¯s better for him to pick stuff out for you.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± He felt like he¡¯d been offended again. The three of them started putting away all of the things that Liang Yu had bought. Xiao Luo hadn¡¯t lied. Most of the clothes were in Xu Jingzhe¡¯s size. Some of the clothes were truly very beautiful. Zhu Xiaoxiao encouraged Xu Jingzhe to try some on. As a result, one piece of clothing led to another piece of clothing. It was like a fashion show downstairs. Liang Yu came out of the shower. He was shirtless. His hair hadn¡¯t even dried yet when he saw Xu Jingzhe wearing a pair of overalls. He was also wearing a navy blue cardigan. Xiao Luo was squatting on the ground to take pictures of him. Liang Yu watched from the second floor for a while before finally coming down. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t notice him. He was still adjusting the straps of the overalls. He was fumbling with them for what felt like forever. Just as he was about to pull them off, someone else looped the straps over to the front. ¡°You wear it like this.¡± It looked as if Liang Yu was holding Xu Jingzhe in his arms. A dry towel was draped over his head. His hair was still dripping with water. His face was practically pressed up against Xu Jingzhe¡¯s. One hand held the overall strap, and the other was holding Xu Jingzhe¡¯s waist. There were buttons on the back of the straps, so it took a while to fasten them. Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s jaw dropped. She felt like she was about to go blind. The two straps were quickly adjusted into place. Liang Yu took a few steps back to appreciate his work. Then, he said, ¡°It really suits you.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked at the clothes scattered across the floor and felt a little bad. ¡°You bought way too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just clothes.¡± Liang Yu bent down to rummage through the suitcase. Then, he casually grabbed a tee and pulled it on. ¡°How much could it possibly be worth?¡± Xiao Luo was probably pretty satisfied with the photos. She was looking down, trying to pick out the best one, and naturally piped up, ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Xu, you don¡¯t need to be polite with him. His things are your things.¡± After she finished speaking, she let the two of them take a look at her phone. ¡°Do you want to post it on Weibo?¡± Everyone except for Zhu Xiaoxiao seemed to have automatically skipped over the ¡°his things are your things¡± bit. Xu Jingzhe was more focused on the photos. He bent over to take a look. He even asked if he could photoshop it a bit. Liang Yu was a little impatient. ¡°What is there to photoshop? We¡¯ve already trended today. Don¡¯t bother.¡± Xu Jingzhe could only regretfully relent. He didn¡¯t forget to remind Xiao Luo to send the photo to Zhu Xiaoxiao. There were still a bunch of things in the suitcase that hadn¡¯t been sorted out yet. Liang Yu also came to help after he finished drying his hair. Surprisingly, he actually knew how to keep his mouth shut when he was working. Plus, his movements were very neat and nimble. He didn¡¯t seem anything like a spoiled and pampered celebrity. He moved way too fast. Towards the end, he was the one urging Xiao Luo to move faster. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted.¡± It was clear that Liang Yu was on the verge of exploding. ¡°Hurry up and leave.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going. There¡¯s work tomorrow afternoon. What time should I pick you up?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Sometime after noon.¡± Xiao Luo gave him an okay gesture and left with Zhu Xiaoxiao. Xu Jingzhe was about to go upstairs when he suddenly noticed that Liang Yu was staring at him. ¡°Where¡¯s the love letter?¡± Liang Yu asked again. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°You¡¯re already tired. Shouldn¡¯t you go to bed first?¡± Liang Yu seemed to lose his temper again. His attitude was unyielding. ¡°Give it to me first.¡± Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to go upstairs to his room and get the love letter. He had actually written it very earnestly. It was only after he handed it over to Liang Yu that he began to feel a faint sense of embarrassment. Liang Yu opened it up and took a look. His expression didn¡¯t change. He asked him, ¡°You wrote it yourself? You didn¡¯t copy it from somewhere, did you?¡± Xu Jingzhe felt a little speechless. ¡°If you¡¯re really worried about that, you can search it up on Baidu.¡± Liang Yu looked at it again. It seemed as though he wanted to smile but was deliberately holding himself back. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t sure what he was so happy about. He finally glanced at Xu Jingzhe and said in a strange tone of voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were this cheesy.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­?¡± The author has something to say: Liang Yu: ¡°He plays around so much, so why won¡¯t he play around with me?!¡± CH 11 Xiao Luo arrived exactly at noon the next day. Xu Jingzhe had gone to the gym that morning. When he got back, the two of them happened to meet in the villa¡¯s courtyard. ¡°Mr. Xu,¡± Xiao Luo greeted him. Then, she asked rather enthusiastically, ¡°Are you tired?¡± Xu Jingzhe felt that her ability to chum it up with anyone without making things awkward was actually quite remarkable in its own way. He had a very ordinary view of things, and he didn¡¯t look at things through rose-colored glasses. Thus, this ¡°consideration¡± was very flattering. ¡°I didn¡¯t do any heavy exercises,¡± Xu Jingzhe said gently. ¡°Have you eaten? The housekeeper¡¯s going to make lunch. Why don¡¯t you join us?¡± Xiao Luo stared at him. The girl was actually very beautiful. If she dressed up a bit, she could probably make a debut. Xu Jingzhe had a slight inclination to do just that. He even wanted to ask her whether she had an agent already or not. ¡°Mr. Xu, you¡¯re really good-looking,¡± Xiao Luo suddenly said. ¡°I¡¯ve been staring at Liang Yu¡¯s face for so many years. I thought that no one could possibly look better than him, but you¡¯re different. You¡¯re a different kind of good-looking.¡± Xu Jingzhe was amused by her description. Xiao Luo¡¯s gaze was very clean. This part of her was, strangely enough, very similar to Liang Yu. However, her gaze wasn¡¯t entirely devoid of any emotion. Rather, there was an almost parental sort of affection hidden in her gaze. It was kind of strange. The housekeeper cooked up the food and called everyone over for lunch. Xiao Luo went upstairs to wake Liang Yu up. Xu Jingzhe sat down at the dining table first. Liang Yu didn¡¯t lie around for too long. After washing his face and changing his clothes, he came downstairs. Liang Yu glanced at Xu Jingzhe, and his eyes paused. His morning grumpiness probably hadn¡¯t worn off yet because the tone of his voice wasn¡¯t too good. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you wearing the clothes I bought for you?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t mind his poor attitude and said, ¡°I went to the gym this morning. There was no need to wear such nice clothes.¡± Liang Yu reluctantly accepted this explanation. After a while, he ordered, ¡°Make sure to wear it when we go out.¡± Xu Jingzhe regarded this as his ¡°dedication¡± to the act and agreed without much thought. One was eating vegetarian while the other was bulking up on protein. The dinner table was surprisingly harmonious. Xiao Luo, on the other hand, was rather quiet. She had this one habit. It seemed that, as long as Liang Yu and Xu Jingzhe were together, she would pretty much never interrupt. Instead, she¡¯d wait for them to finish speaking before jumping in. Liang Yu had work in the afternoon, so he ate quickly. After eating, he went upstairs to change his clothes. When he came back down, he had a new outfit in his hands. The clothes clearly weren¡¯t his size. ¡°You wear this,¡± Liang Yu said. Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°Did you pick this out for me?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Who else could it have been?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know what he was so anxious about. ¡°Go and change.¡± Although Xu Jingzhe found this rather inexplicable, he didn¡¯t want to argue about something so trivial. When he finished changing, he found that Liang Yu still hadn¡¯t left. Xiao Luo didn¡¯t dare to rush him, so she had no choice but to keep staring at her phone. Ca atlr wbwfca, jii bo Oljcu Te¡¯r ectjqqlcfrr rffwfv ab vlrrlqjaf joafg rfflcu We Alcuhtf lc atf cfk mibatfr atja tf ybeuta. Lf rajgfv ja We Alcuhtf obg j ktlif, rffwlcuis rjalrolfv. Ktfc, tf wbalbcfv obg tlw ab rla bc atf rboj. ¡°Pa relar sbe nfgs kfii,¡± Oljcu Te rjlv. We Alcuhtf obecv atja tlr mbwqilwfcar afcvfv ab yf gjatfg wliv. Pa rffwfv atja tf vlvc¡¯a gfjiis xcbk jcs batfg mbwqilwfcar. Oljcu Te tfiv j qjlg bo ktlaf rbmxr lc tlr tjcvr. Lf revvfcis rdejaafv vbkc, iloafv We Alcuhtf¡¯r obba, jcv qijmfv la bc tlr xcff. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°?!¡± Liang Yu put on one of the socks for him. Then, he went to lift up his other foot. Xu Jingzhe was a little frightened and pulled back. ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself,¡± he said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a hurry?¡± Liang Yu put the socks on for him. His attitude was very natural. He didn¡¯t seem to understand what Xu Jingzhe was being shy about. He calmly replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t I help you put your pants on yesterday?¡± Xu Jingzhe recalled that pair of overalls. At that time, Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t really thought anything of it, but, now, he was starting to find it rather inappropriate. He remembered that Liang Yu had been shirtless at the time. His chest had been pressed right up against his back. The man¡¯s hair was damp, and some of the water dropped onto Xu Jingzhe¡¯s cheeks¡­ His mind was a mess. He didn¡¯t understand why he remembered everything in such vivid detail. Now that he was recalling everything, his entire back felt numb and tingly. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Liang Yu stood up. It was only then that Xu Jingzhe noticed how similar their outfits were. It might be because he had first debuted through the fashion industry, but Liang Yu truly had excellent taste. They were matching, but the outfits weren¡¯t exactly identical. It wasn¡¯t like those cringy couple outfits, but, no matter how anyone looked at them, they would definitely come off as a couple. Xiao Luo seemed to be treating herself like air throughout the entire process. She waited until Liang Yu was done with Xu Jingzhe before finally reminding him of the time. For the past couple of days, all of the promotional events for the holiday film had been held in Beijing. There would be a new venue everyday. Yang Jierui¡¯s team had already given Zhang Man a heads up. If they needed Xu Jingzhe¡¯s cooperation, all they¡¯d need to do was say the word. ¡°Mr. Xu doesn¡¯t need to come today.¡± Xiao Luo explained things to Xu Jingzhe in front of Liang Yu. She said, ¡°You do what you have to do.¡± Xu Jingzhe did, in fact, have an appointment for a table read with Director Liu that afternoon, but it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t ask for leave. However, since Liang Yu¡¯s side didn¡¯t say anything, there was no need to force it. ¡°However, once we¡¯re finished, we¡¯ll still have to trouble you to pick us up,¡± Xiao Luo said. ¡°After all, the media¡¯s going to be there. We should at least give them what they want.¡± Xu Jingzhe replied, ¡°I know.¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t seem to have anything to say. He urged Xiao Luo, ¡°Hurry up and get in the car. Let¡¯s go.¡± Xiao Luo really wanted to roll her eyes. She sighed. Then, she waved at Xu Jingzhe before getting in the car. ¡°We¡¯re heading off.¡± After the door was closed, Xu Jingzhe seemed to have heard Liang Yu complain, ¡°Why do you have so much to say to him?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°¡­I only said a couple words.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± A table read was one of the things Director Liu insisted on doing before the start of every project. If you wanted to participate in his works, you would have to follow his rules. There were very few people who could get into his cast through the back door. Xu Jingzhe was one of them. Thus, Director Liu was quite moved when Xu Jingzhe actually came to the table read. ¡°Xiao Liang¡¯s holiday film is still being promoted,¡± Director Liu said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to support him? I actually expected you to ask for leave.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can just cling to each other all day, everyday. We still have jobs to do.¡± Director Liu: ¡°Aren¡¯t the two of you in love? I think the official announcement said that you guys were secretly dating for three years. You sure did hide it well.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled. He was as steady as a rock. In fact, he knew very well that there were those who believed his relationship was real and those who didn¡¯t. He might be able to trick his fans, but it wasn¡¯t so easy to trick others in the industry. These crafty old foxes all kept trying to test whether the relationship was real or not. Xu Jingzhe actually found it quite annoying at times. If he encountered a difficult situation, he would simply cut them off by saying, ¡°We¡¯re getting engaged soon.¡± He just needed to shoot them down. It didn¡¯t matter if they believed him or not. The script of Green Water had been sent to the actors in advance. The female lead of Green Water was Luo Yaoye, who had debuted in Hong Kong. She even managed to star in a popular commercial film within the last two years. She accepted the role for Green Water because of her personal friendship with Director Liu. She also accepted because Xu Jingzhe was starring. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t actually very familiar with her, but, in terms of achievements, Luo Yaoye had also won two very prestigious television awards. She had an established reputation among actresses. ¡°Mr. Xu.¡± Luo Yaoye sat next to Xu Jingzhe. She spoke excellent Mandarin. Her speaking skills were solid, and her voice was gentle. ¡°We met at the awards ceremony. I didn¡¯t have the chance to congratulate you.¡± Xu Jingzhe suddenly remembered the Golden Rooster Awards. He¡¯d won the title of Drama Emperor for the third time. There had been too many people at the time, and Luo Yaoye had been a little far away. There really hadn¡¯t been any contact. Xu Jingzhe was a little embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re too polite.¡± Luo Yaoye was only one year younger than him. She was generally considered to be in between the older and younger generations. Although the two of them had never worked together before, the atmosphere wasn¡¯t awkward. Luo Yaoye looked somewhat like an 80¡¯s Hong Kong celebrity. She knew what suited her, so she dressed in a very vintage style. In fact, actresses also cared about the clothing choices of their co-stars, especially for someone as famous as Xu Jingzhe. Luo Yaoye couldn¡¯t help but secretly compare their outfits. The two of them read halfway through their lines. During their break, Luo Yaoye started mindlessly browsing through live broadcasts online. She was a little surprised when she saw a certain broadcast. She couldn¡¯t help but look up at Xu Jingzhe. After looking at him for bit, she looked back down at the person on her screen. ¡°Mr. Xu.¡± Luo Yaoye held back her gossip-loving heart. She handed her cell phone over to him and asked, ¡°Mr. Liang¡¯s promoting his new film, right?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know where this was coming from, so he looked down at her phone and found that it was a live interview with Liang Yu. Luo Yaoye turned up the volume. The reporter¡¯s voice rang out from the live broadcast. ¡°I heard that you and Mr. Xu have had a stable relationship. Do you have any good news to share?¡± Liang Yu seemed to give the reporter a smile and asked, ¡°What kind of good news do you want to hear? Isn¡¯t it good news that the film is about to be released?¡± The reporter quickly said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s good news. Since it¡¯s good news, did Mr. Xu have any surprises for you?¡± ¡°Surprises¡­¡± Liang Yu deliberately dragged out the last syllable. He didn¡¯t care whether people were happy about the suspense or not. After having his fun, he slowly said, ¡°Yes, he wrote me a love letter.¡± The reporter had probably been confused by this as well. He subconsciously said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you read it out loud?¡± Liang Yu smiled and said nothing. Luo Yaoye almost started swearing because of this suffocating push and pull. She was named as one of the last actresses representing the Golden Age of Hong Kong Cinema! How could she be jerked around like this!? Xu Jingzhe suddenly reached out a hand and propped up her phone. He said with a smile, ¡°Ms. Luo, don¡¯t shake the screen too much. I can¡¯t see clearly.¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°¡­¡± In the live broadcast, Liang Yu was still smiling. He looked at the people around him. One of his co-stars next to him seemed to be encouraging him. The man lowered his head once more. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t tell whether the shyness was real or faked. ¡°It was just a poem,¡± Liang Yu said. Whenever he lowered his voice, it became mellower, more moving. He wasn¡¯t looking at his cell phone or notes. He simply recited a poem for everyone to hear. ¡°I¡¯ll pick a flower for you and hide it in the clouds.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll only ever see me when it rains on a sunny day.¡± Liang Yu stopped for a while. Then, he said softly, ¡°May my sky full of flowers shower upon you.¡± CH 12 Zhu Xiaoxiao was scrolling through Weibo when she saw #XuJingzheThreeLinePoem hanging at the top of the trending list. The topic was full of a bunch of poetry aficionados. Zhang Man was very proud of this hashtag. She even paid a marketing account to promote the new drama, Green Water, under the hashtag. When Yang Jierui found out, he didn¡¯t want to admit defeat, so he bought a hashtag as well, #LiangYuRecitationSkills. Of course, what followed was the promotional content for Liang Yu¡¯s holiday film. It was like fighting in an arena, one after another. ¡°Why are you doing all this promotion for someone else?¡± Yang Jierui waited until the first wave of promotional events were over before giving Liang Yu a call. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that whoever¡¯s name comes first gets the most publicity? His name was the only one on the trending list! How is that fair? Weren¡¯t you the one reading the poem?!¡± Liang Yu was sitting in the break room. He had just finished taking off his makeup and was waiting for Xu Jingzhe to pick him up. He nonchalantly replied, ¡°What? Did I recite the poem badly?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yang Jierui was absolutely speechless. What did that have anything to do with what he was saying?! Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t let anyone else drive the nanny van this time. Instead, he drove the car himself. He was already a well-known figure within the circle, but the car he picked was just like his personality, low-key and steady. The Mercedes-Benz CLS350 Shooting Brake wasn¡¯t exactly common in China, so, when the car pulled up at the entrance, the film crew already knew who it was. Xu Jingzhe got out of the driver¡¯s seat. He greeted the director and producers first. The other two starring roles in this holiday film were number one domestic star Mai Jiu and rookie actress Jiang Yueming. Mai Jiu was familiar with Xu Jingzhe. Jiang Yueming viewed Xu Jingzhe through somewhat of a filter. She nervously addressed him as ¡°Mr. Xu¡±. Mai Jiu laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Jingzhe doesn¡¯t care about stuff like that.¡± He pointed towards the back. ¡°Are you going in to pick him up, or are you going to wait for him to come out?¡± Xu Jingzhe was just about to say that he¡¯d go inside to pick him up, but there was suddenly a commotion in the crowd. Liang Yu quickly cut through all the people. He was still wearing sunglasses at night. He refused to wear his coat properly either. Rather, he chose to drape it over both of his shoulders. The reporters weren¡¯t afraid of being swept away at all. They wanted nothing more than to press the lens of their cameras against his face. Mai Jiu was beside himself with laughter. He joked, ¡°Our superstar is here.¡± Liang Yu instantly caught sight of Xu Jingzhe. He took off his sunglasses. He also deliberately took off his coat, revealing their matching outfits. Snfgsbcf: ¡°¡­¡± We Alcuhtf kjr jiwbra erfv ab Oljcu Te¡¯r vfvlmjalbc ab atf jma. Lf kjr j qfgrbc ktb gfrqfmafv vfvlmjalbc lc j mbiifjuef ab yfulc klat. Pc jvvlalbc, Oljcu Te¡¯r jmalcu rxliir kfgf jirb lcmgfvlyis bearajcvlcu. Pc ojma, We Alcuhtf tjv j ojlca rfcrf atja, lo tf vlvc¡¯a rajga rafqqlcu eq, tf kbeivc¡¯a yf j wjamt obg Oljcu Te. When the two of them stood next to each other, the picture was naturally very easy on the eyes. All of the media reporters had been waiting for this moment. The time for interviews had already passed, but some of them were still throwing out questions. Liang Yu would not answer them. He didn¡¯t even spare them a single glance. Xu Jingzhe had a slightly better temper. He waved at the cameras. Then, he opened the passenger door of the car for Liang Yu. ¡°Have you watched the livestream?¡± Liang Yu asked before Xu Jingzhe had even started the car. Xu Jingzhe smiled. ¡°I saw it. In fact, I watched it with Luo Yaoye. She¡¯s a fan of yours.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Luo Yaoye? Is she the heroine? That¡¯s not bad.¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°You know her?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°I met her at an awards show in Hong Kong. We played mahjong together.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± He was starting to wonder just how much Liang Yu loved playing mahjong. Why did it seem as though he¡¯d played mahjong before with everyone? ¡°She¡¯s pretty,¡± Liang Yu suddenly said. He stared at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s profile and said lightly, ¡°What do you think?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand why he was asking, but he played along and said, ¡°She is rather pretty. After all, she¡¯s from Hong Kong. They have a certain kind of style to them.¡± Liang Yu let out a huff. His elbow was resting beneath the window glass. He had his cheek resting upon his hand, but he wasn¡¯t speaking. It took quite a while before Xu Jingzhe realized that the atmosphere wasn¡¯t right. He was a little bit dumbfounded. ¡°What are you thinking right now? I¡¯m ¡®dating¡¯ you right now. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to get into a scandal with someone else.¡± Liang Yu said bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re real.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with whether the relationship is real or not.¡± Xu Jingzhe spoke with a smile, but his attitude was earnest. ¡°There are a lot of interests involved in our relationship. We can¡¯t afford a single mistake from your team, my team, even ourselves. Even if the relationship is fake, I¡¯m still going to be responsible for you, your team, and myself.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t speak for anything else, but I can promise that I¡¯m a very professional person.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked over at Liang Yu. He seemed to be coaxing a child, clingy and spoiled. ¡°Mr. Liang, you should trust me. I¡¯m really a very ¡®single-minded¡¯ person.¡± Yang Jierui was probably pissed off by Zhang Man¡¯s marketing tactics. However, after thinking about it, they were all just doing their jobs. They really didn¡¯t need to give each other a heads up about marketing their own artists. Plus, Liang Yu had pretty much handed this opportunity over to them himself. In fact, Yang Jierui was starting to feel as though the cabbage he had painstakingly raised was being stolen away by a pig. The issue was that the cabbage didn¡¯t seem to think that this was a problem. ¡°Stop rushing up to help other people.¡± Yang Jierui tried to persuade his family¡¯s cabbage. ¡°Xu Jingzhe¡¯s Green Water hasn¡¯t even started filming, yet it¡¯s already gone viral on social media. Are you kidding me?¡± The promotion for the holiday film was very important. Liang Yu and Xu Jingzhe¡¯s ship had cooked up a lot of heat for the new movie, but humans were always bound to be greedy. Yang Jierui didn¡¯t want too much of the hype to be shared with Xu Jingzhe¡¯s new drama. After all, they¡¯d taken on a value-adjusted mechanism. There was a lot of pressure. ¡°I have to contact Zhang Man. Next time there¡¯s a promotional event, make sure to bring Xu Jingzhe along. We helped them make a lot of profit, so we need to make some of it back,¡± Yang Jerry said. ¡°You can give him some money for the appearance, but we can¡¯t share anything else.¡± Liang Yu was sitting across from him. It wasn¡¯t clear whether he was actually listening. He had an independent studio. It was an office building that he had rented within the inner ring of the city. There were quite a few people working there. The idols under Yang Jierui¡¯s management had been participating in talent competitions, and one of them actually managed to get popular. It had been half a year since he made his debut in the group. In fact, Liang Yu had always been very ambitious. He wanted to develop his own entertainment company. He still didn¡¯t speak. Yang Jierui couldn¡¯t understand what his boss was thinking. He spoke a lot of nonsense only to find that Liang Yu¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t on him at all. Yang Jierui was truly helpless. ¡°Boss, why don¡¯t you tell me exactly what you¡¯re thinking?¡± Liang Yu finally reacted. He asked, ¡°If we were to give him money, how much would be appropriate?¡± ¡°?¡± Yang Jierui didn¡¯t have a clue. ¡°This needs to be discussed with Zhang Man. They probably won¡¯t ask for too much.¡± Liang Yu was silent for a while before he said, ¡°Tell Chen jie to negotiate. Then, report back to me.¡± Yang Jierui didn¡¯t know why he suddenly managed to think things through. He was afraid that Liang Yu would regret it, so he immediately agreed. Zhang Man was surprised that Yang Jierui had suddenly contacted her in order to give Xu Jingzhe money. She turned around and told Xu Jingzhe, but Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand either. ¡°Do they really want to give us the money?¡± Xu Jingzhe wanted to confirm. Zhang Man: ¡°That¡¯s what they said. They¡¯ve already sent over their department of financial affairs. Do you want to meet up with them?¡± Xu Jingzhe asked Zhu Xiaoxiao to flip through his schedule. After making sure that there weren¡¯t any scheduling conflicts, he said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be so formal. Also, it doesn¡¯t really matter how much money they give. It¡¯s up to them.¡± Zhang Man hummed in response. However, in the end, she still wasn¡¯t quite sure. ¡°What if they give us too much?¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed. It seemed as though he knew Liang Yu very well. He said firmly, ¡°I don¡¯t think Mr. Liang is that generous of a person.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°¡­¡± CH 13 The person that Liang Yu sent was a beautiful woman. Zhang Man didn¡¯t know her name. All she knew was that everyone called her Chen jie. Zhang Man actually wasn¡¯t very happy about Yang Jierui¡¯s insistence on giving payment. The reason she didn¡¯t ask for any money before was because she was hoping that they¡¯d be able to get some resources from Liang Yu. Then, Xu Jingzhe might have an opportunity to get on the big screen. Yet, here he was, insisting on settling accounts. It put her in an embarrassing position, and it made Xu Jingzhe look bad. Xu Jingzhe, on the other hand, didn¡¯t really care. He even comforted Zhang Man. ¡°Just treat it like an end-of-year bonus. Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Zhang Man unhappily replied, ¡°Do I look like I need this kind of spare change?¡± Chen jie sent the money over very quickly. However, Xu Jingzhe had guessed wrong this time around. The amount of money sent over was almost a little terrifying. It almost caught up with a single advertising fee for Xu Jingzhe. Although their opportunity at the big screen was gone, they still made a lot of money. Zhang Man was in a glowing mood for quite a bit. She gave Zhu Xiaoxiao a huge bonus. Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn¡¯t help but feel a little uneasy when she held it in her hands. According to the logic of shippers, this bonus could be considered as wedding money from the groom. She uneasily accepted it. She was afraid that, at any second, the bride was going to say that it was just an acting fee. Since the amount of money was so large, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s professional spirit was raised to another level. There were still three more promotional events before the new year. He started actively preparing for them, but two of the events went by without any notice from Liang Yu. Xu Jingzhe, who had received the money yet didn¡¯t do anything, couldn¡¯t help feeling uneasy in his heart. Finally, he took the initiative to ask about it straight up. Liang Yu was going through the list of approved questions for the last promotional event. These were the questions that his team had sent to him after much review. The early-stage promotions were particularly important for a holiday film. The film¡¯s box office performance didn¡¯t just depend on the quality of the film itself. Rather, a great deal of its performance depended on publicity and marketing. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa was a three-floor building. The two bedrooms were on the third floor. The wardrobe and study were on the second floor. The study was divided into two rooms. Liang Yu wanted the inner room. However, he would sometimes handle unimportant matters in the outer room all the same. Although it didn¡¯t matter much, Xu Jingzhe still knocked on the door. Liang Yu looked up from the paper he was reading. Perhaps he simply wasn¡¯t expecting Xu Jingzhe, but, when he saw him, a strange expression seemed to ripple across his face. However, he soon returned to normal. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Liang Yu asked. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Isn¡¯t tomorrow the last promotional event? Do you need me to show up?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Why would you need to show up? We didn¡¯t prepare any questions for you.¡± Xu Jingzhe offered his services. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can be an enthusiastic audience member and help you hype up the movie. Or I can pretend to be a fan of yours. You can arrange it as you like.¡± Oljcu Te rajgfv ja tlw obg j ktlif, rffwlcuis j ilaaif tfiqifrr. Lf gjlrfv tlr tjcv jcv ugjyyfv ja tlr yjcur. Pa kjrc¡¯a mifjg ktfatfg tf kjr pbxlcu bg cba ktfc tf rjlv, ¡°Zg. We, sbe vbc¡¯a cffv ab yf rb vfvlmjafv ab sbeg pby.¡± ¡°Pa¡¯r cba gfjiis j wjaafg bo ktfatfg P¡¯w vfvlmjafv bg cba.¡± We Alcuhtf atbeuta obg j ktlif. Ktfc, tf rjlv tbcfrais, ¡°Tbe ujnf wf kjs abb wemt wbcfs atlr alwf jgbecv. Po P vbc¡¯a vb j ilaaif rbwfatlcu, P¡¯ii offi yjv.¡± Liang Yu was speechless for a moment. It was obvious that he wasn¡¯t too happy. ¡°I¡¯m the one giving you the money, so what¡¯re you being so wishy-washy for?¡± Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to say, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way. I just wanted to help out a friend.¡± He truly, honestly felt this way. Actually, Liang Yu could tell that Xu Jingzhe was telling the truth as well. In the end, he couldn¡¯t win against the man and irritably said, ¡°Do whatever you want. Tell Xiao Luo to arrange a spot for you offstage. Just watch from there.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°You really aren¡¯t going to cue me? I¡¯m fine if you do. I¡¯m pretty good on the spot.¡± ¡°Cue you for what?¡± Liang Yu replied in a snarky manner. ¡°What are they going to cue you for if I¡¯m there? Are you going to read a poem too?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± When Yang Jierui found out that Xu Jingzhe was going to be there, his attitude was the complete opposite of Liang Yu. He wanted nothing more than to let everyone know who was going to be coming. Unfortunately, Liang Yu ruthlessly rejected this idea. Of course, Xiao Luo didn¡¯t listen to him either. She did as Liang Yu requested and placed Xu Jingzhe in a very inconspicuous spot in the middle row. ¡°Make sure you¡¯re wearing your mask.¡± Xiao Luo pulled something out of her bag. ¡°A hat too. And sunglasses.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Be careful. It¡¯s not just reporters that you need to be worried about. Fans these days have sharp eyes.¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s okay if I¡¯m found out. I don¡¯t mind showing my face or anything. We¡¯ll also be able to promote the movie along the way.¡± Xiao Luo said bitterly, ¡°You might not mind, but Liang Yu minds. We didn¡¯t prepare a list of questions for you. Who knows what kind of weird questions they¡¯ll ask? It would be bad if they ended up offending you.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t think he would be offended. Besides, he did his hair and makeup today. He really didn¡¯t want to mess up his hairstyle by wearing a hat. Xiao Luo knew that he cared a lot about his image, so she considerately allowed him to wear a visor. ¡°Mr. Xu, don¡¯t worry.¡± Xiao Luo comforted him. ¡°Even if you cover up half of your face, you¡¯re still the most beautiful one here. Except for Liang Yu.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Xu Jingzhe was pretty familiar with the process for promotional events. The big screen would first show a preview. Once they hyped up the atmosphere a bit, the promotional poster would be revealed. The stage was surrounded by fans who were ready to record at any moment. Liang Yu¡¯s face was at the very front, impeccable as always. He was truly loved by the camera. Every single angle looked like it was measured out by a ruler. When the light hit his face, it looked like a filter. This wasn¡¯t the first time that Xu Jingzhe had seen Liang Yu on the big screen. However, it was different from before. The process of getting to know each other wasn¡¯t a simple sunny day nor a cloudy starless night. There were too many personal emotions involved. When Xu Jingzhe watched his movies now, he found that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to be as objective and uninvolved as before. To be more specific, he was like those brain-dead fans who would indiscriminately give out five-star ratings on Douban. It was probably because he was too focused on the screen, but Xiao Luo looked over at him several times. She wanted to remind Xu Jingzhe to be careful. There were already cameras pointing in this direction. The leading actors arrived from backstage one after another. Fans started cheering. Staff members brought chairs onstage. Liang Yu sat in the middle with the director. Mai Jiu and Jiang Yueming sat on either side of them. The host started kicking things into gear. Liang Yu was the biggest celebrity here, so most of the questions were aimed at him. Although, Liang Yu seemed a bit more like the host at this moment. Everyone was chatting. The atmosphere was very relaxed. Jiang Yueming was a newcomer. She was also the only actress. There were quite a few questions for her. ¡°Who gave you the most pressure onset?¡± The host asked her jokingly. ¡°The director? Or Mr. Liang?¡± Jiang Yueming glanced at Liang Yu. The director egged her on. ¡°Go ahead and say it. He won¡¯t be able to scold you now.¡± There was laughter from below. Jiang Yueming¡¯s face flushed. Still, she replied honestly, ¡°Mr. Liang. Acting with him was so nerve-wracking.¡± Liang Yu laughed. He asked, half-jokingly, ¡°Am I really that scary?¡± Jiang Yueming: ¡°No, you¡¯re just too good of an actor. It was so real. I felt a lot of pressure to match up to you.¡± Mai Jiu, who was standing to the side, completely understood. ¡°I totally get you. I cried the first time I acted with Liang Yu. It was even photographed by the media. I wasn¡¯t able to keep up with him at all.¡± Host: ¡°Mr. Liang, have you ever met someone who was particularly good at acting? Someone whose acting skills were on par with yours?¡± It wasn¡¯t clear whether it was intentional or not, but Liang Yu swept his eyes across the crowd. He paused for a few seconds. Then, he calmly replied, ¡°Yes.¡± He added, ¡°You guys know who it is, right?¡± It was such an obvious hint. The audience exploded. The host wasn¡¯t afraid of making a big deal of things. He exaggeratedly shouted, ¡°Wow!¡± Then, he said, ¡°I actually don¡¯t know who it is! You¡¯re going to have to say it!¡± Liang Yu refused to say any more. He decided to play dumb. ¡°Ask about something else.¡± He got the director involved as well. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Director Zhang some questions?¡± Director Zhang, however, sabotaged his attempt. ¡°I want to know too. Don¡¯t change the subject.¡± Unfortunately, the more they tried to convince him, the more he refused. Some reporters even shouted, ¡°Mr. Liang, don¡¯t be embarrassed! Mr. Xu didn¡¯t show up again!¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t want to spend too much time on this topic and risk exposing Xu Jingzhe. Due to his tough attitude, he managed to get past this segment of the event. While they were receiving questions from fans, there was a surprise event. The organizers were going to call out certain seat numbers. Xiao Luo was completely stunned. She subconsciously glanced at the back of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s chair. There was only one word that could describe her expression. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s call on someone in the middle row.¡± The host was in high spirits. ¡°We¡¯ve called on too many fans from the front row. We¡¯ve got to give the fans in the back a chance. In that case, one, two, let¡¯s go with number three.¡± The host was very happy to see that it was a male fan. ¡°Do you have any questions for Liang Yu?¡± When the microphone was handed to Xu Jingzhe, Xiao Luo subconsciously wanted to stand up and stop it. However, she realized that doing so would be way too obvious. She had no choice but to silently shrink herself into her seat and hope that the camera doesn¡¯t look over here. Liang Yu had asked her to arrange a seat for Xu Jingzhe, but he hadn¡¯t really cared about where it was. When Xu Jingzhe stood up, Liang Yu finally realized that something was wrong. He frowned indiscernibly. His eyes were fixed on the middle of the crowd. Xu Jingzhe took off his mask. There seemed to be some sort of commotion in the crowd. Several photographers pointed their cameras towards him. However, since he put his hat on before getting up, most of his face was hidden. They couldn¡¯t get a clear picture. He cleared his throat, but he changed his voice when he spoke. It was almost impossible to tell that it was him. ¡°I really like Liang Yu¡¯s movies a lot. I hope that this movie does well in theaters.¡± The host also felt that something was off, but his voice was way too different. No one suspected that it was Xu Jingzhe. He had to continue with the event. ¡°In that case, how many tickets do you plan on donating?¡± Xu Jingzhe thought for a while. Then, he answered rather earnestly, ¡°I want to support Liang Yu, so I¡¯ll donate ten theaters¡¯ worth of tickets.¡± Host: ¡°¡­?¡± The author has something to say: Host: ¡°Is this that so-called nouveau riche fan?¡± CH 14 In the end, Liang Yu suppressed the trending topic, #TenTheaters, himself. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know about this at first. It was only after Zhang Man told him that he found out. ¡°Why?¡± Since Xu Jingzhe promised to donate ten theater¡¯s worth of tickets, he¡¯d spent the past couple of days contacting different cinemas. He intended to anonymously invite the fans to watch the movie as a treat, so, when he heard about this, he found it rather surprising. Zhang Man: ¡°Who knows what they¡¯re thinking? They wanted you to help promote the movie, but they¡¯re afraid of you stealing their thunder. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they paid us a lot of money, I¡¯d be cursing them out right now.¡± Xu Jingzhe said very understandingly, ¡°Just let them suppress it. People are going to get annoyed if we keep trending all the time.¡± It was easy enough for him to say, but it wasn¡¯t so easy in practice. The topic could be suppressed on Weibo, but it couldn¡¯t be completely suppressed on other sites. After Zhu Xiaoxiao joined the industry, the first thing she learned how to do was lurk on various forums. She was also very dedicated. She didn¡¯t just keep an eye on Douban. She also kept updated on other anonymous forums. For example, there were two threads that she¡¯d been watching lately. One of them was exactly as the name suggested. It was named Official YuJing Shipping Hub. As for the other thread, it was solely dedicated to exposing their relationship as a fraud. The name of the thread was actually pretty interesting. It was called Ptoo! We¡¯re Not Buying! Of course, the most amazing thing about it was the fact that these two threads were able to exist on the same forum, the same discussion board without disturbing each other at all. One of the fans that attended the promotional event caught a photo of the ultra rich fan who was going to ¡°donate ten theaters¡±. It was first posted to the thread, We¡¯re Not Buying. The original post was pretty ordinary in content. ¡°Can anyone confirm if this is Rem?¡± Someone else immediately replied. ¡°It looks like it. Didn¡¯t they say that he wasn¡¯t attending?¡± ¡°If he went to the promotional event, why did they get rid of the trending topic? This doesn¡¯t really seem like Liang Yu¡¯s style. Would he really be willing to blow that much money?¡± ¡°You shippers better not come over here and start pushing your agenda under the name of uncovering the truth! Ptoo! We¡¯re not buying it!¡± By the time the thread reached here, the discussion started getting off topic. It was followed by a flood of comments saying, ¡°We¡¯re not buying it!¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao went to check up on the other thread in a complicated mood. The photos had also been posted over there. Although everyone was in fact fangirling over the photos, there were still people asking why the trending topic needed to be removed. ¡°This makes it seem like Jingzhe acted on a moment of impulse. It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s a publicity stunt. Ah, our ship is real! Although, Liang Yu didn¡¯t just not buy a trending topic, he even paid to have the trending topic removed. I don¡¯t really get it. What¡¯s he removing his wife¡¯s trending topic for?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao silently left the forum. Her eyes were entirely blank. She thought to herself, ¡°It makes sense that you guys don¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t even understand.¡± In fact, she couldn¡¯t even tell which was sweeter anymore, reality or this beautiful delusion. Ever since Xu Jingzhe promised to ¡°donate ten theaters¡±, Yang Jierui suddenly started becoming a lot more polite. After all, he had only just given the money away, and, now, he was going to be able to make it back. What kind of agent could possibly refuse such a profitable exchange? It wasn¡¯t really clear whether Liang Yu was happy about it or not. Regardless, he was still as snarky and strange as ever. ¡°Tbe regf wera tjnf j iba bo wbcfs, ybbxlcu afc atfjafgr lc bcf ub.¡± Oljcu Te kjr rajcvlcu lc atf mbegasjgv. Lf kjamtfv jr We Alcuhtf wbnfv tlr oibkfgr lcab atf ugffctberf. Lf tjv tlr jgwr mgbrrfv, cba wbnlcu ab tfiq. We Alcuhtf gfqilfv ubbv-cjaegfvis, ¡°P¡¯nf yffc kbgxlcu obg rb wjcs sfjgr cbk. P mjc joobgv atlr ja ifjra.¡± Lf uijcmfv ja Oljcu Te. Ktfc, tf mbcalcefv, ¡°Dfrlvfr, vlvc¡¯a sbe pera ulnf wf j iba bo wbcfs cba abb ibcu jub?¡± Liang Yu laughed. ¡°The money comes in and immediately goes out. Do you think you¡¯re buying stocks or something?¡± Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t be bothered to keep arguing with him about the money. Since it was almost Chinese New Year, pretty much all work had stopped. Xu Jingzhe felt that Liang Yu was probably picking trouble with him because he didn¡¯t have anything better to do. Thus, he suggested, ¡°Do you want to invite some friends over to play mahjong?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu¡¯s expression was a little complicated. On the one hand, he wanted to get angry. On the other hand, he really did want to play mahjong. In the end, he simply said, ¡°How are we supposed to play if there¡¯s no mahjong table?¡± Xu Jingzhe continued to coax him. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you a mahjong table. Or we could move your mahjong table over to my place. Who do you want to invite? Luo Yaoye won¡¯t be going back to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year, so we can call her up at any time.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± Once Yang Jierui got the news, he actually ended up moving Liang Yu¡¯s automatic mahjong table to Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s villa also had a basement. It had been tidied up for the mahjong table. The room had heated flooring and everything. For the sake of welcoming guests, Xu Jingzhe had the housekeeper clean up the place. Then, he had people install a TV and KTV in the basement. Liang Yu couldn¡¯t just call it quits anymore, so he ended up calling up a couple people for a game of mahjong. Besides Luo Yaoye, there was also Mai Jiu. Xu Jingzhe was somewhat familiar with Mai Jiu, but he hadn¡¯t known that a big star like him actually had a hobby of playing mahjong. ¡°Mr. Xu¡¯s way too clean.¡± Mai Jiu was also a big-screen celebrity. He made his name through a famous movie, and he also had a series of box office hits. He was also one of the few people in the industry that didn¡¯t put on airs. ¡°He probably never gets involved with parties or industry events.¡± Xu Jingzhe said, a little embarrassed, ¡°I¡¯m kind of boring.¡± Mai Jiu laughed. ¡°If you¡¯re really that boring, then how did Liang Yu end up falling in love with you?¡± Xu Jingzhe obviously couldn¡¯t refute this. He and Liang Yu were now bound together. Everything that they put out there had to be ¡°real¡±. They couldn¡¯t reveal any cracks in the facade, even in front of their closest friends. Since he¡¯d decided to invite friends over, Xu Jingzhe would have to play the role of loving boyfriend with Liang Yu. Even if it was a holiday, Luo Yaoye was still as beautiful and glamorous as ever. For the sake of celebration, she had her hair pressed into waves, making her facial features even more charming. On the very first day, she ceremoniously arrived in a mink fur coat. She had even prepared some red envelopes and gifts. Liang Yu was a little annoyed by all the fuss. ¡°If you¡¯re going to come, then come. What are you bringing all of this over here for?¡± Luo Yaoye shot him a look. ¡°It¡¯s not for you. It¡¯s for Jingzhe.¡± Luo Yaoye seemed to have misunderstood something. After the last livestream, Luo Yaoye decided that Xu Jingzhe was now one of the girls. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t even explain himself to her. In any case, he ended up getting along with her despite his bewilderment. ¡°A few days ago, I was getting my nails done at Yanhua Beauty Salon, and you-know-who also showed up. You know who I¡¯m talking about, right?¡± Luo Yaoye showed Xu Jingzhe her nails as she shuffled the pieces. ¡°She totally copied my outfit at the last event. Now, she¡¯s even copying my nails! Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s being too much?!¡± Actually, Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know who Luo Yaoye was talking about, but his excellent acting skills made it seem as though he totally understood. He kept nodding his head the entire time to show that he was listening. Even as she was discarding tiles, Luo Yaoye still did not forget to keep chatting. She playfully replied, ¡°I just knew you¡¯d understand!¡± Xu Jingzhe could only keep smiling. Liang Yu glanced at the two of them and decided to come to his rescue. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him about this stuff. He doesn¡¯t understand.¡± Luo Yaoye shot back at him. ¡°Do you think every gay guy acts as hetero as you do?¡± Liang Yu had just completed his hand. He was in a good mood, so he decided not to argue with her. Instead, he pulled out his ledger and slapped it in front of Luo Yaoye. ¡°First, take a good look at how much money you owe me.¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu asked very bluntly, ¡°Tell me. How many theaters are you donating?¡± Of course, no matter how fun mahjong was, they¡¯d have to stop playing eventually. Mai Jiu suggested that, since it was the night before the new year, they should go watch their new holiday film, help boost its box office sales. This year¡¯s holiday films were all scheduled for the last day of the lunar year. A lot of people were on vacation and had gone to see the movie at noon. The movie theaters that Xu Jingzhe booked had been completely packed from noon all the way until now. Luo Yaoye pulled out a palm-sized compact mirror from her handbag. She pressed a bit more foundation on, a little worried. ¡°Are we just going in like this? We won¡¯t be discovered, will we?¡± Mai Jiu: ¡°There are so many people here, and your face is super small. If you just duck over to the side, no one will be able to see you. Besides, it¡¯s the holidays. The paparazzi don¡¯t have the time to photograph you.¡± Luo Yaoye was naturally very happy to be complimented for her small face. She tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned forward to ask Xu Jingzhe, ¡°How¡¯s the color of my lipstick?¡± Before Xu Jingzhe even had a chance to take a look, Liang Yu, who was driving the car, suddenly stretched out a hand and pressed her head down. ¡°Don¡¯t come between us. You¡¯re so annoying.¡± Luo Yaoye shrieked, cursing Liang Yu out as she retouched up her makeup. Xu Jingzhe was a little helpless. He whispered to Liang Yu, ¡°Be gentler with her.¡± Liang Yu found this inexplicable. ¡°It¡¯s not like she¡¯s my wife.¡± Among the four of them, Mai Jiu looked the most low-key when dressed casually. He was assigned to buy popcorn and water. Luo Yaoye, as a female celebrity with high requirements, did not eat things like popcorn. Mai Jiu took two buckets of popcorn for himself. The other two were given to Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu. In order to not stand out, the four of them sat in two separate rows. Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu waited until the lights went down and the dragon logo appeared before entering the theater. Their seats were at the very edge of the theater. When Xu Jingzhe sat down, the girl next to him gave him a glance. Xu Jingzhe quietly uttered an apology. He pulled his mask up and nervously sat in his seat. His back was ramrod straight. Most holiday films generally followed the same formula, family movies, comedies, the like. It was hard to say whether the genre suited Liang Yu or not. However, if there was one thing Liang Yu was good at, it was enmeshing himself into his role. His artsy films won awards, and his commercial films won in the box office. In Xu Jingzhe¡¯s opinion, there was no other actor that was more worth it than Liang Yu. There were a lot of funny moments in the plot, and every scene was lively. The main plotline and the subplots were all excellent. The characters weren¡¯t flat. Although Jiang Yueming was a newcomer, it was clear that she was very much in the play thanks to Liang Yu. Her eyes seemed to almost be able to speak. Xu Jingzhe watched very earnestly from outside the act. He was like the characters on the screen, full of swelling emotions and unspoken words. He was fully invested in the movie when something happened next to him that pulled him out of it. Liang Yu had finished his popcorn. It was dark. He couldn¡¯t find Xu Jingzhe¡¯s popcorn bucket. He ran his hands back and forth across his thighs for quite a while. Eventually, Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t take it anymore and whispered, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Liang Yu said, ¡°Eating popcorn.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Liang Yu obediently stopped moving. Xu Jingzhe grabbed a handful of popcorn from his bucket and planned to hand it to Liang Yu. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know if it was a miscommunication issue, but Liang Yu didn¡¯t reach out his hand. Instead, he just opened his mouth. Xu Jingzhe felt his fingertips grow warm. It was then that he realized that his fingertips were captured in Liang Yu¡¯s mouth. The popcorn was a little sticky. Liang Yu¡¯s tongue nimbly swept across Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fingers and skillfully took the popcorn into the mouth. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu chewed a bit. Then, he suddenly started complaining in a low voice. ¡°Why is your popcorn sweeter than mine?¡± The Author Has Something To Say: Xu Jingzhe¡ªMaster of Deception CH 15 Just like Luo Yaoye, Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t touch food that was high in calories or high in sugar. This included popcorn, of course, so he didn¡¯t understand how Liang Yu managed to finish off his popcorn so fast. Since his eyes were focused on the screen, his other senses naturally became much more sensitive. When Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fingertips were caught by Liang Yu, he subconsciously looked around, worried that someone may be filming them. Xu Jingzhe remained calm throughout the entire thing. After it was over, he even pulled out the handkerchief that he was carrying with him and wiped the place where Liang Yu had licked him. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know what exactly he was feeling. It felt a little bit like the time when Liang Yu helped him put on his socks. His entire back was numb. After Liang Yu finished chewing the popcorn in his mouth, he asked for some more. Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to give him the popcorn bucket. The movie was almost over, and he didn¡¯t want to miss the rest of the plot. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wash your hands?¡± Liang Yu suddenly asked. Xu Jingzhe kept his eyes on the screen and perfunctorily replied, ¡°I¡¯ll wash them later.¡± Actually, he felt that it didn¡¯t really matter if he washed his hands or not. The saliva had dried up. Besides, it was probably an accident. There wasn¡¯t any need to worry so much. Liang Yu quickly finished off half a bucket of popcorn. He didn¡¯t seem to be interested in the movie at all. When the movie was close to ending, Liang Yu started urging Xu Jingzhe to leave earlier. Xu Jingzhe reluctantly followed behind Liang Yu. He picked up the popcorn bucket and weighed it in his hands, a little dumbfounded. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting fat?¡± Liang Yu replied, ¡°We¡¯re on vacation right now. I can just lose weight tomorrow.¡± Liang Yu was indeed different from Xu Jingzhe. He did a lot of exercise, but he couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. Fortunately, his recent workout routine was mainly about building muscle. His personal trainer wasn¡¯t going to make things too difficult for him. The two of them headed back to the car first and waited. Luo Yaoye and Mai Jiu left the theater a little bit later. Mai Jiu was also one of the leading actors, so his attitude was pretty similar to Liang Yu. He was really just here for the popcorn. Luo Yaoye, on the other hand, had been really taken in by the movie. She kept chattering about the plot with Xu Jingzhe. ¡°It¡¯s too bad we didn¡¯t get to see the easter eggs,¡± Luo Yaoye said regretfully. ¡°We still don¡¯t know if Xiao Cao returned home or not.¡± Xiao Cao was the character played by Jiang Yueming. There movie ended with a bit of an open ending. It didn¡¯t really show what happened to Xiao Cao. Xu Jingzhe was also very curious. He was just about to exchange a few words with her when Liang Yu cut him off. ¡°She went home. She returned just in time for the reunion.¡± Luo Yaoye was dumbfounded. ¡°What happened to your sense of professional ethics? Are you supposed to be giving out spoilers like that? You¡¯re the leading actor.¡± Oljcu Te rtba tlw j uglc jcv rcffgfv, ¡°Tbe rtbeiv atjcx wf obg cba rlaalcu cfza ab sbe jcv rqblilcu atf fcalgf wbnlf.¡± Oeb Tjbsf rtglfxfv jujlc, megrlcu Oljcu Te bea jr rtf tfjvfv yjmx ab atf mjg obg tfg wjxfeq. We Alcuhtf rajgfv ja tlw obg j ktlif. Ktfc, tf revvfcis jrxfv, ¡°Qts vlvc¡¯a sbe rqbli la obg wf?¡± Liang Yu was driving. He somewhat childishly wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°You were so focused on the movie. I couldn¡¯t be bothered.¡± Normally, the first or second day of the new year would be spent visiting relatives. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s situation was a little special. His parents had been living in Southeast Asia for many years now. They would only come back once or twice a year to check up on their kid. Xu Tianliang and Song Qiu opened a guest house in Thailand. During Chinese New Year, the business would get really busy, so they were only able to contact their son by phone. ¡°Is Liang Yu living at your place now?¡± Song Qiu¡¯s voice sounded full of energy. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t tell her that the relationship was a ¡°business¡± relationship. Song Qiu simply thought that the two of them were in love and that they were a normal pair of lovers. Although same-sex marriage had been legalized for a number of years now, it still wasn¡¯t common for parents to be as open as Xu Jingzhe¡¯s. ¡°He¡¯s living with me,¡± Xu Jingzhe said. ¡°How are you guys doing? Do you have enough money?¡± Song Qiu: ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us. However, since you two are living together now, where¡¯s the photo? Send Mom a photo of the two of you.¡± ¡°?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What do you need a photo for?¡± Song Qiu¡¯s voice took on a sneaky tone to it. ¡°We only have photos of you at the guest house. The customers are going to get tired of them after a while. Send me a few photos of Liang Yu. We¡¯ll be able to attract even more business then.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± A celebrity¡¯s photos had a lot to do with their public image, so Xu Jingzhe definitely couldn¡¯t just hand it out like that. Later, Xu Jingzhe casually brought it up to Liang Yu. Liang Yu also found the request a little peculiar. ¡°You want my what?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Your photo. My mom wants to put it up in her guest house.¡± Liang Yu seemed to find this interesting. He joked, ¡°Your mom wants my photo? Isn¡¯t it just because she wants to see her son-in-law?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe thought to himself, ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re taking advantage of?¡± He explained, ¡°She just wants to put the photo up so she can get more business.¡± Liang Yu raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°In that case, I need to be paid my advertising fee.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn¡¯t understand why Liang Yu was being stingy now of all times. He good-naturedly replied, ¡°Give me a number. If it¡¯s reasonable, I¡¯ll give it to you right now.¡± Liang Yu actually did name a price, but it wasn¡¯t really that expensive. Xu Jingzhe generously paid him straight away, and he got Liang Yu¡¯s photo that very night. They were all candid photos. It was clear that they had been edited. The angle of each photo was excellent as well. Xu Jingzhe sent the photos over to Song Qiu. Then, he messaged Liang Yu on WeChat. ¡°Who took the photos for you?¡± Liang Yu asked, ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°The photos are really good. Can you introduce me to the photographer?¡± Liang Yu puffed himself up. ¡°It¡¯s my personal photography team. You¡¯ll have to forgive me, but I don¡¯t lend my team out to others.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Song Qiu was very satisfied when she got the photo. She said that she¡¯d put it on display in the guest house the very next day. She asked Xu Jingzhe, ¡°Does he have a lot of family members? Did you go give your new year¡¯s greetings?¡± They didn¡¯t need to take their ¡°business¡± relationship that far. Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to tell her the truth. ¡°Not yet.¡± Song Qiu chided him. ¡°Take more initiative. Do you really still need me to teach you these things?¡± Xu Jingzhe could only grit his teeth and fool his mother for now. Liang Yu hadn¡¯t mentioned his family at all. However, Xiao Luo showed up on the second day of the new year. Xu Jingzhe opened the door and was a little surprised to see her. ¡°Don¡¯t you have the holidays off?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Xiao Luo was very happy to see Xu Jingzhe. She gave him her new year¡¯s greetings before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up Liang Yu. We¡¯re going to visit home for a couple days.¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s head slowly started filling with question marks. He looked behind him and saw Liang Yu walking down the stairs. His expression was very calm. ¡°I¡¯m packing my things. Wait for me downstairs,¡± Liang Yu said to Xiao Luo. Xu Jingzhe blinked, a little unsure of what he should do. Liang Yu called him over. ¡°I have to go home for a week. What do you say?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t quite understand what he meant. ¡°Me? Where are you going?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°I¡¯m going back to my mother¡¯s place.¡± He paused and looked up at Xu Jingzhe. Then, he suddenly asked, ¡°Would you like to come with me?¡± Xu Jingzhe finally reacted. ¡°You want me to greet your family for Chinese New Year?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu¡¯s expression was a bit complicated, ¡°Mr. Xu, you don¡¯t need to be thinking about work even during the holidays. We¡¯re just staying for a few days.¡± Xu Jingzhe let out an ¡°oh¡±. After a while, he realized that he may have been a little too proactive about the ¡°business¡± relationship. He said, a little embarrassed, ¡°Won¡¯t it be an inconvenience for you?¡± ¡°How would it be an inconvenience?¡± Liang Yu seemed to suddenly think of something. His expression kept changing for quite a while before he said uncertainly, ¡°My family ¡­ is kind of big, so please bear with them.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°?¡± The Author Has Something To Say: Mr. Liang: ¡°The photo¡¯s free if you just want to see your son-in-law, but you¡¯ll need to pay extra if it¡¯s for advertising.¡± CH 16 It was rather terrifying for someone of Liang Yu¡¯s character to ask Xu Jingzhe to ¡°bear with¡± his family. In fact, Xu Jingzhe was starting to regret coming along once he got into the car. Both of their luggage had been arranged by Liang Yu. The clothes had all been picked out by him. The reason for that was just in case the paparazzi started returning to work early. They needed to be prepared if they were photographed. Xiao Luo had no complaints about Xu Jingzhe coming along. She even comforted him. ¡°Our family gets along pretty well. The only issue is that it¡¯s mostly girls. Mr. Xu can help balance out the numbers.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t seem to have very much to say other than polite agreement. He didn¡¯t ask Xiao Luo why she knew so much for fear of offending the girl. Yang Jierui had mentioned several of Liang Yu¡¯s properties before, but he hadn¡¯t mentioned that Liang Yu also had a villa in the suburbs of Beijing. Liang Yu said, ¡°The house is in my mother¡¯s name. I¡¯m usually busy with work, so I don¡¯t stay there often.¡± Xu Jingzhe had heard Liang Yu say that he had a big family. He couldn¡¯t help but be a little curious. ¡°Do you have siblings?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t hide anything from him. ¡°I have one older sister and two younger sisters.¡± Xu Jingzhe was stunned. Before he¡¯d even asked about how old they were, Xiao Luo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had already turned around. She smiled at him and said, ¡°My legal name is Liang Luo. I¡¯m kid number three. Remember Chen jie from the finance department? Her name is Liang Chen. She¡¯s the oldest.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe reacted fairly quickly. He looked at Liang Yu. Then, he casually said, ¡°So you¡¯re kid number two?¡± The veins on Liang Yu¡¯s forehead bulged. ¡°What do you mean ¡®kid number two¡¯? Can you speak properly?¡± The suburbs of Beijing weren¡¯t too far away. Plus, it was the holidays. Everyone was with their families, so the roads were empty. The drive didn¡¯t take that long. The neighborhood that they were headed to was even more vast than Xu Jingzhe¡¯s neighborhood. These single-family courtyards had gardens in both the front and the back. Although the occupancy rate wasn¡¯t very high, the security was still quite reliable. Xiao Luo got out of the car first to pay the driver. Liang Yu unloaded their luggage from the trunk one by one. Xu Jingzhe watched him from the side, wanting to help. ¡°Go inside with Xiao Luo,¡± Liang Yu urged. ¡°I¡¯ll head over in a minute.¡± Xu Jingzhe asked, ¡°Can you do it alone?¡± Xiao Luo lazily said, ¡°At home, my brother does all the work. Mr. Xu, come quickly. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand why the atmosphere suddenly resembled that of a fanmeet. Liang Chen had been waiting at the door for a long time. She gave him a big smile when she saw him. ¡°Mr. Xu.¡± When Xu Jingzhe looked at her like this, Liang Chen actually looked the most like Liang Yu. They both had very strong brows and eyes. However, she was very gentle. She didn¡¯t have the sharpness that Liang Yu did. ¡°Happy new year. Welcome to our house.¡± Xiao Luo and Liang Chen definitely knew about Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu¡¯s fake relationship, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind. Rather, they both seemed to have a peculiar sense of affection towards him. ¡°Both our mom and our younger sister think that the two of you are in a relationship.¡± Liang Chen whispered to him right before he entered the door. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be able to cooperate.¡± Xu Jingzhe gave her a look of understanding. Basically, he just needed to do some overtime. He was more than familiar with that. Xiao Luo added, ¡°Mr. Xu, don¡¯t worry. You can just ask my brother for three times the usual salary. He¡¯ll definitely give it to you.¡± We Alcuhtf mbeivc¡¯a tbiv yjmx jcv ijeutfv. Oljcu Te vgjuufv atf ieuujuf bnfg. Qtfc tf rjk atja atfs kfgf ralii rajcvlcu ys atf vbbg, tf rjlv j ilaaif lwqjalfcais, ¡°Qts jgfc¡¯a sbe uesr ublcu lcrlvf? Qtfgf¡¯r Tjchl?¡± Lf kjr rqfjxlcu lc vljifma. We Alcuhtf vlvc¡¯a jmaejiis ecvfgrajcv j iba bo ktja tf rjlv. Lf¡¯v atbeuta atlr yfobgf, yea Oljcu Te¡¯r vljifma rffwfv ab yf ogbw rbwfktfgf lc Vbeatfgc Jtlcj. Jbwylcfv klat atf jwbeca bo alwf tf¡¯v rqfca ecvfg Tjcu Alfgel, la kjr qgbyjyis agef atja tf tjv rajgafv kbgxlcu klatbea olclrtlcu tlut rmtbbi. This villa was very large. When Xu Jingzhe entered, he was completely stunned by the huge ink painting at the doorstep. It almost stretched all the way up to the ceiling. Liang Yu told him that it was a piece by a famous artist. ¡°Really?¡± Xu Jingzhe carefully reached out to touch it. ¡°How much did it cost?¡± Liang Yu gave him a strange look. ¡°It¡¯s obviously a fake. Do you really think I have that much money to blow on the real thing?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little dumbfounded by his honesty. He took off his shoes. Then, he suddenly remembered one more thing. ¡°But didn¡¯t you buy that £¤90,000 vase?¡± ¡°How is that the same?¡± Liang Yu said confidently. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose face when I get things in front of outsiders.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Shu and Liang Yan were both sitting on the sofa in the living room. It was clear that the two of them were a little nervous. Liang Yan was still in school. She was in her second year of high school. She looked a lot younger than other girls her age. When Xu Jingzhe saw Liang Shu, he suddenly understood where Chen, Yu, Luo, and Yan got their good looks from. Liang Yu introduced Xu Jingzhe to his mother. ¡°This is Xu Jingzhe.¡± He paused. Then, he added, ¡°My lover.¡± Liang Shu nodded and smiled. Xu Jingzhe returned the gesture. Liang Yu explained, ¡°My mother¡¯s hearing isn¡¯t great. However, she usually wears hearing aids, so communication isn¡¯t an issue.¡± Xu Jingzhe caught a glimpse of the cochlear implant. He didn¡¯t think too much of it. After a round of greetings, he apologized about not bringing a new year¡¯s gift. Liang Shu told him that there was no need to be so formal. Finally, she asked him if he could sign an autograph. Xu Jingzhe had no problem with giving her an autograph. He was just about to ask where she wanted him to sign when he noticed Liang Yan. She stood up and ran all the way to her room on the second floor. Then, she came back out after a while, her arms full of promotional materials. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu said calmly, ¡°My sister¡¯s a fan of yours. She¡¯s the kind of fan that checks into your super topic 1825 days in a row.¡± Liang Yan didn¡¯t speak. She just kicked Liang Yu. As a result, her brother pressed her head down and started scolding her. ¡°Who told you to kick me, huh? Say sorry.¡± Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t expected to spend his first day at Liang Yu¡¯s house signing autographs. Liang Yan had collected tons of his endorsements, magazines, and even limited edition merchandise. It was quite obvious that the little girl cherished them a lot. She used a plastic sleeve to store all of it. There wasn¡¯t even a single crease. As he was signing autographs, Liang Yan sat right next to him, staring at both his pen and his face. ¡°You¡¯re prettier than my brother.¡± The little girl suddenly lowered her voice and secretively said, ¡°This is our secret. Don¡¯t tell him.¡± Xu Jingzhe held back his laughter. He followed along and lowered his voice as well. ¡°I won¡¯t tell him.¡± Liang Yan nodded solemnly. Then, she added, ¡°Even though I can¡¯t marry you, I¡¯m super happy today.¡± ¡°?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t quite understand her logic. Liang Yan reminded him, ¡°Move your arm up a little. Don¡¯t press down on my poster.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yan was satisfied. Her manner of speech was a little peculiar, but, strangely enough, people were still able to understand her. ¡°My brother¡¯s the best man in the world. You won¡¯t suffer at all from marrying him.¡± Xu Jingzhe said, conflicted, ¡°¡­ I haven¡¯t married him yet.¡± Liang Yan: ¡°You guys are definitely going to get married.¡± She pulled out her phone and showed Xu Jingzhe her account on Weibo. ¡°Have Liang Yu and Xu Jingzhe gotten married yet?¡± Every day, the user would send out a single post. ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯ll happen soon.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Due to the sheer number of posters, Xu Jingzhe ended up spending two hours signing them all. Liang Yan looked like she was supervising him as he did his homework. Naturally, she was very satisfied with the result. For some reason, they were the only two left in the living room. The little girl wasn¡¯t really paying attention to anything else. She was single-mindedly focused on tidying up her autographed posters. Xu Jingzhe wanted to help but was rejected. ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± Liang Yan said gravely. ¡°What¡¯ll I do if they¡¯re damaged?¡± Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to stay still. He asked Liang Yan if she knew where Liang Yu had gone. ¡°My brother has work to do.¡± She said, ¡°He helps our mom with the vegetable garden.¡± Xu Jingzhe asked, ¡°Is the vegetable garden in the back?¡± Liang Yan nodded. She magnanimously said, ¡°You can go there if you¡¯d like.¡± It wasn¡¯t surprising for a single-family villa like this one to have a vegetable garden. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t grow vegetables himself, but he knew a couple of female celebrities that had this kind of hobby. However, most of them gardened for fun, so, when he saw the huge vegetable field behind the villa, he almost thought that he had wandered into the wrong place. Liang Yu had changed into a pair of bib overalls. He was wearing a pair of rain boots and a pair of gloves. There was a hoe stuck into the ground. Liang Shu was sitting in the grass not too far away. Xu Jingzhe noticed that there was a walking stick next to her chair. Liang Chen and Liang Luo seemed to be arguing with Liang Yu. Their voices were rather loud. They were all speaking in dialect. Liang Yu was the first to catch sight of Xu Jingzhe. He placed his index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. Liang Chen and Liang Luo stopped talking. The two of them turned around as if nothing was wrong and greeted Xu Jingzhe with a smile. ¡°Yanzi¡¯s taken her posters back,¡± Xu Jingzhe explained. ¡°I came to see if there was anything I could help with.¡± Liang Chen smiled gently. ¡°You¡¯re here to relax. You can do whatever you want.¡± Xu Jingzhe was considering whether or not he should help with the garden. Xiao Luo said, ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of you go fishing? There¡¯s a man-made fish pond nearby. It was made for entertainment.¡± Liang Yu watched Xu Jingzhe for a while. He took one glove off with his hand and pulled the other off with his teeth. He said to Liang Chen, ¡°You two can stop worrying about it. Mom, you should go back and take a nap. Help her inside.¡± Liang Shu worriedly glanced at her son. Then, she looked over at Xu Jingzhe. After glancing at him a bit, her mood seemed to improve, and she started smiling again. Liang Luo and Liang Chen obediently helped Liang Shu inside. Liang Yu beckoned towards Xu Jingzhe. ¡°Come here.¡± He started to assign tasks to him. ¡°Loosen the soil here.¡± The Author Has Something To Say: Xu Jingzhe¡¯s Holiday: Acting (Dedicated To Work) Autographs (Cannot Press Down On The Poster) Growing Vegetables (Loosen Soil) Triple Salary Arrangement CH 17 Xu Jingzhe squatted down on the ground, holding a small hoe in his hand. He was digging the soil very, very cautiously. Liang Yu didn¡¯t really give him any instructions. It was as if he was just trying to find something for him to do. ¡°Did I get any dirt on my face?¡± Xu Jingzhe asked. ¡°The soil flew up just now.¡± Liang Yu couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He said, ¡°You are in a vegetable field. Why are you still so obsessed with your image?¡± Xu Jingzhe replied earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s an image management issue.¡± He re-examined his rolled up sleeves and pant legs. It was only after he made sure there was nothing wrong that he finally relaxed. Liang Yu looked at him. ¡°Are you always like this even without the cameras?¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it,¡± Xu Jingzhe said lightly. He put down the hoe and showed off the small hole he had just dug. ¡°Do you want to plant something?¡± Liang Yu said, ¡°You can just keep playing.¡± Xu Jingzhe continued to dig. He had never done something like this before. He was a bit like a child who had discovered something new. Liang Yu watched him play for a while. Then, he asked, ¡°Are you happy?¡± Xu Jingzhe replied honestly, ¡°It¡¯s fun to move around.¡± He thought to himself for a while. Then, he said, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always spent the holidays alone. This is actually the first year that I¡¯m spending it with someone else.¡± His parents lived abroad all year round. Due to the unique nature of the circle he stayed in, Xu Jingzhe was able to climb up to where he was today, step by step. It wasn¡¯t a herculean task by any means, but it wasn¡¯t a walk in the park either. If asked what time during the holidays was the liveliest, Xu Jingzhe would probably say the fifth day of the new year. The fifth day of the new year was the day in which everyone welcomed the God of Wealth. The liveliest part of his holidays would be when he sent out red envelopes in the work group chat. Xu Jingzhe looked up and smiled at Liang Yu. ¡°I know that I care too much about my image. I¡¯m too polite towards others, so it¡¯s hard for me to make friends. A lot of people say that I¡¯ve gotten too comfortable with being put on a pedestal, I¡¯m not down-to-earth enough, I¡¯m pretentious.¡± He paused. ¡°But there¡¯s nothing I can do about that. I entered the industry way too early, so I never really had the chance to learn how to let loose. I made a name for myself really quickly, so I¡¯m always under a lot of pressure. The thing I¡¯m afraid of the most is losing and making mistakes. I have to be responsible for the people who work with me. It¡¯s always been that way.¡± Liang Yu listened to him in earnest. He didn¡¯t speak. Xu Jingzhe seemed to have finished talking. He dug another small hole and, inexplicably, felt a burst of happiness. ¡°If I bury my words in this hole, wouldn¡¯t it be as if I didn¡¯t say anything?¡± Liang Yu stared at his face. He was silent for a while before saying, ¡°You can just bury it here with me.¡± Xu Jingzhe was stunned for a moment. Then, he laughed once more. Liang Yu started telling him about his sister. ¡°Yanzi has mild autism. You shouldn¡¯t spoil her too much.¡± We Alcuhtf tjv j wbwfca bo gfjilhjalbc. ¡°Rb kbcvfg rtf gfjmafv rb ragjcufis ktfc rtf rjk wf.¡± Oljcu Te: ¡°Pa¡¯r agef atja rtf ilxfr sbe atbeut. Vtf vbfrc¡¯a fnfc ilxf wf jr wemt jr rtf ilxfr sbe.¡± We Alcuhtf afjrlcuis delqqfv, ¡°Cgf sbe pfjiber?¡± Oljcu Te qegqbrfoeiis jrxfv tlw, ¡°Qtb vb sbe atlcx P¡¯w yflcu pfjiber bo?¡± Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t fooled. ¡°You¡¯re jealous of whoever you want to be jealous of.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether Liang Yu was just embarrassed or what, but Liang Yu ended up kicking a bit of the soil on the ground. Xu Jingzhe ran away, refusing to get near him. However, he still needed to loosen the soil. In the end, this image-conscious celebrity continued to squat on the ground and dig holes. ¡°Mr. Xu.¡± Liang Yu watched as he picked rapeseed plants and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about what I was doing at the hotel that day?¡± Xu Jingzhe lowered his head and started picking through the plants in the palm of his hand. Since he had a drama coming up, he¡¯d been covering up under the sun in order to maintain his pale skin. His neckline was especially beautiful. He didn¡¯t answer the question directly. He simply said, ¡°I don¡¯t really understand a whole lot when you guys speak in dialect, but I think I was able to pick out a few words.¡± Xu Jingzhe raised his head. He hesitated for a while. Then, he said, ¡°¡®Extortion¡¯. ¡®Arranged marriage¡¯. ¡®Catch her¡¯.¡± Xu Jingzhe observed the expression on Liang Yu¡¯s face. He did not continue to speak. Liang Yu looked down at him. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t tell if the expression on his face was mockery or some other more complicated emotion. He smiled and said, ¡°So you know about everything already. Why didn¡¯t you ask?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know everything.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked into Liang Yu¡¯s eyes. He was very sincere. ¡°I just felt that you were probably already exhausted trying to deal with your own family affairs. I don¡¯t really have the right to ask. I might not even have the right to comfort you.¡± As he spoke, he started thinking to himself. Suddenly, he picked up the hoe and dug a hole in the soil. ¡°Look. If there¡¯s ever a day in which you feel like telling me about it¡­¡± He filled the hole back up and blinked at Liang Yu. ¡°I¡¯ll bury it here just like this.¡± That evening, Xu Jingzhe received a big red envelope from Liang Yu. It was about three times what he paid for the photos. Liang Yu told him, ¡°It¡¯s payment for all the holes you dug.¡± Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t help laughing. It was only later that he realized he¡¯d smiled a little too wide. He quickly rubbed his cheeks, a little worried that he would develop wrinkles. Since Liang Shu and Liang Yan believed that they were a couple, Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu had to sleep in the same room at night. The two of them weren¡¯t actually all that embarrassed about it. After all, they had experience in filming. Xu Jingzhe simply treated this like another scene. All he had to do was maintain the scene until dawn. Liang Yu¡¯s family was also raising two dogs and three cats. They were typically accompanied by Liang Yan and Liang Shu. Apparently, they were all female. ¡°Your family really is all women.¡± Xu Jingzhe had just taken a shower. His hair hadn¡¯t been dried yet. He was currently applying a mask to his face. When Liang Yu saw Xu Jingzhe¡¯s colorful face, he couldn¡¯t help but comment, ¡°Mr. Xu, you¡¯re actually pretty gay.¡± Xu Jingzhe shot him a look and ignored him. The pets were pretty clingy with Liang Yu. They all came prancing into the room in twos and threes. Xu Jingzhe found them adorable. He wanted to bring them onto the bed and sleep together. ¡°No.¡± Liang Yu stopped him and said, ¡°You can¡¯t let them get on the bed.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°Can you give them orders?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t answer. The dogs might listen, but cats definitely wouldn¡¯t. The three cats were a hidden threat. They were pretty much guaranteed to make their way onto your face or your chest by the time morning rolled around. Xu Jingzhe had always wanted to keep a pet, but, due to his busy schedule, he didn¡¯t have the time to care of one. Thus, he regretfully gave up on the idea. Being able to sleep with the cat in his arms was like a dream come true for him, so he was incredibly grateful for the opportunity. He washed his face, applied some eye cream, and checked his skin for wrinkles. It was only after going through this entire routine that he finally went to bed. He neatly and properly laid down on his back. Then, he piously dragged a couple of cats over to his side. Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± In order to get a good night¡¯s sleep, Xu Jingzhe usually didn¡¯t stay up too late. Liang Yu lay beside him, listening to the other person¡¯s steady breathing. He almost found it a little unreal. ¡°Did he forget that I happen to be attracted to men?¡± Liang Yu thought to himself incredulously. ¡°Does he really not have any worldly desires at all?!¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t lay around in bed the next morning. He had a habit of waking up early, getting some exercise, and eating a light breakfast. Liang Shu also woke up early. She was lame in one leg. She leaned against her walking stick as she slowly made her way down the stairs. Xu Jingzhe hurried over to help her. Liang Shu looked at his face and asked with a smile, ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± Xu Jingzhe nodded. ¡°I slept very well.¡± Liang Shu: ¡°Xiao Yu tends to have trouble sleeping on a bed that isn¡¯t his own, so I was a little worried that you wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep well either.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Xu Jingzhe took a while to realize that ¡°Xiao Yu¡± was referring to Liang Yu. He said gently, ¡°I¡¯m tough. I can sleep anywhere.¡± Xu Jingzhe helped Liang Shu over to the dining table. The housekeeper had already prepared breakfast. Liang Shu didn¡¯t have that big of an appetite. She simply ate half a bowl of congee and half a plate of vegetables. ¡°Xiao Yu started working very early on, and he quickly became independent. It¡¯s always been him taking care of us.¡± Liang Shu liked to talk to Xu Jingzhe. As she prattled away, she was also peeling some hard-boiled eggs. ¡°He¡¯s gotten used to being the pillar of the family, so he can have a bit of a temper. If you ever get into a fight with him, just come and tell me. He¡¯ll apologize to you after a while.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, ¡°Our relationship¡¯s pretty good, so we usually don¡¯t get into fights.¡± ¡°Really?¡± It was obvious that Liang Shu was truly very happy to hear this. She spoke from the bottom of her heart. ¡°I think you¡¯re a good person as well. He¡¯s lucky to have found you.¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little too embarrassed to say more. He knew that there was definitely no problem with his acting skills. It is very easy for him to show affection. However, he still found himself hesitating a bit when faced with Liang Shu. Liang Shu didn¡¯t notice any cracks in his act. She offered an egg for him to eat. Xu Jingzhe accepted it. Then, he waved his hand to express that he didn¡¯t need any more. Liang Shu insisted, ¡°It¡¯s hard to be an actor. You¡¯re too thin.¡± Xu Jingzhe swallowed the egg and said, ¡°Liang Yu has it even harder. He has to carry the box office sales of his movie.¡± Unsurprisingly, Liang Yu¡¯s holiday film topped the box office. Once box office sales exceeded four billion yuan, Xu Jingzhe had even made a special post on Weibo, which he hadn¡¯t used in a while. He shared the celebratory post from the film¡¯s official account. The most popular comment under this post was complaining that he¡¯d finally come back after his honeymoon period but it was only because he wanted to advertise for his husband. Xu Jingzhe scrolled through the comments for a while. After thinking about it, he ran to the backyard and took a photo of the vegetable field. Then, he posted it onto Weibo with a caption: ¡°Happy New Year! I hope that, for whatever we sow in this coming year, we¡¯ll get to reap our rewards!¡± During the first couple days of vacation, Zhu Xiaoxiao almost couldn¡¯t believe that she was actually able to relax like this. After all, she¡¯d heard complaints from other agents about how their artists liked to randomly post on social media, especially during the holidays. However, that wasn¡¯t the case with Xu Jingzhe. Man jie was so unconcerned that she booked a flight to Hainan as soon as she could. She was probably at the beach with that cute male model of hers right now. Therefore, Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s hadn¡¯t been expecting any notifications. When she saw the push notification from Weibo, she caught a glimpse of the phrase ¡°reap our rewards¡± on the trending list. When she clicked on it, she found a post with screenshots of Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu¡¯s Weibo accounts. It was captioned with the text: ¡°Oh! My! Gosh! Reap our rewards? I can¡¯t believe the first reward of the new year was sowed by the main characters themselves! Is this the legendary YuJing?! I¡¯m going to die!!!¡± CH 18 Last night, Liang Yu had posted a photo of a vegetable garden littered with holes. It was captioned, ¡°A little secret planted at my place.¡± The post came a little out of nowhere. However, there was nothing wrong with it, so the comments under the post were very harmonious. It even made it onto the trending list, hovering around at the very bottom of the list. It didn¡¯t look like it was going to stick around for too long. As a result, Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t just post a photo of the exact same vegetable field. He even took the photo from the exact same angle. Once there wasn¡¯t any human intervention, the trending topics would become very direct and intuitive. For example, after Xu Jingzhe posted on Weibo, the phrase ¡°reap our rewards¡± started trending. It instantly shot to the top of the trending list. Whenever Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu were to promote themselves in the past, the management team would be at the ready. They would make sure that random phrases like this wouldn¡¯t show up on the trending list. However, it happened far too suddenly this time. The team wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything even if they wanted to. Was Yang Jierui supposed to throw money into promotions just because of this random phrase? Zhang Man even made a long distance call to Xu Jingzhe. ¡°I won¡¯t complain about your impulsiveness.¡± She didn¡¯t manage to hold back the emotion in her voice. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you¡¯d be visiting Liang Yu¡¯s family?¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated for a while before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be a big deal.¡± Zhang Man: ¡°Everything about the two of you is a big deal. Even the teeniest tiniest issue between you guys will be magnified a hundred fold. It¡¯s a good thing it was just a photo this time.¡± She paused, feeling a little complicated. ¡°Do you guys really have that good of a relationship or are you just acting? You do know that you don¡¯t have to do all that, right? No one¡¯s going to pay you for doing overtime. There¡¯s no need to make it seem so real, okay?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± The photo had already been posted. It wasn¡¯t like they could take it back. Zhang Man and Yang Jierui both seemed to have given up. They decided to simply close their eyes for now and go back to celebrating the holidays. Zhu Xiaoxiao was rather busy. She wasn¡¯t busy with Xu Jingzhe. She was busy lurking through various forums. As expected, YuJing Official Shipping Hub was busy losing their minds. They wanted nothing more than to hold the wedding ceremony of the century right this very instant. As for the other thread, Ptoo! We¡¯re Not Buying!, the atmosphere was a little strange. Most of the comments seemed to go along the lines of something like this. ¡°Did Yang Jierui forget to buy marketing for Liang Yu? What¡¯s the use of a trending topic like ¡®reap our rewards¡¯?¡± ¡°This trending topic is probably real. It was so obvious that those previous trending topics were an act. I¡¯ve always thought that there¡¯s no way an upstart like Liang Yu would fall in love with someone as fake as Rem.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think it¡¯s pretty strange though? According to our logic, this means Liang Yu actually brought Rem home?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Tbe¡¯gf rfmgfais j rtlqqfg, jgfc¡¯a sbe?! Xfa bea bo tfgf! Uabb! Qf¡¯gf cba yeslcu la!¡± Ite Wljbzljb rajgfv ja atf cjwf bo atf atgfjv obg j ibcu alwf. Vtf mbeivc¡¯a tfiq yea kbcvfg ktja atf tfii atfs kfgf agslcu ab jmmbwqilrt. Ktfs kfgf fnfc yfaafg ja olcvlcu rtlqqlcu mbcafca atjc atf boolmlji rtlqqlcu atgfjv! Liang Yu didn¡¯t pay much attention to the carnage going on online. Marketing was the work of his subordinates. It had nothing to do with him. Now that everyone was on vacation, no one was working. They would just have to wait for the trending topic to go down on its own. Since Xu Jingzhe still had to stay for a few days, he ended up trying a lot of new things. Xu Jingzhe discovered that Liang Yu didn¡¯t play mahjong at home. He asked Xiao Luo about why that was. She responded with a smile, ¡°My brother doesn¡¯t play mahjong because he likes it. He plays because he can make money.¡± Xu Jingzhe thought of that little ledger, the amounts written on it, and the signatures. The expression on his face was a little complicated. Liang Yu really loved money. During the last two days of their vacation, the two of them went fishing. The artificial pond that Xiao Luo mentioned was very large. It took about ten minutes to walk from one end of the pond to the other. Plum trees were planted along the embankment. The trees were in full bloom, like snow upon a winter day. Liang Yu didn¡¯t dress as casually as he did at home. He wore black sweatpants trimmed with silver zippers. He was also wearing a red hoodie with a black puffer vest. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s outfit was, once again, matching. He wore white sweatpants trimmed with drawstrings. He was also wearing a black crew-neck sweater paired with a hooded red overcoat. The way they were dressed was very festive. It was obvious that the two of them were a couple. As soon as they walked out the door, Xu Jingzhe immediately entered business mode. His red clothing looked particularly conspicuous when he stood under the flowery white plum tree. Even his gaze seemed to be as affectionate as a real lover. Liang Yu felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up when he saw this. He couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°There usually isn¡¯t any paparazzi around here.¡± Xu Jingzhe paused for a moment. Then, he adjusted his position, and, sure enough, the left side of his face was facing outward. ¡°Just in case.¡± He spoke calmly. Liang Yu owned some pretty good fishing rods. Xu Jingzhe had never fished before. He later discovered that there was actually a bit of technique to it. For instance, most experienced fishermen had their own recipe for their fish bait, and they were very particular about it. Xu Jingzhe held a fishing rod in his hands. Liang Yu squatted down next to him, neatly helping him set up the bait. ¡°Back up a little.¡± Liang Yu instructed him, ¡°Lift your arms.¡± Xu Jingzhe obeyed. Liang Yu observed him for a bit, but he still felt that something was off. He stood up and wiped his hands. Then, Liang Yu circled around Xu Jingzhe and helped him adjust the fishing pole. ¡°It¡¯s like this.¡± Liang Yu was practically hugging Xu Jingzhe from behind. He put both of his hands on the back of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s. Then, he exerted a little bit of force, ¡°Raise it up ¡­ and then throw it out.¡± The thin and narrow fishing line drew an oblate arc and smoothly slipped into the water. After a second or two, the buoy turned upright. It was only then that Liang Yu let go of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hands. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t move right away. ¡°Is it like this?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Yep. Now, we just need to wait.¡± He propped up two folding stools and motioned for Xu Jingzhe to sit down. Then, he unscrewed the lid of a thermos and poured out two cups of tea. Xu Jingzhe asked, ¡°You¡¯re not going to fish?¡± Liang Yu glanced at him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of fish. You can play.¡± He stuffed a cup of tea into Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hands and told Xu Jingzhe to use it to keep his hands warm. He sat on the other folding chair, arrogantly propping his leg up on his knee, and looked out at the pool¡¯s surface. Xu Jingzhe stared at the buoy for a while. It was a little boring, so he looked back at Liang Yu. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me,¡± Liang Yu suddenly said. ¡°Look at the buoy. The fish are about to take the bait.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked back at the buoy and found that there wasn¡¯t any movement. He muttered, ¡°It still hasn¡¯t taken the bait.¡± Liang Yu turned his face to the side. There just so happened to be a cluster of white plum blossoms right above his head. A few of the petals drifted down and landed on his body. ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± He laughed softly as he watched Xu Jingzhe. Then, he slowly said, ¡°It¡¯ll take the bait soon enough.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether Liang Yu had simply made a lucky guess or whether Liang Yu¡¯s fish bait had some sort of secret ingredient, but Xu Jingzhe actually did end up catching a ton of fish. There were so many fish that the bucket couldn¡¯t even hold all of them. Liang Yu asked him if he wanted to buy them and take them back. ¡°Let¡¯s buy a few,¡± Xu Jingzhe said. He felt very accomplished today. He didn¡¯t look like his usual calm and cool self. Instead, his eyes glittered. He proudly said, ¡°Let¡¯s kill them and eat them.¡± It was probably the first time that Liang Yu heard him say something so unpolished and direct. He ended up laughing a little too hard. Xu Jingzhe realized that he was a little too excited, so he had no choice but to rein himself back in. He deliberately asked, ¡°What are you laughing for?¡± Liang Yu played along. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± He propped the fishing rod up on his shoulder and carried the bucket over to the management department so that they could check out. Xu Jingzhe felt that the scenery was simply too beautiful. He couldn¡¯t help but take a few pictures of the white plum trees. It wasn¡¯t until Liang Yu called out his name that he reluctantly started making his way to leave. ¡°When do you need to join the film crew?¡± Liang Yu suddenly asked as they made their way back. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t even need to calculate the date. ¡°I¡¯ll be joining the crew on the eighth day after new year¡¯s, so the day after tomorrow.¡± He sighed, a little dispirited. ¡°I hope I haven¡¯t gained any weight.¡± Liang Yu gave him a sideways glance and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t. I can tell.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really believe him. ¡°We¡¯re together all the time. What can you tell?¡± He had just finished speaking when he realized that his tone of voice seemed to be a little too intimate. Just as he was thinking about how to smooth things over, he heard Liang Yu say, ¡°Once you arrive on set, send me the address.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t quite follow. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m going to visit you,¡± Liang Yu said very naturally. ¡°We¡¯re in a relationship now, so how could I not?¡± The Author Has Something To Say: Liang Yu¡¯s Love: He hates seafood more than anything, but he still takes Xu Jingzhe fishing. CH 19 Before joining the film crew, Xu Jingzhe needed to pack his luggage. On the seventh day of the new year, Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu headed back to the villa together. On the eighth day of the new year, Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived to pick him up early in the morning. Liang Yu had been the one to pack the luggage. He packed two large suitcases. In order to maintain the image of a relationship, Xu Jingzhe also brought a few knick knacks belonging to Liang Yu. Zhu Xiaoxiao felt very complicated as she moved the luggage into the car. On the one hand, she was happy about her boss¡¯s dedication. On the other hand, she was caught between tears and laughter for her ship. Liang Yu needed to do a follow-up interview for his holiday film, so he wasn¡¯t going to be able to personally send off Xu Jingzhe. He sat on the living room sofa and waved at Xu Jingzhe. ¡°Come here,¡± Liang Yu said. Xu Jingzhe obediently walked over to him. Liang Yu placed a watch on his wrist. The watch band was rather loose. It hung limply against his wrist. ¡°Send me the address when you get there,¡± Liang Yu reminded him once more. ¡°Don¡¯t forget.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I won¡¯t forget.¡± Liang Yu still had his wrist within his grip. His palm wasn¡¯t very smooth. His body temperature was very high. It was even a little rough. Xu Jingzhe was silent for a while. He felt that familiar prickling feeling crawling up his back once again. Liang Yu stared at him for a while. Finally, he let go of his hand. ¡°I told you that you¡¯re too skinny.¡± Liang Yu hooked a finger through the watch band. He laughed and said, ¡°Your wrist is as thin as ever.¡± There was still quite a ways to go before they got to the airport. Xu Jingzhe was sitting in the back of the nanny van with his head bowed, flipping through his copy of the script. He flipped through it for a while, seemingly not too focused. He paused on a page of the script for quite a long time. Zhu Xiaoxiao observed him for a while. Then, she cautiously asked him, ¡°Mr. Xu, did you rest well over the holidays?¡± Xu Jingzhe was slow to react. He nodded, ¡°I did. What about you? Did you have a fun time?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°Yeah! Man jie sent me another bonus! Who can say no to that?¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± He maintained his smile. After a pause, he continued, seemingly talking to himself, ¡°I also had fun.¡± Green Water was different from other historical dramas. There would be a lot of real location shots in the early stages. Director Liu was a very demanding person. He deliberately picked out a sparsely populated conservation area and demanded that all the staff spend over half a month in the middle of nowhere. Ktf bcis gbbw jcv ybjgv lc atf jgfj kjr ojgwtberfr jcv gjcmtfr. Ktf oliw mgfk ybbxfv akb bo atfw. Ycf kjr jggjcufv obg atf jmabgr, jcv atf batfg kjr obg atf gfra bo atf mgfk. Ktlr kjr Ite Wljbzljb¡¯r olgra alwf kbgxlcu bc remt j ylu qgbpfma. Vtf vlvc¡¯a tjnf atf uear ab wjxf tfg bkc jggjcufwfcar kliis-cliis, rb We Alcuhtf tjcvifv wbra bo atf jggjcufwfcar tlwrfio. Lfg gbbw kjr gluta cfza ab tfg ybrr¡¯ gbbw. Vtf mbeivc¡¯a tfiq wemt klat jcsatlcu firf, rb rtf qea jii tfg foobgar lcab ajxlcu mjgf bo We Alcuhtf. She was currently looking for a kitchen to make honey water. Before she managed to find the kitchen, a message from Xiao Luo arrived. ¡°Have you guys arrived on set yet?¡± She asked. Zhu Xiaoxiao replied, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived. Has Mr. Liang¡¯s interview ended?¡± The plane ride was two hours long, and the drive from the airport to the conservation area was another two hours. Liang Yu¡¯s interview should have ended long ago. Zhu Xiaoxiao wasn¡¯t sure if Xu Jingzhe had sent Liang Yu the address, so she sent it to Xiao Luo. ¡°The lodging isn¡¯t bad,¡± Xiao Luo said. ¡°Is there anything you guys are missing?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Mr. Xu hasn¡¯t said anything.¡± She belatedly realized something. ¡°Are you guys really heading over here right now?¡± Xiao Luo replied with a voice message this time. Her voice held a bit of helplessness. ¡°My brother can¡¯t get through to Mr. Xu. He¡¯s already booked a flight.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe had put his cell phone on silent. He and Director Liu took a walk around the site and took note of several locations. ¡°This bamboo forest is pretty good.¡± Director Liu pointed inward. ¡°There¡¯s a natural lake here. When the time comes, we can string you guys up above the lake.¡± He spoke about stringing up his actors the same way he would about stringing up a chicken. Xu Jingzhe gave him a helpless look. Director Liu was quite proud. ¡°Xiao Liang is coming to visit the set, right? Let¡¯s give him a good show. By the way, you have a kiss scene with Luo Yaoye. He¡¯s not going to kick up a fuss about that, will he?¡± ¡°Liang Yu isn¡¯t that kind of person,¡± Xu Jingzhe said calmly. He suddenly remembered that he promised to send his address to Liang Yu. He pulled out his cell phone and was shocked to see the number of missed calls on his phone. Liang Yu had called him fifty-six times. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± He received so many calls that his phone¡¯s battery was down to only ten percent, and the back of the phone was hot to the touch. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether he should call back or simply pretend that he hadn¡¯t seen anything. He hesitated for a long time, but, in the end, he decided to send him a message. He first explained that he had muted his phone. Then, he sent him the address. Liang Yu immediately responded by calling him. This time, Xu Jingzhe picked up. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to be angry about the missed calls. His tone of voice was very normal. ¡°Is it cold?¡± Xu Jingzhe replied that it wasn¡¯t. He asked, ¡°How was your interview?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Pretty good. I sent you my schedule. Take a look at it.¡± ¡°?¡± Xu Jingzhe agreed, but he wondered why the man had sent his itinerary. Liang Yu continued, ¡°Tell Zhu Xiaoxiao to send your schedule to Xiao Luo.¡± Xu Jingzhe was still confused. However, his mouth was quicker than his brain, so he instinctively agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll get there tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.¡± Liang Yu suddenly said, ¡°I have something for you.¡± Xu Jingzhe was really surprised this time. He asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you busy? How come you¡¯re visiting so soon?¡± There was a subtle pause on the other side of the phone. He found an innocuous excuse. ¡°The sooner I visit you, the sooner I can go back. What¡¯s the problem with that?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe definitely wasn¡¯t going to refuse after getting a response like that. Towards the end of the call, his phone was starting to run out of battery, so he hurriedly hung up the call. Fortunately, Director Liu didn¡¯t need Xu Jingzhe to accompany him anymore, so Xu Jingzhe hurried back to the farmhouse to charge his phone. Zhu Xiaoxiao prepared a large pot of honey water and brought it to Xu Jingzhe¡¯s room. Xu Jingzhe sat on the edge of the bed, answering messages as he charged his phone. ¡°Send a copy of my schedule to Xiao Luo,¡± Xu Jingzhe suddenly said to Zhu Xiaoxiao. ¡°Do you have a copy of it?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± She didn¡¯t think much of it. ¡°Is that all?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What else would I need to send?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao said very naturally, ¡°Send them a photo or something.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t expect such a request. He thought for a while and said, ¡°I guess I can do that. Help me take the photo. Make sure to get my good side. Also, remember to edit it a little bit. It¡¯s best if you show me the photo before you send it.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± Her idol really cared too much about appearances. After sending out his schedule, Xu Jingzhe felt that he¡¯d accomplished something big. He didn¡¯t know what he was so nervous about. He¡¯d probably just been frightened by the fifty-six missed calls on his phone. In addition to Liang Yu, there was also a message from Dr. Chen. He asked Xu Jingzhe about his current condition. Xu Jingzhe thought to himself for a bit. Eventually, he replied that he had already joined the film crew and wouldn¡¯t be able to attend consultations for the time being. Generally, Xu Jingzhe would make his jobs clear to Dr. Chen. The length of his working hours would determine how stressed he¡¯d be when he visited Dr. Chen. His psychogenic erectile dysfunction was unequivocally tied to the pressures of his environment. Dr. Chen was worried that his condition would get worse under the stressful working conditions he was laboring under. ¡°You need to learn how to relax,¡± Dr. Chen patiently persuaded him. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I¡¯ve been pretty good recently. I feel very happy.¡± Dr. Chen was a little surprised. ¡°Happy? Did something good happen?¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s fingers hovered above his cell phone keyboard. For a moment, he didn¡¯t know how to answer the question. It was true that he hadn¡¯t felt so happy, so relaxed, so natural in such a long time. These were all things that he could only have when he was with Liang Yu. Signing autographs. Gardening. Fishing. Liang Yu made him happy all the time. ¡°If my emotions change but my body still doesn¡¯t go back to normal¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t continue typing. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t have the guts to finish that question. CH 20 ¡°Feeling happy and relaxed is a good sign,¡± Dr. Chen encouraged him. ¡°Your physiological condition will improve step-by-step. There¡¯s no need to rush things.¡± Xu Jingzhe replied helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m not really rushing¡­¡± Right now, he felt he was somewhat like a valve. His mental state was the entrance of the valve, but that sense of desire seemed to sink to the bottom, unable to find the exit. Like a stone in a lake, it sank to the bottom with a thud, but not a single ripple appeared upon the surface. He wasn¡¯t able to get any consolation from his doctor. Liang Yu would also be visiting in a couple of days. Xu Jingzhe found himself a little too anxious to sleep and passed the night in a daze. When he arrived on set the next day, Luo Yaoye was startled by his weary complexion. ¡°Did you have a hard time sleeping?¡± She had just finished changing, and the hair stylist was inserting a pearl hairpin on her head. She took a closer glance at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing you like this. You actually have dark circles under your eyes.¡± Xu Jingzhe looked in the mirror for a bit. There were, in fact, dark circles under his eyes, but it wasn¡¯t too obvious and could be covered up. Luo Yaoye very considerately came up with an excuse for him. ¡°The environment here isn¡¯t very good. Just yesterday, my assistant found mold in the bed. She left for a nearby town last night to buy a new blanket. I don¡¯t even know if she¡¯ll be able to get her hands on one.¡± Xu Jingzhe had gone to bed early. Besides a strong smell of moisture, he hadn¡¯t really paid a lot of attention to the condition of his blanket. Zhu Xiaoxiao turned pale with shock. She looked as if she was about to go through his blankets right away. ¡°I just tend to have a hard time sleeping in a bed that isn¡¯t my own.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t want his assistant to make a big fuss. He explained, ¡°It might be because it¡¯s my first time staying at a conservation district. The birds are a little loud at night.¡± Luo Yaoye nodded in agreement. Then, she carefully stared at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face for a bit and sighed enviously, ¡°You don¡¯t have even a single wrinkle or pore. How do you maintain your skin? Have you gotten any microneedling done?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± The focus for today was outdoor scenes. The directing style for this drama wasn¡¯t chronological. In order to speed up the process, they often pushed the important scenes up the schedule and got them out of the way first. Today, the genius physician, played by Xu Jingzhe, would rescue the heroine, played by Luo Yaoye, in a bamboo forest. First, there would be a brief battle. Then, Xu Jingzhe would climb halfway up a mountain with Luo Yaoye on his back. ¡°He¡¯s actually going to piggyback me?¡± Luo Yaoye asked the director. Set B was the stage for the fight scenes. First, the assassin would go at it with the heroine¡¯s guard. Xu Jingzhe would then enter the scene later. Director Liu said, ¡°Of course he¡¯s going to piggyback you. There isn¡¯t a single stunt double on set that¡¯s lighter than you. Who else is he supposed to piggyback?¡± Luo Yaoye was a little anxious. ¡°I was talking about him. He¡¯s lost a lot of weight. Is he actually going to carry me halfway up a mountain?¡± Ktf oluta rmfcf yfakffc atf jrrjrrlc jcv atf uejgv kjr jiwbra bnfg. We Alcuhtf rqfca delaf j ktlif kjgwlcu eq bc atf rlvf, kjlalcu obg atf vlgfmabg ab mjii tlw bnfg. Oeb Tjbsf jirb cffvfv ab yf lc atf rmfcf. Ktf rasilra qijmfv atf olclrtlcu abemtfr ab tfg tjlg jcv beaola. Coafg byrfgnlcu tfg obg j yla, Glgfmabg Ole rjlv atja rtf vlvc¡¯a ibbx wlrfgjyif fcbeut. Luo Yaoye said generously, ¡°Go ahead and do your worst. I¡¯m playing a lady in dire straits. How pretty could she possibly be?¡± By the time she appeared before the lens, she looked like the epitome of misfortune. Xu Jingzhe had just finished his fight scene. The fight choreographer undid the wiring that had assisted him with the in-air movements. The two of them then performed a quick runthrough of the positions. Meanwhile, Director Liu looked at the camera monitor. ¡°Yaoye, lean against the bamboo more¡ªyes, just like that. The look in your eyes needs to be a little more fierce,¡± Director Liu gave her some pointers. ¡°You don¡¯t trust him yet. You think he¡¯s going to kill you. You need to be on your guard. Keep something on you. Once he gets close, hit him, really hit him.¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°¡­¡± She kind of didn¡¯t want to. ¡°Do I really have to hit him?¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Go ahead and hit me. It¡¯s necessary for the plot.¡± Luo Yaoye thought it over for a bit. Then, she sighed helplessly. ¡°Let¡¯s do it then. If it hurts, just let me know.¡± Xu Jingzhe was obviously not going to say anything. He was well-known in the industry for his excellent acting skills and his ability to endure hardship. Within seconds of clapping the clapperboard, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s eyes changed. In that moment, his entire person was like a sword that had left its scabbard. Luo Yaoye¡¯s expression was that of alarm, half of which had been brought out by her co-actor¡¯s performance, half of which had been a refusal to admit defeat. Tears pooled within her eyes, but they stubbornly refused to fall. Xu Jingzhe paused for a moment. With a flick of his wrist, he put his blade away and slowly approached her. The script then required the female lead to throw stones at the male lead. Luo Yaoye scrambled around on the ground for a bit. Before she could see what it was she had grabbed, she flung it towards Xu Jingzhe. ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe paused for a second or two after being slapped in the face with mud or feces or who knows what. Director Liu didn¡¯t yell cut. This pause was actually quite fitting in his opinion. It did an excellent job of expressing both the male lead¡¯s and female lead¡¯s standings and emotions at this moment. The camera hadn¡¯t stopped rolling, so the actors had to continue acting. Xu Jingzhe continued to walk towards Luo Yaoye with a calm expression. He looked down at her for a while. Then, he suddenly bent down and lifted her up. Luo Yaoye screamed in alarm. She wasn¡¯t acting. She was truly afraid that Xu Jingzhe would lose his grip and take her down with him. Her abdomen rested upon Xu Jingzhe¡¯s shoulder. She could feel the sharp outline of his shoulder pressing against her. Xu Jingzhe was really too thin. Luo Yaoye¡¯s thoughts spun wildly. He would probably collapse after half a mile, let alone halfway up a mountain. In the script, the young lady not only needed to struggle, but she also needed to hit the genius physician. It wasn¡¯t a difficult thing for her to pretend to struggle, but knowing where to hit was the issue. She couldn¡¯t pull at his hair for fear of pulling off his wig. Thus, she had no choice but to go for his face, neck, and shoulders. Xu Jingzhe had told her to hit him for real, so Luo Yaoye decided that she might as well throw caution to the wind and just go for it. There were a couple of places where even she had felt she¡¯d hit him too hard, but Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t let out the slightest sound. He just kept carrying her along. It was only once Director Liu called cut that Xu Jingzhe slowly set her down. Luo Yaoye stared at the scratches on his neck. The expression on her face twisted. Xu Jingzhe brushed his fingertips over the marks and comforted her: ¡°Fortunately, my face got out of it unscathed. You did a good job.¡± Luo Yaoye was really about to cry. ¡°Enough already. Go get it treated.¡± Director Liu was very satisfied with this part. He even urged Xu Jingzhe not to treat the wounds. Rather, he wanted to show them off. ¡°Wait until the mountain climbing scene. I¡¯ll make sure to get you a close up. These scratches will be the icing on the cake!¡± Xu Jingzhe really didn¡¯t understand certain directors¡¯ sense of aesthetics. The makeup artist was currently dealing with the dirt on his face. This bamboo forest had been manually planted. The area must¡¯ve been fertilized not too long ago. The soil contained the faint smell of manure. Xu Jingzhe felt a little dizzy from the smell. Still, Director Liu called him over to review the footage they had just shot. ¡°Your face looks good even when it¡¯s dirty. That pause was perfect.¡± His nose twitched. He commented, ¡°Does it actually stink?¡± Xu Jingzhe sighed and said, ¡°Should I get Ms. Luo to throw some at you as well?¡± Director Liu laughed out loud. The leads worked together incredibly well, so a lot of the shots were finished in one take. It was mostly because Luo Yaoye didn¡¯t want Xu Jingzhe to work too hard. He probably hadn¡¯t even realized it himself, but, whenever he put a lot of effort into something, there was an air of vulnerability about him. It made people want to protect him. As the sun was setting, Xu Jingzhe squatted down and let Luo Yaoye lie on his back. ¡°Am I heavy?¡± Luo Yaoye asked softly, leaning on his back. Xu Jingzhe gently replied, ¡°You¡¯re really not heavy. You¡¯ve asked, like, seventy times already.¡± Luo Yaoye felt a little embarrassed. She couldn¡¯t relax. Director Liu scolded her from behind the camera. ¡°You¡¯ve fainted! Don¡¯t tense up! Do you really think the audience won¡¯t be able to see how stiff your back is right now!?¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe lifted her up a bit more and comforted her. ¡°Just pretend that you¡¯re asleep. Don¡¯t worry. I can handle it, really.¡± Luo Yaoye had no choice but to go limp. Even though he wasn¡¯t actually going to be carrying her up the entire mountain, they still needed to get around seven or eight shots of this scene. That way, it would seem more believable to the audience once all the shots had been edited and strung together. A single shot would be at least twenty minutes long. Xu Jingzhe had to walk with Luo Yaoye on his back the entire time. During the close-up, the camera even managed to capture the sweat upon his neck. Fortunately, he was given breaks in between takes. Zhu Xiaoxiao was truly distressed on his behalf. ¡°You¡¯ve been filming for more than two hours.¡± She helped fan Xu Jingzhe. Meanwhile, the makeup artist helped wipe away his sweat. ¡°The sun¡¯s almost gone. Are we going to keep filming? Can¡¯t we wait until tomorrow?¡± The makeup artist consoled her, ¡°It¡¯s been a tiring day. We might as well get all the exhausting parts done with. Mr. Xu doesn¡¯t want to drag it out until tomorrow.¡± Xu Jingzhe wanted to save some energy, so he didn¡¯t speak. The wound on his neck was actually rather painful. Plus, he¡¯d been sweating the entire time. He wasn¡¯t sure if it had swollen or not. ¡°Help me take a look,¡± Xu Jingzhe suddenly said to Zhu Xiaoxiao. ¡°Check the scenes I just filmed. Check my face, my expressions, everything. If it doesn¡¯t look good, we¡¯ll have to retake it.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°¡­¡± The Author Has Something To Say: Xu Jingzhe: It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m tired or not. The most important thing is facial management. Translator¡¯s Note: My finals are over!! Thank you all for the wait! CH 21 Filming lasted until seven o¡¯clock that evening. For the last couple of scenes, Xu Jingzhe would insist on checking almost each and every take. He wanted to see if there were any problems with his expressions on camera. The wound on his neck did indeed swell. In fact, the makeup artist was almost afraid to apply pressure on it. Xu Jingzhe was worried that the pain would affect his performance. Towards the end, he even started to obsessively nitpick his facial expressions in each and every scene. Director Liu was notoriously strict, but not even he was crazy enough as to drag out filming late into the night on the very first day. Once they wrapped things up, the production assistant took everyone out to dinner. Xu Jingzhe needed to watch his figure, so he couldn¡¯t eat as much as he would¡¯ve liked. Luo Yaoye felt that he was a little too nervous. ¡°It¡¯s only the first day, Mr. Xu. Don¡¯t push yourself like this.¡± Xu Jingzhe knew that she was right. He drank a glass of honey water. Finally, he decided to have an extra bowl of rice. As she was helping her boss unpack his luggage, Zhu Xiaoxiao found that Liang Yu had already prepared a medical kit for him. Xu Jingzhe clearly hadn¡¯t known about it because, when she told him about it, his expression had gone blank for a moment or two. ¡°In my suitcase?¡± He was rather uncertain. Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of medicine and health supplements, ascorbic acid, cod liver oil, amino acid, melatonin. If you have trouble sleeping at night, you could try taking some.¡± Xu Jingzhe slowly nodded. He seemed to find it rather inconceivable. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did Liang Yu say when he¡¯d be arriving?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°Xiao Luo said that his flight will arrive tomorrow.¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated for a moment. ¡°Should I pick him up?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao received a bit of a fright. She cautiously said, ¡°You have a scene tomorrow morning. Do you ¡­ want to ask for leave?¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s dedication to his job wasn¡¯t fake. He spent three hundred and sixty-five days a year filming. He could have a forty degree fever in the morning and still continue filming in the afternoon. He definitely wasn¡¯t the kind of person to delay a film¡¯s progress with his personal affairs. If he were to actually break precedent for Liang Yu, Zhu Xiaoxiao would start to wonder whether his ¡°dedication¡± was a little too unbiased. Xu Jingzhe must¡¯ve also come to this realization. He looked at Zhu Xiaoxiao. Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at him. ¡°I¡¯m going to go ask about tomorrow¡¯s scenes.¡± He spoke suddenly. Then, he opened up his phone to text Director Liu on WeChat. ¡°Ask Xiao Luo about Liang Yu¡¯s flight information.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao could only respond, ¡°Oh.¡± She turned back around and asked Xiao Luo for their flight number on WeChat. However, she was actually so nervous that she was sweating. She had the urge to sing from the mountaintops! Director Liu hadn¡¯t gone to sleep yet. When he saw Xu Jingzhe¡¯s message, he replied, ¡°What is it? Let me tell you this first. Anything else is fine, but you can¡¯t change the script.¡± Green Water¡¯s screenwriter was very young, but he held a lot of weight within the crew. He even had the guts to argue with Director Liu. No one was allowed to change his script at random. Of course, Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t asking about the script. He asked if he could move his scenes to later in the afternoon. ¡°What do you have to do that morning?¡± Director Liu asked back. Xu Jingzhe gave him a vague answer. ¡°I need to pick someone up.¡± Glgfmabg Ole mea ragjluta ab atf mtjrf. ¡°Oljcu Te?¡± We Alcuhtf: ¡°¡­¡± Glgfmabg Ole mtffgoeiis rjlv, ¡°Cyrfcmf wjxfr atf tfjga ugbk obcvfg. Qtja jgf sbe yflcu rb rts jybea?¡± Xu Jingzhe had already asked for leave from the director. As a result, Liang Yu¡¯s flight was actually scheduled to arrive early in the morning. Xiao Luo called Zhu Xiaoxiao before boarding the plane. ¡°Early morning flights are cheap. Plus, Mr. Xu won¡¯t need to ask for leave.¡± It was a little noisy on Xiao Luo¡¯s end. They were probably at the airport. ¡°Liang Yu said that we shouldn¡¯t ruin Mr. Xu¡¯s perfect attendance record.¡± Ite Wljbzljb: ¡°Gbfr tf gfjiis atlcx atja, bg lr la pera yfmjerf bo atflg yerlcfrr gfijalbcrtlq?¡± Xiao Luo asked, ¡°Is there a difference?¡± Ite Wljbzljb rbifwcis gfrqbcvfv, ¡°Zjsyf cba obg sbe, yea, obg wf, atfgf¡¯r j teuf vloofgfcmf.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°¡­¡± Even though she was his younger sister, Liang Luo couldn¡¯t really figure out what Liang Yu was thinking either. In her eyes, her brother was perfect. His temper might be rotten, but there wasn¡¯t any question about his professionalism. He was able to make money, and he was able to take care of his family. He knew how to care for someone. Ordinary guys and gals definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to match up to her brother. There was just one problem. Xiao Luo hung up the phone and peeked at Liang Yu. She hesitated for a bit, but, in the end, she decided to try and reason with him. ¡°Ge, you shouldn¡¯t call Mr. Xu so often. He¡¯s busy with filming. He obviously isn¡¯t going to keep his phone on him. Even if you call him, he¡¯s not going to pick up.¡± Liang Yu glanced at her. He didn¡¯t seem to have reflected on his wrongdoings at all. ¡°I know. It¡¯s normal to miss calls when you¡¯re busy. It¡¯s not going to get in his way if I call him.¡± Xiao Luo put her face in her hands. ¡°You¡¯re going to put him under pressure.¡± ¡°How am I putting him under pressure?¡± Liang Yu asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m angry with him.¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu still has the audacity to make excuses. ¡°Isn¡¯t this fake relationship part of our job? Isn¡¯t it a good thing for me to be so dedicated?¡± Xiao Luo: ¡°Sure, whatever you say. Let me just say this. In your previous relationships, they all said that you were problematic or whatever, but none of them actually have anything they can blackmail you with. However, yesterday, you made fifty-six phone calls while I was away.¡± Xiao Luo had to take a breather. Just thinking about it made her blood pressure spike. ¡°Nowadays, cell phones have records of these things. If you guys break up one day and the media asks for the reason behind the breakup, how are you going to explain those fifty-six missed calls?¡± Liang Yu stared at her for a while. Then, he looked away. He seemed a little peeved. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do something like that.¡± Xiao Luo earnestly tried to persuade him. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that kind of person either, but think about your past couple of breakups. Can we please not do this kind of thing?¡± Despite saying all of this, Liang Luo was very clear. Even if he knew that he had a problem, Liang Yu wasn¡¯t going to change it. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to change, but, rather, he couldn¡¯t change. Once it came to romance, Liang Yu¡¯s methods tended to lean towards the extreme. As long as he cared for Xu Jingzhe, he couldn¡¯t seem to control himself. Liang Luo didn¡¯t even want to think about what would happen if Liang Yu actually fell in love with Xu Jingzhe. If Liang Luo still had a conscience, she ought to write two large words on a sheet of paper: ¡°Run away!¡± Then, she should stick it onto Xu Jingzhe¡¯s door. There weren¡¯t a lot of people on this early morning flight. Liang Luo, who had been working around the clock, could hardly keep her eyes open. Liang Yu, on the other hand, was full of energy. He was still scrolling through pictures of the latest collections from several fashion brands on his iPad. ¡°What do you think of this one?¡± They were traveling first class. Liang Yu stuffed the iPad in front of Xiao Luo for her to see. Being able to fly first class was something other assistants in the industry would kill for. Xiao Luo covered herself with a blanket. Whoever wanted this kind of ¡°blessing¡± could take it. She really couldn¡¯t do this anymore. ¡°Don¡¯t buy clothes for Mr. Xu anymore.¡± Liang Luo glanced at the picture. She knew that it was Xu Jingzhe¡¯s size and style. ¡°Based on the rate at which you¡¯re buying clothes, Mr. Xu will be able to wear a different outfit for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea without a single repeat.¡± Liang Yu frowned. He didn¡¯t believe her. ¡°I didn¡¯t buy that many clothes.¡± Liang Luo continued listing all the things he had bought. ¡°There¡¯s also the bags, the shoes, the jewelry.¡± She paused and looked at her brother. ¡°Stop making Mr. Xu wear your watch all the time! It doesn¡¯t even fit him!¡± Liang Yu replied indifferently, ¡°I can just get the strap adjusted.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Liang Luo couldn¡¯t help but ridicule him. ¡°If you really can¡¯t control yourself, just buy him an island. You can lock him up there whenever he¡¯s not working.¡± Liang Yu paused. He actually seemed to be considering it. He asked in a serious manner, ¡°Can I actually do that? Will he accept it?¡± Liang Luo¡¯s eyes widened. She was about to go crazy. ¡°It¡¯s not an issue of whether or not he¡¯ll accept it! It¡¯s illegal! Illegal!¡± Xu Jingzhe knew that Liang Yu was taking an early morning flight, so he didn¡¯t feel like going to sleep. The film crew had a bus. He ran over to look at it several times, In the end, his rationality finally won out, and he decided not to bother the driver for a personal affair. However, Zhu Xiaoxiao wouldn¡¯t let him drive over to the airport himself. ¡°It¡¯s all mountain roads, and it¡¯s dark outside. You¡¯re an actor. What would we do if something happened to you?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s worries were justified. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t an unthoughtful starlet, so, naturally, he couldn¡¯t be willful. Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t sleep, so Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t dare go to sleep either. Instead, she sat with her boss in the yard of the farmhouse. Although the holidays had already passed, the temperature at night was still terribly low in the mountains. Zhu Xiaoxiao brought two blankets from their room and placed them on Xu Jingzhe like a big cotton jacket. ¡°It smells a little musty.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao lowered her head into the blanket and sniffed. She felt a little bad. ¡°I should¡¯ve checked the blankets yesterday. I can¡¯t believe I made you sleep with this last night.¡± Xu Jingzhe said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not like I can smell it once I fall asleep.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a hard time sleeping?¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled, but he didn¡¯t reply. He couldn¡¯t tell her that his not sleeping well had nothing to do with the blanket. That would be too unreasonable. The guesthouse they were staying at was already one of the best in the area. Each room had its own bathroom. However, there weren¡¯t any single-person bathing accommodations. If they wanted to take a bath, they¡¯d have to go to the hot springs. Zhu Xiaoxiao suggested that Xu Jingzhe soak in the hot springs if he got too cold. ¡°It¡¯s easier to get sick if you go from a cold place to a hot place.¡± Xu Jingzhe was actually pretty good at resisting the cold. He was more worried about other things. ¡°Go get me a couple of under-eye patches. I¡¯ll wear them while I¡¯m waiting.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao obediently did as he asked. Xu Jingzhe had already completed his skin care routine earlier. He stuck two of the patches under his eyes. He also tied the hair hanging in front of his face into a little pigtail on the top of his head. Then, he simply started reading the script on his cell phone. Towards the middle of the night, Zhu Xiaoxiao started nodding off. Her head bobbed up and down. Xu Jingzhe gently woke her up. ¡°Go inside and sleep. Don¡¯t catch a cold.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao dazedly agreed. ¡°Mr. Xu, you should go to sleep as well¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe told her that he would, but he didn¡¯t actually move. He quietly sat in the yard, wrapped in a blanket, reading his script as he waited. Dawn tended to arrive faster in early spring. After swapping out his under-eye patches for the nth time, Xu Jingzhe found that the sky upon the horizon had turned into a grayish marble white. He stared at the scenery for a while. He could hear the sound of birds chirping. Someone¡¯s voice rang out into the silence. It seemed that they were asking for a room number. Xu Jingzhe stood up, still wrapped in his blanket. Liang Yu was dragging a suitcase by himself. He was wearing a baseball cap. Since he was so tall, Xu Jingzhe could already see his face from above the wall. Xu Jingzhe subconsciously took a few steps forward. Once Liang Yu walked through the gates, he instantly caught sight of Xu Jingzhe. ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep?¡± Liang Yu seemed a little uncertain. ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡± Xu Jingzhe opened his mouth. He suddenly felt a little ashamed to admit it, but, no matter how he looked at it, it wasn¡¯t really appropriate for him to lie right now. ¡°Mn.¡± Xu Jingzhe tried his best to keep calm. ¡°I couldn¡¯t really fall asleep, so I decided to just wait for you.¡± Liang Yu stared at his face for a while. Then, he suddenly smiled. He reached out his hand and removed the under-eye patches from Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. He seemed incredibly happy. ¡°Couldn¡¯t fall asleep? Who do you think you¡¯re fooling? You were waiting for me, plain and simple.¡± CH 22 Although there wasn¡¯t any need to go to the airport, Director Liu still ended up moving Xu Jingzhe¡¯s scenes back. He wanted to film a rain scene at the lake today. Apparently, it was supposed to rain in the afternoon, so he was planning on taking advantage of that. Luo Yaoye had a scene early in the day. When she walked out of her room that morning in her face mask, she just so happened to run into Liang Yu, who was carrying a towel and toothbrush holder with him. The man was tall, and his legs were long. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to his appearance all night, so he had a bit of facial hair growing in. The shadow out a stubble hung upon his chin, outlining it to look even more charming. Luo Yaoye had always felt that his nose bridge and brow bone were incredibly beautiful. The whites of the eyes also had a bit of a cobalt blue tone to them, giving them a sort of attractive quality. Liang Yu had walked out of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s room. Luo Yaoye¡¯s expression instantly became quite teasing. She could be considered a fan of Liang Yu¡¯s. However, after playing a game of mahjong with him, her view of him had been completely shattered, but she still felt a little timid in front of him. After all, she couldn¡¯t beat him in an argument, and she couldn¡¯t beat him in mahjong. She even ended up owing him money! ¡°Hehe.¡± Luo Yaoye smoothed out her face mask as she giggled. She asked him, ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. Xu?¡± Liang Yu glanced at her and kept walking. ¡°Sleeping.¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°You¡¯re not going to keep him company?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± He held a razor in his hands. ¡°Gotta shave.¡± Luo Yaoye was just about to ask Liang Yu why he didn¡¯t have Xu Jingzhe help him when Liang Yu suddenly asked her, ¡°Have you cut your nails?¡± ¡°!¡± Luo Yaoye was so frightened that her face mask almost fell off. Liang Yu insipidly said, ¡°Cut your nails. Let me check them later.¡± Luo Yaoye didn¡¯t dare do anything else other than nod. The hot spring was rather lively in the mornings. Liang Yu hung a tag on his wrist and changed into a bathrobe and flip flops. Director Liu was washing his hair in the sink. He noticed that someone had walked up beside him and turned his head to take a look. ¡°?¡± Director Liu thought he was dreaming. As he looked up, his head full of foam ended up splashing onto Liang Yu¡¯s face. Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Liang!¡± Director Liu was incredibly excited. ¡°Why¡¯d you arrive so early?¡± Liang Yu washed his face first. Then, he took the shaving cream into his palm and slowly applied it onto his face in front of the mirror. He probably hadn¡¯t realized just how sexy that aloof and indifferent aura of his really was. His movements were both focused and careless at the same time. He casually responded to Director Liu. Then, he rinsed the razor and began to shave the other side of his face. Glgfmabg Ole jirb jrxfv tlw, ¡°Qtfgf¡¯r Alcuhtf?¡± Oljcu Te: ¡°Lf¡¯r ralii riffqlcu.¡± Glgfmabg Ole rlutfv. ¡°Lf vlvc¡¯a rffw ab tjnf rifqa nfgs kfii atf cluta yfobgf.¡± Oljcu Te vlvc¡¯a rqfjx. Lf¡¯v jigfjvs olclrtfv rtjnlcu. Coafg jqqislcu j yla bo joafgrtjnf, tf rjlv, ¡°Glgfmabg Ole, kbeiv sbe ilxf ab tjnf ygfjxojra abufatfg?¡± Director Liu happily replied, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve been wanting to introduce you to the crew.¡± Within their industry, Liang Yu was one of the few big celebrities that didn¡¯t keep their assistant by their side all the time apart from Xu Jingzhe. He ordered a lot of food, including eggs and meat. He also ordered a serving of congee. As he was eating, he sent a message on WeChat. After a while, Zhu Xiaoxiao ran into the dining hall. She¡¯d probably just gotten up. She hadn¡¯t even changed out of her pajamas. She looked around the room for Liang Yu, her hair undone. ¡°Over here.¡± Liang Yu waved at her. Zhu Xiaoxiao rushed over and fawningly greeted him, ¡°Good morning, Mr. Liang.¡± Liang Yu pushed the eggs and meat over to her. ¡°Send this to his room.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao almost asked whose room. Fortunately, her body moved faster than her brain. Once she¡¯d gotten the breakfast, she went looking for Xu Jingzhe. ¡°Not bad.¡± Director Liu gave Liang Yu a thumbs up. ¡°You know how to care for him!¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao fluttered all the way back like a magpie. She made it all the way back to Xu Jingzhe¡¯s room before she finally calmed down. She pulled out her room card and gently opened the door. As expected, Xu Jingzhe was sleeping. Zhu Xiaoxiao didn¡¯t know what other actors were like, but, when it came to her boss, even his sleeping position looked as if it were deliberately posed. He looked very photogenic. It was as if he was going to film a commercial right then and there. Zhu Xiaoxiao placed the breakfast on the coffee table at the end of the bed. She discovered that Xu Jingzhe¡¯s mattress and blanket had been completely switched out. She almost could believe it. As she was staring at the brand new quilt pattern, a war was taking place within her mind. ¡°Liang Yu?¡± Xu Jingzhe seemed to have suddenly woken up. He propped himself up on his elbows, a little dazed. Zhu Xiaoxiao immediately replied, ¡°It¡¯s me. Mr. Xu, would you like to have breakfast first?¡± Xu Jingzhe finally came to his senses and asked, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao: ¡°I¡¯ll eat later.¡± She added, ¡°Mr. Liang bought you breakfast.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and got off the bed. His pajamas were rather conservative, long sleeved and long legged. Zhu Xiaoxiao noticed that the wound on his neck seemed to have been re-treated. There was even a piece of gauze solemnly placed upon the scratch. Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s inner self was starting to go wild again. Xu Jingzhe really liked the steamed eggs. As he was eating, he asked Zhu Xiaoxiao, ¡°Is Liang Yu in the dining hall?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. ¡°He is. I think he¡¯s going to have breakfast with Director Liu.¡± Xu Jingzhe nodded as well. Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at him for a while. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Mr. Xu, did you switch out the blankets yourself?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe had a spoonful of steamed egg in his mouth, so his pronunciation was a little muffled. ¡°Liang Yu replaced it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao kept her face blank. Xu Jingzhe suddenly felt a belated sense of embarrassment wash over him. He explained himself, somewhat unnecessarily, ¡°Liang Yu had brought a lot of stuff with him. He just so happened to switch them out in passing.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and stopped him. ¡°I know, I understand. You¡¯re both working hard. You really don¡¯t need to explain too much to me.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu was leisurely drinking his congee in the dining hall. Director Liu was sitting across from him. Every now and then, actors would come up to them to give their greetings. The casting for Green Water was very bold. Aside from the male and female lead, almost all of the actors were newcomers. Among them were two kids who had just graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Beijing Film Academy. They were playing male and female supporting roles, and they actually had quite a few scenes. Director Liu introduced them to Liang Yu. ¡°Jiang Xiao.¡± Director Liu patted the boy on the back. ¡°He¡¯s only eighteen years old. He could be considered Jingzhe¡¯s junior. Ren Qing had also taught him.¡± Jiang Xiao didn¡¯t have that pretty and androgynous look. Rather, he seemed more suited for serious dramas. He had long eyebrows, a tall nose, and a full forehead, lively and energetic. It was clear that he was a little nervous. He greeted Liang Yu. ¡°Mr. Liang.¡± Director Liu: ¡°He¡¯ll be filming a rain scene with Xu Jingzhe.¡± He turned to Jiang Xiao with a smile. ¡°Come meet Mr. Liang. He can be considered someone who is familiar with the work.¡± Liang Yu took a sip of his congee. He moved his gaze away from Jiang Xiao. He said with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to criticize Xu Jingzhe while he¡¯s filming.¡± Director Liu laughed loudly. ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll lose when it comes to acting. Set an example for the juniors on set. Don¡¯t you want to try acting with Jingzhe?¡± Liang Yu seemed rather indifferent. He scooped a few more spoonfuls of congee. Then, he suddenly asked Jiang Xiao, ¡°Do you have any emotional scenes with your senior?¡± Jiang Xiao didn¡¯t understand what he meant by ¡°emotional scenes¡±. He subconsciously turned towards Director Liu. Director Liu boldly replied, ¡°Their characters have a love-hate relationship! This kind of dynamic has lots of feeling! Do you want to try?¡± Xu Jingzhe slept until noon. He was woken up by the sound of rain. When he woke up, he looked at his phone. Zhu Xiaoxiao just so happened to have sent him a message asking him about what he wanted to eat. The room was very quiet. Liang Yu probably hadn¡¯t come back yet. After all, his phone wasn¡¯t there. He was sure where he had gone. Xu Jingzhe stared blankly for a bit. Then, he sent a message to Zhu Xiaoxiao. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get into costume. You can just buy whatever. No rush.¡± Under normal circumstances, the make-up and costume for an afternoon scene would be done in the morning. Then, you¡¯d wait for your turn to film. Xu Jingzhe could be considered to have used his special privileges to take the morning off. He never would have done such a thing in the past. However, with his current status, no one was going to say anything even if he took an entire day off of filming. Xu Jingzhe needed to film a rain scene today, so he couldn¡¯t apply too much makeup. The makeup artist dabbed a thin layer of powder on his face. She sighed. ¡°To be honest, you don¡¯t even need to wear makeup.¡± Xu Jingzhe said modestly, ¡°That¡¯s all thanks to the lighting.¡± The makeup artist smiled and said, ¡°I also applied makeup for Mr. Liang. He¡¯s just like you. His face is absolutely flawless. Doing makeup for you guys is like painting a work of art. I¡¯m afraid of ruining it.¡± ¡°You applied makeup for him?¡± Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. Liang Yu was different from him. Unless he was on camera, he usually didn¡¯t wear makeup. The advantages of having three dimensional features were vividly apparent in him. The makeup artist replied, ¡°Yep. He also changed into a costume.¡± Xu Jingzhe was even more surprised. He didn¡¯t understand what Director Liu was trying to do. Liang Yu didn¡¯t just do his makeup, but he also changed into costume. Did he plan on making a cameo in Green Water? Xu Jingzhe thought about it for a while, but he still wasn¡¯t very sure. His studio had invested in Green Water. As one of the producers, Xu Jingzhe also had the right to know last minute roles were going to be added, Thus, he quickly sent a message to Zhang Man. He asked her how much it would cost for Liang Yu to make a cameo in a TV series. Zhang Man immediately called him. ¡°Who? Liang Yu? TV series? Cameo?¡± Xu Jingzhe hurriedly reassured her, ¡°It¡¯s just what if.¡± Zhang Man let out a ¡°ha¡±. It was obvious that she didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°There is no what if. Is he sick in the head?!¡± CH 23 Jiang Xiao was standing on a small boat in the center of the lake. Director Liu was adjusting his position for him. After watching the image on camera for a bit, he called for Liang Yu. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stand over there and take a shot?¡± Typically, the crew would have several spare costumes for each character on set. This time, Liang Yu wore the costume for the male supporting lead. However, it didn¡¯t fit him that well. He was too tall, so the sleeves and pant legs tended to appear a little short. Therefore, they simply decided to roll the sleeves up. It lended an entirely different kind of style to the entire outfit. Jiang Xiao got off the boat, and Liang Yu took his place. As soon as he appeared on camera, Director Liu couldn¡¯t help but gasp. Some people were simply born to show their faces to the world. Liang Yu was one such person. He didn¡¯t need anyone to tell him where to stand. After all, the boat was only so big. A lone boat. A single swordsman. As long as he was in the scene, this picture would magically come to life. Jiang Xiao watched in earnest. He didn¡¯t even notice that there was someone else behind him. Xu Jingzhe watched for a while. Then, he asked Director Liu, ¡°Should I go up there as well?¡± Director Liu goaded him with a smile. ¡°You can if you want to.¡± Xu Jingzhe gently laughed. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I want to?¡± He was still wearing the same costume from yesterday. He¡¯d also taken off the gauze on his neck. A faint scratch could still be seen. One of the makeup artists wanted to help him cover it up, but she was stopped by the scriptwriting team. ¡°It looks good like this,¡± Director Liu said. ¡°Just keep it like that.¡± The rain wasn¡¯t very heavy, falling in dribs and drabs. It was only a little annoying at best. Xu Jingzhe and the others didn¡¯t have umbrellas. However, once he stepped onto the boat, the rain gradually started to become heavier. Liang Yu flipped through the script a bit. He wasn¡¯t familiar with the lines. Director Liu allowed them to do as they pleased. However, the boom mic was hovering right above them. It seemed that the director planned on recording the original audio. The camera swept across Liang Yu¡¯s face. His countenance was steadfast. His gaze was like falling rain. It slid over Xu Jingzhe¡¯s neck and landed on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s wound. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t be coming today.¡± The lines that Liang Yu spoke weren¡¯t from the script. However, the rhythm, the pronunciation, it was all perfect for the given atmosphere. Xu Jingzhe had always felt that Liang Yu must have had stage play experience. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a guy without any professional training to be so good at reciting lines. Xu Jingzhe kept his expression calm. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m obviously going to come if you¡¯re here.¡± Oljcu Te ijeutfv. Qlat atf jqqgbqgljaf jwbeca bo rjgmjrw, tf rjlv, ¡°Tbe rqfca jii bo sfrafgvjs ablilcu jkjs, sfa sbe vbc¡¯a rffw algfv ja jii.¡± We Alcuhtf ogbkcfv. Lf ibbxfv eq abkjgvr atf batfg jcv mjiwis rjlv, ¡°Ktf ulgi kjr lc vjcufg. P mbeivc¡¯a pera cba vb jcsatlcu. Cr obg fnfgsatlcu firf ¡­ kf tjnf cbatlcu ab vb klat fjmt batfg yfsbcv atja. Gbc¡¯a wlrecvfgrajcv.¡± Director Liu had the camera follow both of their faces. At the beginning, he was still explaining everything to Jiang Xiao. ¡°Did you see that? Although the lines are complete nonsense, Liang Yu¡¯s performance is still very good. Look at this. Even if your back is facing the camera, don¡¯t assume that you can just slack off. Actors aren¡¯t allowed to be lazy. You need to be able to respond to what your co-star is doing. If your co-star is hurting you or angering you, then you need to respond appropriately. Look at the details. Even his wig is acting along with him!¡± Jiang Xiao obviously cherished this rare opportunity. He watched the scene for a bit. He wanted to put his two cents in as well. ¡°Mr. Xu is also really good at playing along. I heard that a lot of actors have a hard time acting with Mr. Liang for the first time.¡± ¡°Of course he¡¯s good at it. He and Liang Yu are of the same nature. They¡¯re both people within the play.¡± Director Liu laughed. His following description was a little abstract. ¡°That¡¯s not to say that they¡¯re similar. They¡¯re completely different. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s that kind of lonely but resilient type, almost fragile. Do you know what the antonym of loneliness is?¡± Jiang Xiao asked, ¡°What is it?¡± Director Liu: ¡°It¡¯s exuberance. Liang Yu is ¡®exuberant¡¯. In fact, he¡¯s a little too exuberant. He burns others easily, so they aren¡¯t able to match up to him. They get overwhelmed. However, this isn¡¯t the case with Xu Jingzhe. Xu Jingzhe is a dead tree covered in moss. As soon as he comes in contact with Liang Yu, he¡¯ll come alight but he won¡¯t burn. As for Liang Yu, he¡¯s like a drought that has finally met with rain.¡± Director Liu clicked his tongue and slapped his thigh. He sighed, ¡°They¡¯re a perfect match!¡± Director Liu hadn¡¯t yelled ¡°cut¡± so the ¡°perfect match¡± standing on the boat had no choice but to continue to act. Liang Yu didn¡¯t have much of a foundation regarding the script, so, towards the end, he was pretty much making up whatever he liked. Earlier, when the screenwriter was telling him about the script, he told him that they needed to make physical contact at the end. Liang Yu finished his line. Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t even had time to react when Liang Yu suddenly stretched out his hand. He grasped Xu Jingzhe¡¯s neck and pressed his thumb on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s wound. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu asked in a low voice, ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± Xu Jingzhe actually wasn¡¯t too sure whether Liang Yu was acting or whether he was asking for real. He just replied instinctively, ¡°It¡¯s a small wound. It stopped hurting a long time ago.¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t speak. He tilted his head and leaned in for a closer look. There was no camera on the other side, so, from the camera¡¯s angle, it looked as though Liang Yu was giving him a kiss. Director Liu still hadn¡¯t called ¡°cut¡±. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Liang Yu suddenly asked. His breath brushed against Xu Jingzhe¡¯s neck. It tickled a bit. This utterance would also have been recorded by the microphone, but the person in question didn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°You haven¡¯t had lunch yet, right? Let¡¯s go eat first.¡± From beginning to end, the topic of conversation had jumped around too fast. Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t even had time to come out of the play when he heard Director Liu yell, ¡°Cut!¡± Everyone around them laughed. Some people even started teasing them, ¡°Mr. Liang feels sorry for Mr. Xu.¡± Several staff members braved the rain and helped the two of them back to shore. Liang Yu went to change his clothes first. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s wig was covered with a towel. The makeup artist helped touch up his makeup. Jiang Xiao greeted him, ¡°Mr. Xu.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, ¡°Did you get all that? I¡¯ll be counting on you to perform well.¡± Jiang Xiao wouldn¡¯t dare perform poorly. He blushed and said, ¡°I will definitely learn from Mr. Liang.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to learn that much.¡± Xu Jingzhe pushed down a smile. He was rather earnest. ¡°You are you. He is him. The two of you are completely different.¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao walked over with a hot boxed lunch. As she was setting up the food, she also helped him change out of his wet robe. ¡°Mr. Liang ordered all of the dishes.¡± She emphasized once more, ¡°You have to eat rice. Mr. Liang said so. It¡¯s only natural for you to lose weight when filming. It¡¯s a lot of pressure. You can¡¯t afford to lose any more weight.¡± In the eyes of others, Liang Yu may be a little controlling, but Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t seem to mind. He had a strange method of relieving pressure. Essentially, once he was under someone else¡¯s management, he actually found himself able to relax better. When Liang Yu returned, Xu Jingzhe had already finished half a bowl of rice. His overall mood and condition were much better than the previous two days. He looked very relaxed. He even had the spare energy to enjoy the rain, enjoy the scenery as he was eating. Liang Yu sat down across from him. He¡¯d changed his clothes. He¡¯d also removed his makeup and undone his hair. He looked clean. Due to his black and white outfit, he looked like a black and white painting within an endless expanse of lush green. Xu Jingzhe admired both him and the scenery. He asked, ¡°Are you really not going to sleep? Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Liang Yu pointed his chin at him. ¡°I¡¯ll wait until you get off work.¡± He asked back, ¡°Are you still cold when you sleep?¡± Xu Jingzhe shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not cold anymore.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°There are still a few more things on the way. They¡¯ll be here by tonight. If there¡¯s anything you want, just let me know.¡± Xu Jingzhe smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯ve already prepared enough. I have nothing else to ask for.¡± The mattress and blankets were the only thing that was changed. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s new pajamas had also been brought by Liang Yu. After meeting up with Liang Yu, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s mental state seemed to have relaxed entirely. He¡¯d been a little out of it towards the latter half of the night. Now that he thought about it, he wasn¡¯t actually quite sure about what Liang Yu had done. All he remembered was that he seemed to have been carried to bed by Liang Yu. His face had been pressed against the other¡¯s chin. He seemed to have complained, ¡°Your stubble is too scratchy.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s chin was clean-shaven at the moment. Xu Jingzhe felt a little anxious when he thought about how Liang Yu hadn¡¯t slept all night. Not only had he not slept, he also spent all morning guiding a newcomer. He was already looking forward to getting off of work. Later, Xu Jingzhe and Jiang Xiao stepped back onto the boat. It was still raining. However, Director Liu kept yelling ¡°cut¡±. ¡°Jiang Xiao, what are you so nervous about?¡± Director Liu shouted into a loudspeaker. ¡°You¡¯re here to interrogate him, not to beg him for his support. You¡¯re demanding to know why your senior brother saved that woman! Where is that woman?!¡± Luo Yaoye had been filming on Set B. She¡¯d already finished filming, so she came over to check out Xu Jingzhe. When she got there, she placed both hands in front of Liang Yu. It was as if she were a primary school student showing her teacher her homework. Xu Jingzhe was full of energy. His desire to get off work early was practically written all over his face. The more pressure that Jiang Xiao felt, the more Jiang Xiao struggled. It was especially worrying for their filming progress. ¡°You don¡¯t need to focus too much on how Liang Yu acted,¡± Xu Jingzhe comforted him. ¡°Just act the way that you want to act. Relax a bit.¡± Jiang Xiao hummed in response. He still hadn¡¯t gotten the right feeling yet. Xu Jingzhe was on the other side, getting his hair and makeup touched up. Luo Yaoye was rather shocked when she found out that Liang Yu came to give acting tips. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Since when were you this nice?¡± Liang Yu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look too good. Luo Yaoye didn¡¯t know whether he was just getting impatient or whether he was actually angry. He bluntly responded, ¡°I just want filming to end so that I can go to sleep with Xu Jingzhe.¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°¡­?¡± She secretly thought to herself, ¡°Is it okay for you to be talking about your private affairs as a couple in front of an innocent girl like me!?¡± CH 24 Jiang Xiao and Xu Jingzhe¡¯s boat scene finished filming at around seven o¡¯clock in the evening. By that time, both of them were exhausted, especially Jiang Xiao. It might have been that he¡¯d been yelled at one too many times, but, surprisingly, he managed to use this frustration to force out a passing scene. He felt a little guilty towards Xu Jingzhe. He even came up to him to apologize once everything was over. Xu Jingzhe had just changed out of his wet costume and was in the process of removing his wig. Now, he also had to comfort his co-star, ¡°This is your first time acting. You just need a bit more experience. Don¡¯t feel too pressured.¡± He offered some advice with a bit more substance, ¡°Go back and review the lines a little more, especially the pauses and rhythm from line to line.¡± Jiang Xiao was very grateful towards him. ¡°Would it be possible for me to review the script with you tonight?¡± Xu Jingzhe paused. He felt as though he¡¯d caused needless trouble for himself, but he could not bear to reject the other too bluntly. He was in the middle of thinking up an excuse when Liang Yu suddenly butt into the conversation. He had Xu Jingzhe¡¯s coat with him. He brought in a wave of the frigid outside air with him. He calmly looked at Jiang Xiao. ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Xiao quietly said, ¡°I¡¯ll think over the lines myself first. Thank you, Mr. Xu.¡± He bowed towards Liang Yu. Then, he quickly slipped away. Xu Jingzhe was stunned for quite a while. He was between laughter and tears. ¡°You¡¯ve scared the kid.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s temper flared. ¡°He¡¯s got to be seventeen years old already. Has he only grown taller and not smarter?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°You can¡¯t expect everyone to be like you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if they¡¯re like you,¡± Liang Yu snorted. ¡°He¡¯s just stupid.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know what else to say. He took out his hair extensions himself. As soon as he got up, Liang Yu shook open his coat, and Xu Jingzhe gave him a soft thank you. He stuck his arms into the sleeves, his entire being wrapped in warmth. ¡°Should we go eat?¡± He asked. Liang Yu: ¡°Let¡¯s eat in our room.¡± He said, ¡°I¡¯m sleepy.¡± Upon hearing this, Xu Jingzhe naturally agreed. The two of them quickly bid their goodbyes to the rest of the crew. Director Liu was actually rather understanding. He said, ¡°Go back and rest well. Jingzhe will accompany you.¡± Liang Yu gave him a look. He said in a resentful tone, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t yelled cut so many times, we would¡¯ve gone to bed ages ago.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Vlcmf atf akb bo atfw kfgf ¡°lc j gfijalbcrtlq¡± ab atf gfra bo atf kbgiv, Oljcu Te bynlberis kjrc¡¯a ublcu ab rajs lc tlr bkc tbafi gbbw. Lf jcv We Alcuhtf rajsfv lc atf rjwf gbbw. Mgjcxis, la kjr j ilaaif mgbkvfv. Xiao Luo had rested well. She and Zhu Xiaoxiao brought dinner to Xu Jingzhe¡¯s room. Liang Yu probably really was tired. He ate very quickly. After eating, he quickly washed up before making a beeline straight towards the bed. We Alcuhtf tfiv j abkfi lc tlr tjcvr. Oljcu Te rjk la jcv jrxfv tlw, ¡°Qtfgf jgf sbe ublcu?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I¡¯m going to take a bath. I spent all day being rained on, so there¡¯s a smell.¡± Liang Yu rolled his eyes. He covered his face with the blanket and muttered to himself, ¡°What smell could there possibly be?¡± After speaking, he struggled to get up again, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Xu Jingzhe was taken aback. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were tired? Go to sleep first.¡± Liang Yu followed behind him. He impatiently urged him along. ¡°Quit wasting your breath. Hurry up.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really understand why Liang Yu needed to wait for him as he took a bath, but Liang Yu didn¡¯t seem to think there was anything wrong with it. ¡°I¡¯m just doing my job.¡± He offhandedly said, ¡°Hurry inside.¡± Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to agree. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll wash up quickly.¡± Liang Yu sat on the bench outside the hot spring with his chin in his hands. He didn¡¯t look at Xu Jingzhe. He simply waved him off. He waited until Xu Jingzhe had gone inside before pulling out his phone and calling Yang Jierui back. ¡°Oh my god.¡± Yang Jierui sounded as though he¡¯d lived over eighty years. ¡°You finally found it in your heart to call me back.¡± Liang Yu wasn¡¯t buying his act. ¡°I¡¯m tired. If you have something to say, just say it.¡± Yang Jierui: ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Don¡¯t you know that any drama starring Xu Jingzhe is going to have fan sites and paparazzi following after them? As long as he joins the crew, they¡¯re going to be inundated by paparazzi from beginning to end. The paparazzi will be able to find you two even in an uninhabited region, let alone a conservation area. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not letting you go, but you can¡¯t you just wait a few days? Why are you in such a hurry?¡± ¡°Yes, Xu Jingzhe was a huge help in promoting your holiday film, he was very hardworking, but we paid him for his time. It¡¯s all written in the contract,¡± Yang Jierui complained. ¡°What if you get photographed this time? You¡¯ll end up promoting the drama for free. Are they going to pay you for it? Also, what if you don¡¯t get photographed? Wouldn¡¯t it mean that you did all that work for nothing?¡± Upon hearing this, Liang Yu could no longer bear to listen. He shot back, ¡°How do you know that it¡¯s for nothing? What right do you have to say that?¡± Yang Jierui choked. He didn¡¯t understand what he¡¯d said wrong. He was talking about business. Where the hell had Liang Yu¡¯s train of thought gone?! Xu Jingzhe walked out of the hot spring to see Liang Yu with a poor expression on his face. It seemed as though he was angry with someone. When he saw Xu Jingzhe, he blinked. Then, he frowned and coldly asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you blow dry your hair?¡± Xu Jingzhe flicked his bangs. ¡°I blow dried it for a bit. I was worried about making you wait.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s displeasure was instantly dissipated by a single phrase. He was silent for a while. Then, he stood up and put his arm around Xu Jingzhe¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to sleep. I¡¯m tired as hell.¡± Their room at the farmhouse wasn¡¯t that big, but the bed was a good two meters long. Liang Yu gave half of the blanket to Xu Jingzhe. Within seconds, he was out like a light. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t fall asleep right after taking a bath. He laid flat on his back, but, after a while, he turned his head to look at Liang Yu. The man¡¯s face was turned toward him. He was sleeping peacefully. The very first thing Xu Jingzhe noticed about Liang Yu was his eyelashes. He carefully observed each and every eyelash, one by one. He almost had to wonder whether the other had gotten eyelash extensions. It might have been that they were lying too close to each other and his breathing had disturbed the other. Liang Yu moved his head and buried it deeper in the quilt. Xu Jingzhe felt that this motion was both boyish and interesting. He couldn¡¯t help silently laughing to himself. In the middle of the night, Xu Jingzhe woke up to use the bathroom. He¡¯d just gotten out of bed when Liang Yu seemed to wake up next to him. He asked in a daze, ¡°Where are you going?¡± Xu Jingzhe thought he was just sleep talking. He coaxed him like he would a child. ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the bathroom. Go back to sleep.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°Hurry up. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand what he was waiting on him for, but he quickly did his business and returned to the bed. Liang Yu did in fact wait for him. Although he was clearly tired out of his mind, he still rolled up the blanket and wrapped it around Xu Jingzhe. On the next day, there was a scene between the male and female leads. Xu Jingzhe needed to wake up early in order to get his makeup done. Logically speaking, Liang Yu would definitely be sleeping in. Liang Yu, however, ended up waking up the moment Xu Jingzhe moved to get up. ¡°You should sleep some more,¡± Xu Jingzhe prodded him. ¡°I told Xiao Luo to bring you some breakfast.¡± Liang Yu still had a blanket around his waist. He had a bit of early morning moodiness, but he was still able to talk nicely with Xu Jingzhe. ¡°What are you and Luo Yaoye filming today?¡± Xu Jingzhe picked and chose a few points in the plot to tell him. Liang Yu curled his lips. He started kicking up a bit of a fuss. ¡°There¡¯s a kissing scene?¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not being filmed today.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°When is it going to be filmed then?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°We¡¯ll probably film that at Hengdian. When the time comes, you can just not look.¡± In all likelihood, they wouldn¡¯t be able to return to Hengdian before April. Liang Yu¡¯s onset visit couldn¡¯t last an entire month, even if he wanted it to. Besides, Paris Fashion Week was in March. As one of the most high-profile celebrities in the fashion industry, Liang Yu was sure to have received a mountain of invitations. When he thought about how they would soon be separated again, Xu Jingzhe found himself feeling a little lonely for some reason. He asked, ¡°How many days are you staying here this time?¡± Liang Yu: ¡°I¡¯m staying until your birthday.¡± Xu Jingzhe suddenly remembered that his birthday was on March 6th. The film crew would definitely post an announcement on that day. Considering their current relationship, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for Liang Yu to accompany him on that day. It was business. This had all been well communicated in the contract at the time. For the sake of their careers, their cooperation, and their public images, they needed to keep up the act, no matter what. Xu Jingzhe was silent for a while. He didn¡¯t know what it was he was thinking. When he came back to his senses, he noticed that Liang Yu still hadn¡¯t moved. He thought he was not feeling well, so he asked, worried, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you hungry? I¡¯ll go rush Xiao Luo.¡± A flash of embarrassment flickered across Liang Yu¡¯s face. He glanced at Xu Jingzhe and said, ¡°I¡¯m ¡­ not hungry. I need to go to the bathroom.¡± Xu Jingzhe hadn¡¯t realized what he meant by that. He even tried to go over and help. ¡°Did you catch a cold? Does your stomach hurt? Do you want me to help you?¡± Liang Yu huffed out an annoyed laugh. He stared at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. Then, he said through gritted teeth, ¡°Xu Jingzhe, do you really not understand or are you faking it? I¡¯m different from you. I have worldly desires. Do you get it now?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Translator¡¯s Note: I¡¯m back, my loves! I¡¯m so sorry for going AWOL. College is really eating me up. CH 25 Twin Fish [Translator]11-14 minutes After resolving his ¡°worldly desires¡± in the bathroom, Xiao Luo and Zhu Xiaoxiao finally arrived with breakfast. As they were eating, Xu Jingzhe observed Liang Yu¡¯s face. The latter was a little miffed by the blatant staring. ¡°Xu Jingzhe.¡± Liang Yu held back his temper and asked, ¡°Are you a virgin?¡± w5MFs1 Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t find the question offensive, but he did find it a little embarrassing. He replied that he wasn¡¯t, but, considering his current condition, it wasn¡¯t exactly that simple. Liang Yu raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ve dated women?¡± Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really want to get too deep into this topic, so he summarily responded, ¡°I¡¯ve dated around one or two women. I¡¯m a normal guy after all.¡± He emphasized the word ¡°normal¡±, but Liang Yu seemed to be a lot more focused on something else. IBwJFH ¡°How many women have you dated exactly?¡± He spoke coldly, almost as if he was interrogating the other. ¡°Is it one or is it two? Speak clearly.¡± ¡°?¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t understand why he was suddenly getting angry, but he honestly answered each and every question out of habit. ¡°I¡¯ve only dated two people. It was a long time ago, and the relationships were never made public.¡± Liang Yu: ¡°How long did you date them for?¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I dated one for about half a year and the other for maybe three or four months. I was really busy with work, so it was hard to maintain a stable relationship.¡± alyEI Liang Yu stared at him for a while, seemingly trying to confirm the truthfulness of his words. He huffed, most of his anger fizzling out. Still, he sarcastically replied, ¡°You sure are good at hiding from paparazzi. You¡¯ve been in a relationship before, yet you¡¯ve never been photographed. Who was it? Do I know them?¡± Xu Jingzhe felt that it was already a thing of the past. He didn¡¯t think it was right to dredge up their names, so he hesitated. ¡°Um, the breakup ¡­ wasn¡¯t very pretty. It¡¯s probably for the best if I don¡¯t say.¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t press him this time, but he was secretly thinking to himself that he could always find out through other means. He finished breakfast with Xu Jingzhe. He then accompanied Xu Jingzhe on set. Finally, he plopped himself next to Director Liu and began watching them film. Luo Yaoye had a shocked pikachu look on her face. She felt like she was going to collapse. She privately asked Xu Jingzhe, ¡°Why is he here? Why does he have to supervise us like that?¡± QxyEn7 Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t really know what to say either. It wasn¡¯t like he could tell Luo Yaoye that Liang Yu was here to put on a show of a loving partner. Xu Jingzhe and Luo Yaoye¡¯s outdoor scenes weren¡¯t going to be too intimate. This part could be considered the first sprouts of love between the male lead and female lead. The male lead was entangled in a love-hate relationship with his junior brother, so the background was often full of wind and rain. However, when it came to the female lead, the background would suddenly clear up with bright sun, beautiful flowers, and glorious light. We Alcuhtf kjr nfgs rafjvs lc fnfgsatlcu tf vlv. Lf tjv j nfgs ubbv ugjrq bc atf offilcur bo qgbafmalbc, mjealbc, jcv mbwqjrrlbc atja atf wjif ifjv rtbkfv abkjgvr atf ofwjif ifjv veglcu atlr qblca lc alwf. Oeb Tjbsf¡¯r mtjgjmafg kjr gjatfg rqfmlji. Vtf mjgglfv j vffq jcv ylaafg tjagfv klat tfg. Vtf, jr bo atlr wbwfca, vlv cba tjnf jcs bo atbrf mtlivlrt atbeutar bo ibnf bg gbwjcmf. Vtf ojcmlfv atf wjif ifjv cba obg tlr qbafcalji jr j gbwjcalm qjgacfg yea obg tlr wjgalji jgar qgbkfrr. Vtf kjcafv ab erf atf wjif ifjv obg tfg gfnfcuf. Lfcmf, rtf cffvfv ab qijs eq atf mbfgmlbc tlvvfc yftlcv tfg ogjulilas, atf rfvemalbc tlvvfc yftlcv tfg lccbmfcmf. ¡°Cut.¡± Director Liu took the loudspeaker from his assistant. In this scene, Xu Jingzhe was sitting in a bamboo forest, and Luo Yaoye was about to put her head in his lap. ¡°Yaoye, don¡¯t be intimidated by Jingzhe¡¯s abstinent aura. You don¡¯t need to be so careful. Your whole family is dead. You need to be ruthless. Go all out. Seduce him. Do you know what it means to seduce someone? Turn towards him. Don¡¯t look away. Use some strength.¡± After he finished speaking, he clapped the clapperboard once more. ¡°From the top.¡± dlMvPD Luo Yaoye tried it a second time. Director Liu watched from behind the camera for a while and rubbed his chin. Suddenly, he swiveled his head towards Liang Yu. ¡°How would you play this part?¡± Liang Yu¡¯s focus was entirely on Luo Yaoye¡¯s head. He was caught off guard for a moment by the question. ¡°Do what?¡± Director Liu: ¡°Seduction. How would you seduce Xu Jingzhe?¡± Without waiting for the other¡¯s reply, he suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go up and give it a try?¡± 60NPhg Frankly, Liang Yu didn¡¯t want to give it a try. His attempt from yesterday had ended in failure, so what was the point of trying it again today? Besides, Luo Yaoye wasn¡¯t some newcomer. Did a leading lady of her stature need to be taught by others? Luo Yaoye was still lying down. She didn¡¯t really care either way. In fact, she found the idea rather fun. She even went out of her way to poke fun at Liang Yu. ¡°Mr. Liang, come teach me how to seduce Mr. Xu.¡± Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Xu Jingzhe was still fixing his makeup when he saw Liang Yu stand up and walk over. Liang Yu hadn¡¯t changed into a costume or put on makeup. Frankly, he was a little out of sorts with the rest of the costumed cast. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°You¡¯re actually going to act.¡± Liang Yu seemed to want to roll his eyes, but he held himself back. He said in a rough voice, ¡°Sit down.¡± 7uLfa0 Xu Jingzhe obediently sat down. They didn¡¯t record any audio for this take. The entire crew seemed to have relaxed. Director Liu straight up stopped filming. He let Luo Yaoye watch from the side. Due to his height, Liang Yu was not able to kneel down as easily as Luo Yaoye was. He ended up closer to Xu Jingzhe than Luo Yaoye had been. His gaze slowly moved up before settling on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s script required that his heart be moved but his body be still. His eyes were gentle, and his entire person was very calm. He asked, ¡°What reason has brought the young lady to me?¡± naDRSc Liang Yu didn¡¯t have a script, so he began to freely improvise. ¡°No reason. Can¡¯t I come see you just for the sake of it?¡± He said this with a deliberately suppressed tone of voice, seeming as though he was very aggrieved. Xu Jingzhe once again found himself having a hard time determining whether the man was just acting or whether he truly felt this way. He subconsciously softened his tone. ¡°Of course you can.¡± Liang Yu first smiled. He then lowered his head as if he were feeling shy. After a while, he finally raised his head again. His eyes were no longer probing and cautious like before. Rather, they became more brazen, more ardent. He shuffled a few steps forward on his knees and pinned his eyes on Xu Jingzhe, his eyes full of love and desire. ¡°Jingzhe.¡± Liang Yu suddenly called out his name in a low voice. He leaned his head against Xu Jingzhe¡¯s chest. His face was still facing the other. He almost seemed as though he were trying to suppress something deep inside him. He called out again, ¡°Jingzhe.¡± pfrjdu Xu Jingzhe subconsciously held his breath. He didn¡¯t know if it was because his chest was being pressed down upon. He felt as though an electric current had shot through his heart, numb all over. He and Liang Yu looked at each other. Finally, Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t hold out any longer and turned his head away, avoiding the other¡¯s gaze. Director Liu was still giving Luo Yaoye pointers from the sidelines. ¡°See that? That¡¯s what you call seduction! You have to make him shy, make it so he can¡¯t even look you in the eye! This is the feeling I was going for!¡± Liang Yu¡¯s quickly broke out of the play. He stood up and dusted the dirt off his knees. He then lowered his head to look at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face. Xu Jingzhe felt a little uneasy being stared at. He deliberately asked, ¡°What is it?¡± grlh P Liang Yu seemed to be teasing Xu Jingzhe. He suddenly reached out a hand to smooth out the hair hanging from the other¡¯s temples. He said, ¡°What are you so nervous about? Can¡¯t keep up with my acting?¡± When it came to acting, Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t very willing to admit defeat. He asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t keep up?¡± After a pause, Xu Jingzhe seemed to put the blame on Liang Yu. ¡°Don¡¯t suddenly call me by my name.¡± Liang Yu found this a little unexpected. ¡°Why?¡± 3Erikn Xu Jingzhe glanced at him. He raised his hand to his chest and helplessly said, ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t take it. My heart almost stopped when you suddenly called out my name just now.¡± Luo Yaoye wasn¡¯t Jiang Xiao. Most of the time, an actress¡¯ desire to win was much stronger than that of their male counterparts. She simply picked out the best and discarded the rest. Her performance turned out to be even better than Liang Yu¡¯s. Her scene with Xu Jingzhe passed in a single take. Director Liu found himself with nothing else to say other than ¡°good¡±, ¡°beautiful¡±, ¡°gorgeous¡±, and ¡°perfect¡±. Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Liang Yu never left the set. He was like an extra supervisor on set. If his attention wasn¡¯t on Luo Yaoye¡¯s hand in Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand, then his attention would be on Luo Yaoye¡¯s head leaning on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s shoulder. In the end, Director Liu even said, ¡°How many more days are you staying? Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to go back. You don¡¯t have any work waiting for you, right?¡± KDR9F8 Liang Yu: ¡°I¡¯m going to spend Xu Jingzhe¡¯s birthday with him.¡± Director Liu mulled it over. ¡°In that case, we still have two or three days left.¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t speak. Xu Jingzhe and Luo Yaoye had already finished removing their costumes and joined them. They were going to have dinner with the crew today. This could be considered their first official dinner as a crew. There was a limit to what the conversation area could offer them. There were only one or two homestays that would be able to prepare meals for all members of their crew at the same time. Apart from Director Liu, Liang Yu, Xu Jingzhe, and Luo Yaoye ranked highest in the crew. They were pretty much surrounded by everyone else. rAl dT Jiang Xiao came to toast Xu Jingzhe. Xu Jingzhe smiled and urged him, ¡°You¡¯re still young. You should drink less.¡± Jiang Xiao nodded. He still had quite a few scenes with Xu Jingzhe. He didn¡¯t want to hold Xu Jingzhe back. ¡°Would it be possible for me to practice my scenes with you?¡± The young man tried to bolster his courage with the help of alcohol. There was something rather pitiful about him. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to perform well.¡± It had already come to this point. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t possibly refuse. He good-naturedly replied, ¡°Sure. You can come anytime. I¡¯m always here.¡± 5Zq nv Liang Yu drank silently beside him and did not speak. Once dinner was over, Jiang Xiao wanted to go with Xu Jingzhe, but Liang Yu ended up stopping him. ¡°Tomorrow.¡± Liang Yu slightly lowered his head. He looked down at Jiang Xiao. ¡°Xu Jingzhe needs to soak his feet today, so he doesn¡¯t have time to practice with you.¡± Jiang Xiao: ¡°¡­¡± wYjnpc Translator¡¯s Note: Guess who¡¯s birthday it is! Xu Jingzhe¡¯s! Twin Fish¡¯s! Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to get another bonus chapter out tomorrow for his birthday! CH 26 Twin Fish [Translator]13-16 minutes The electric foot bath machine that Liang Yu bought had arrived two days ago. They just so happened to open the package today. Xu Jingzhe used it that night. Xu Jingzhe was not too keen on soaking his feet. However, Liang Yu insisted, so he had no choice but to play along. ¡°How¡¯s the temperature?¡± Liang Yu squatted next to the foot bath and fiddled with the settings. ¡°Is it too hot?¡± uRYNjG Xu Jingzhe said, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± He was rearranging his pant legs. He wasn¡¯t very satisfied no matter how he rolled them up, so he was a little irritated. Liang Yu: ¡°All you need to do is roll them up so they don¡¯t get wet. What more do you want?¡± Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°I wanted to take a photo, but it just doesn¡¯t look good no matter how I do it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu couldn¡¯t take him anymore. ¡°It¡¯s just a foot bath. Who cares if it looks good or not?¡± duwSOp In the end, Xu Jingzhe threw a towel over his knees, covering up the pant legs that would not roll up right. However, after going through all of that, he was no longer in the mood for a photo, so he simply sat on the sofa and began to read through his script. Liang Yu had been discussing an extension for the holiday film¡¯s screenings for the past few days. If everything went as planned, their box office profits would probably exceed five billion yuan. Xu Jingzhe had actually calculated the distribution. Liang Yu didn¡¯t just take on a value adjustment mechanism. He also invested a lot of his own money into the film. Furthermore, he was named as one of the producers, so he was sure to get a substantial payout in the end. Frankly, there was always bound to be a bit of rivalry between actors, from popularity to awards to box office returns, and Xu Jingzhe was not immune to it all. He was a little distracted while he was reading the script. His mind was full of money, money, money. He was thinking about just how much money did the other need and why did he like to make money so much. There were probably a lot of people on the crew who were just as concerned about the holiday film¡¯s box office returns as Xu Jingzhe. On the next day, wherever they ran into someone, the first thing they would do was offer their congratulations to Liang Yu. z3dGiJ Xiao Luo had been well-prepared for this. She handed out red envelopes to everyone on the set, including the people that delivered their boxed lunches. Jiang Xiao even managed to receive an extra red envelope that night during his practice session with Xu Jingzhe. Jiang Xiao was now right under Liang Yu¡¯s nose. He was actually more nervous now than he was in front of the camera. As he practiced his lines with Xu Jingzhe, Xu Jingzhe would point out a few problems in his performance from time to time. Jiang Xiao would then look to Liang Yu for his reaction. ¡°Xiao Jiang.¡± Xu Jingzhe helplessly reminded him, ¡°Don¡¯t look at Liang Yu. Focus.¡± Jiang Xiao awkwardly replied, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry.¡± sZ5toa Xu Jingzhe sighed. He felt that Liang Yu¡¯s initial performance had left too much of an impact on Jiang Xiao. Jiang Xiao kept trying to emulate Liang Yu¡¯s image. However, the two of them were different not just in appearance but in temperament as well. Jiang Xiao tried to paint a tiger but was left with a dog. He could only portray a poor imitation. However, Xu Jingzhe managed to come up with a solution in the end. His solution was to get Liang Yu to help once more. Liang Yu would first go through the lines with Xu Jingzhe. Jiang Xiao would learn from them. Afterwards, Liang Yu would personally pick out any flaws for Jiang Xiao. By the time they were halfway through their lines, Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t help but joke, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to pay you a salary for this, aren¡¯t I?¡± Oljcu Te ujnf tlw j ibbx jcv mbggfmafv tlw, ¡°Pa kbeivc¡¯a yf j rjijgs. Pa kbeiv yf j mbcreiajalbc off.¡± vK7MFZ We Alcuhtf ijeutfv. Pa kjr gjgf obg tlw ab ijeut rb bqfcis, obg tlw ab yfjw ogbw fjg ab fjg, jcv tf vlvc¡¯a fnfc xcbk ktja atf batfg tjv rjlv ab wjxf tlw rb tjqqs. Jiang Xiao had never seen Xu Jingzhe smiling like this before. It was a bit dazzling to be honest. He¡¯d seen a lot of good-looking boys and girls during his time in school, and there had been many people in his school who were contentious topics of discussion. However, the actor that his teachers and professors brought up the most was almost always Xu Jingzhe. It was just as Director Liu said. Xu Jingzhe was fragile, solitary. It wasn¡¯t something that he meant to show others. Rather, it was something that he carried in his temperament. dVcLAJ He didn¡¯t have the youthful feeling of a young boy, and he didn¡¯t have the greasiness of an older man. He was always like the first hop poured from a fermentation of single malt whisky, clean and fragrant. Jiang Xiao found that Liang Yu¡¯s eyes were almost always on Xu Jingzhe. The two of them had been idly chatting with each other. Frankly, the content of their conversation wasn¡¯t anything of note, and they spoke as though no one else was in the room. Still, Xu Jingzhe would laugh, very relaxed and at ease, which was rare for him if he wasn¡¯t filming. Jiang Xiao observed them for a while and suddenly found himself feeling a little envious. He sighed. ¡°You two have such a good relationship.¡± Please visit chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Liang Yu was currently writing something in Xu Jingzhe¡¯s script. When he heard this, he raised his head. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s head was very close to his. When they leaned into each other like this, they appeared very intimate. Jiang Xiao looked as though he¡¯d finally seen the light. ¡°When it was announced that the two of you have been dating for more than three years, a lot of us didn¡¯t believe it. Now, it seems that the paparazzi must have lost their edge.¡± 3DOWVj ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe could only keep silent and continue to smile. Liang Yu¡¯s focus was on something else. He frowned and unhappily asked, ¡°Why do so many people not believe it?¡± Jiang Xiao: ¡°Well, the timing was a little too coincidental. The two of you suddenly announced your relationship after that scandal. The two of you clearly hadn¡¯t had anything to do with each other before¡­¡± He seemed a little embarrassed as he said this. He hurriedly explained, ¡°I don¡¯t think like that now of course! You guys clearly have a very strong relationship! In my opinion, the two of you make a really good match! You¡¯re like an old bickering couple!¡± As if to prove what Jiang Xiao had said was true, Zhang Man suddenly called Xu Jingzhe two days before his birthday. She typically didn¡¯t call him while he was working unless there was an important decision that needed to be made or something major had occurred. As an agent, she naturally needed to ask after her cash cow first. She asked him how he was, how the food was, how the accommodations were. It was only once he had finished speaking that she finally got to the point. oYWjQK ¡°I think the engagement can be moved up the schedule. What do you think?¡± Xu Jingzhe thought of what Jiang Xiao had said. He was silent for a while before asking, ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°Not exactly. Things have pretty much settled by now. Those that need to be caught have been caught, and those that need to be banned have been banned. However, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re also aware of this, but you two were not the only celebrities to whitewash yourselves in this way. It looks like the other couples are going to make a move. Should we make a move as well?¡± Xu Jingzhe felt a little uncomfortable. ¡°We¡¯re not whitewashing ourselves. We didn¡¯t do anything wrong to begin with. What would we need to whitewash ourselves for?¡± vNm921 Zhang Man reassured him, ¡°In that case, wouldn¡¯t it make even more sense to get the engagement over with sooner so as to prevent people from talking?¡± Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t actually opposed to the engagement. He was more worried about Liang Yu¡¯s side of things. ¡°Have you discussed it with Yang Jierui?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°I¡¯ll only be able to discuss it with them once you agree. I¡¯ve already thought about it a bit. Your birthday just so happens to be the day after tomorrow. Liang Yu will propose to you then and there. When the time comes, we can vlog it. Wouldn¡¯t it be a happy occasion?¡± Zhang Man said that it was a happy occasion. As for whether it was actually a happy occasion or not, Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t say. Liang Yu didn¡¯t express having any plans even up until the day of his birthday. He didn¡¯t say anything, and Xu Jingzhe was too embarrassed to just ask him. It would seem as though he was the only one in a rush to get married. OlDmpn During filming that morning, Xu Jingzhe was clearly a little distracted. While he was resting, he couldn¡¯t help but let his mind run wild. He thought that Yang Jierui¡¯s team hadn¡¯t agreed to the engagement and Zhang Man was too embarrassed to call him. This made him a little more awkward when he faced Liang Yu. Fortunately, the entire film crew was very active in celebrating his birthday. Director Liu ordered a cake for Xu Jingzhe. Luo Yaoye also ordered a cake for Xu Jingzhe. After filming that evening, everyone gathered at the homestay, turned off the lights, lit the candles, and even sang happy birthday. Xu Jingzhe was pushed to the middle. He wore a ¡°crown¡± on his head and was waiting for the cake to be pushed to him. RBlgvd There was also an abundance of flowers at the scene. Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t even hold them all in his arms. He said with a smile: ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit much?¡± Luo Yaoye: ¡°Is this too much for you already? We haven¡¯t even gotten you your presents yet.¡± Chrysanthemum Garden. Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. ¡°You guys got me gifts?¡± Luo Yaoye mysteriously responded, ¡°We didn¡¯t just get you a birthday present.¡± z2EixW Xu Jingzhe: ¡°?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao kept in mind the task that Zhang Man had assigned to her. She needed to film Xu Jingzhe¡¯s birthday vlog. She raised her cell phone and slowly swept the camera across each and every person¡¯s face. The first two cakes were brought in by the staff, but the last cake was personally carried in by Liang Yu. Xu Jingzhe just so happened to look up the moment Liang Yu was in front of him. Zhu Xiaoxiao captured the two of them looking at each other on camera. She suddenly became nervous for some reason, and the camera also began to shake. Liang Yu held the cake in one hand, and he helped light the candles with the other. He said in a low voice, ¡°Make a wish.¡± Fkjai8 Xu Jingzhe was clearly going to perform his best in this sort of professional setting. He smiled at Liang Yu. Then, he clasped his hands together and earnestly made a wish. Luo Yaoye stood next to him with her hands clasped across her heart. She seemed even more excited than the two involved parties, who knows what she was excited about. Xu Jingzhe blew out the candles. Then, he took the cake from Liang Yu¡¯s hands and set it aside. He was just about to jokingly ask how they were going to divide three cakes among them when he suddenly caught sight of Liang Yu pulling a ring box from his pocket. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°?!¡± 6H2bGy Liang Yu didn¡¯t do any foreshadowing, and he didn¡¯t perform any gimmicks. He opened the box like he would a carbonated drink. He just popped it open without a single shake. Sitting inside was a blinding pigeon egg. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Liang Yu spoke calmly and reached his hand out towards Xu Jingzhe. He didn¡¯t actually say the second half of the proposal. The cheering in the room could no longer be suppressed. Frankly, Xu Jingzhe probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to hear anything he said anyways. He could only dazedly give his hand to Liang Yu. He watched as that huge pigeon egg of a ring was placed on his left ring finger. The people around them were taking pictures and recording videos. For the first time, Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t have the energy to care about whether he looked good in the photos or not. His attention was focused entirely on the pigeon egg. His mind was full of questions. How many carats is this? When did Liang Yu buy this? How much would a ring like this cost?! ¡°Xu Jingzhe.¡± Liang Yu leaned into his ear and called his name. aOKnJB Xu Jingzhe slowly looked up, and Liang Yu took the opportunity to cup his chin. ¡°Your left side looks beautiful. You don¡¯t need to worry at all.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s voice carried a bit of helplessness and amusement as he said this. He pressed a thumb against Xu Jingzhe¡¯s lips. Then, he leaned down and kissed him. It was completely different from the strictly professional kiss from before. Liang Yu pressed down so hard that Xu Jingzhe had to lean back slightly. Liang Yu had probably taken a mint before this. Right now, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s mouth was full of a cool and sweet taste. It felt as though that taste was being pushed down his throat. In order to deepen the kiss, Liang Yu adjusted their posture. He stuck his hand in Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hair and slightly rubbed the back of Xu Jingzhe¡¯s head. ujN08w It wasn¡¯t clear just how long they were kissing for. Liang Yu eventually let him go, and he wiped the saliva left on the other party¡¯s lips while he was at it. He seemed to be in a good mood, but his words weren¡¯t particularly courteous. ¡°Xu Jingzhe, you kiss like someone who¡¯s never filmed a kiss scene before.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Translator¡¯s Note: Happy Birthday! It¡¯s his birthday both in the novel and in real life! Super good timing. zsmvrP CH 27 Twin Fish [Translator]10-12 minutes Xu Jingzhe later realized that there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding. Zhang Man spoke with Yang Jierui to discuss moving the engagement forward. Yang Jierui must have assumed that Xu Jingzhe had already discussed it with Liang Yu, so, when discussing the engagement with Liang Yu, he didn¡¯t mention anything about Xu Jingzhe or his team. Liang Yu then misunderstood Xu Jingzhe to be entirely unaware of the entire thing, so he took it upon himself to throw this birthday and engagement party as a surprise. eNopvX Setting all other things aside, the egg-sized ring on Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand must have cost Liang Yu a fortune. It felt rather heavy on his hand. Liang Yu hadn¡¯t really said anything. He made a lot of money from his movie. He definitely had the means to buy whatever he wanted. Since they were going to get engaged sooner or later, it didn¡¯t really matter who bought the ring first. Plus, Liang Yu had placed the engagement ring on Xu Jingzhe, thereby establishing his status as the ¡°husband¡± in this relationship. Other stuff might not matter, but his position in this relationship was of utmost importance. Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Other than when filming, Liang Yu required Xu Jingzhe to wear that pigeon egg at all times. Xu Jingzhe found this a little difficult. ¡°It¡¯s too big. It makes it inconvenient to do a lot of things. I get worried about scratching my own face with the ring.¡± JmTYt Liang Yu: ¡°What do you need to do? What do you have Zhu Xiaoxiao for?¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao, who had inexplicably been cued, felt that she¡¯d been wronged. She felt that it wasn¡¯t a question of whether she helped or not. Just by wearing that ring, Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand was practically sealed away! On the day of his birthday, the photos and videos of the engagement didn¡¯t even need to be posted by the film crew at all as they had already spread like wildfire to every major online platform. As two of the most well-known and prolific actors in the industry, their fans not only made a bunch of photoshop edits and GIFs, but they also posted a ton of video edits and mini essays under their super topic. Their fan bases¡¯ editing capabilities were best of the best. They were pumping out content at light speed. They even started competing with each other to see who could create content faster. Weibo¡¯s trending list completely collapsed that night. Xu Jingzhe¡¯s birthday was on the night between the 5th and the 6th. The programmers didn¡¯t have the chance to work overtime. The crash continued into the next day. fUGLVy As soon as Weibo crashed, Zhu Xiaoxiao headed straight for the forums. There wasn¡¯t anything new to see in the Official YuJing Shipping Hub. They were all screaming in joy as usual. Since their idols had announced their engagement, it was practically impossible to quell their excitement. Threads were popping up at sky-high speeds. Zhu Xiaoxiao remained relatively calm in the face of all of this. After exiting this forum, she then paid a visit to Ptoo! We¡¯re Not Buying! This gathering ground for haters had a bit of a desolate feeling to it. They weren¡¯t particularly unified in their opinions either. There wasn¡¯t even a sense of camaraderie in their collective loss. Nevertheless, there were still people bringing out photos and videos, and there were a few sporadic replies. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this video hasn¡¯t been censored yet. It looks like foreplay in a porno movie. He really deserves his title as movie emperor.¡± ¡°I guess I can only say that Liang Yu is dedicated to his job. He can even stick his tongue into someone as fake as Rem.¡± ¡°Ktlr lrc¡¯a atflg olgra xlrr flatfg. Ktfgf kjr atja xlrr bo atf mfcaegs yjmx ktfc atfs olgra gfnfjifv atflg gfijalbcrtlq. Jbwqjgfv ab atlr, atf xlrr bo atf mfcaegs kjr gfjiis nfgs qegf.¡± u6IVTY ¡°Ktja xlrr kjr rb bynlberis ojxf! Ktfs kfgf jmalcu! Zs fsfr kfca yilcv abb rbbc! Pa¡¯r vfolclafis gfji atlr alwf! Pa¡¯r bnfg! P¡¯nf yfmbwf vlgas! Rbk ws fsfr tjnf vfolclafis ubcf yilcv!¡± ¡°Ugh, can you shippers stop coming into our forum to shove your fake lovers turned real lovers agenda down our throats?! We¡¯re not buying it! Ptoo!!¡± Zhu Xiaoxiao¡¯s eyes paused on the words ¡°fake lovers turned real lovers¡±, and enlightenment soon dawned on her. She couldn¡¯t help but feel that these antis were even better at shipping than the shippers themselves! How come she didn¡¯t think of this?! One of the great things about being on set was that very few things were really able to bother the actors themselves, even if things were storming in the outside world. 5cdwYh After the proposal, everyone tacitly agreed to give this pair of ¡°fianc¨¦s¡± their space. Xu Jingzhe wore that pigeon egg on his hand and held a bunch of gifts in his arms. It was obvious that he had yet to come down from the shock of that ¡°sudden occurrence¡± just now. He came back to his senses once Liang Yu asked him if he wanted to call Zhang Man. ¡°I have to push down some of the trending searches.¡± Liang Yu was sending a message to Yang Jierui. He spoke in a business-like tone. ¡°It¡¯d be too annoying otherwise.¡± Xu Jingzhe thought that this made sense. He put his presents away and then took another look at the massive gemstone on his hand. In the end, he couldn¡¯t hold back and asked, ¡°How much was the ring?¡± Liang Yu didn¡¯t look up and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that expensive. I bought it early.¡± Upon saying this, Liang Yu looked up at Xu Jingzhe and asked, ¡°What are you so worried about? Are you afraid I¡¯m going to make you pay it back?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe was starting to find that Liang Yu¡¯s only flaw was that damn mouth of his. lHKLc1 Liang Yu waved him over and said, ¡°Come here.¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated for a moment, but he still ended up walking over to him. Once he was closer, Liang Yu took his hand. He looked at his ring with a satisfied expression on his face and asked Xu Jingzhe, ¡°Is it pretty?¡± Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to say, ¡°It¡¯s too big. Gemstones like this aren¡¯t really suitable for men.¡± ¡°How is it unsuitable?¡± Liang Yu was a little annoyed. He reached out a hand and touched the diamond inlaid upon the ring. ¡°It¡¯s big, it¡¯s bright, and it looks super expensive.¡± BRCjFG Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± Liang Yu: ¡°We¡¯re going to get engaged anyway, so it doesn¡¯t matter when we do it. Xu Jingzhe, you should learn from me and be a bit more dedicated.¡± He then self-importantly added, ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to give this relationship a name sooner rather than later?¡± Xu Jingzhe was amused by this. He purposely pinched Liang Yu¡¯s fingertips and joked, ¡°In that case, what is our relationship now? In name only?¡± Liang Yu blanked for a moment. He cryptically raised an eyebrow and said half-jokingly, ¡°If you have any objections to our relationship being ¡®in name only¡¯, I don¡¯t mind turning the act into something real.¡± rUwmFk Xu Jingzhe clearly hadn¡¯t expected Liang Yu to play along with his little joke, and he definitely didn¡¯t expect Liang Yu to respond in the way that he did. For a moment, Xu Jingzhe was a little unsure as to whether the other party was serious or whether he was just trying to make him happy. He suddenly found himself becoming nervous, and a layer of sweat rose upon his back. Liang Yu was still holding his hand, a calm expression on his face. He had always acted like this in front of Xu Jingzhe, reliable and at ease. Xu Jingzhe took a deep breath and opened his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden boom rang out from outside. The lights in the room flickered a few times. Then, the room went dark entirely. Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± oUAp3e Liang Yu: ¡°¡­¡± The two of them stared at each other in the dark. After a while, Xu Jingzhe said softly, ¡°It¡¯s thundering.¡± Liang Yu let out a hum in response. There was another boom. The thunder seemed to continuously roll across the mountain range, accompanied by the pitter patter of falling rain. 5gBYZ1 ¡°It¡¯s raining,¡± Xu Jingzhe said again. ¡°Spring thunder, spring rain ¡­¡± Liang Yu suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s Jingzhe.¡± He held Xu Jingzhe¡¯s hand, and repeated in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s Jingzhe.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s stay was only supposed to last until Xu Jingzhe¡¯s birthday. He had a flight early in the morning. Once he made it to Beijing, he would have to take another flight overseas. It could be said that the only time he had left to rest was on the road. mNDCSw Xu Jingzhe finally had a chance to make use of his privileges on set. He had one of the film crew¡¯s cars send Liang Yu to the airport. Logically speaking, the paparazzi weren¡¯t so desperate as to come all the way to a conservation area just for a photo of them after their engagement. There really wasn¡¯t any need for the two of them to do all this. Xiao Luo and Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn¡¯t even tell whether the two of them were just very dedicated to their work or whether they were too far into the act. They spent a few short days together and now they loathed to part. Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Liang Yu asked Xiao Luo to send a copy of his schedule in Paris to Xu Jingzhe. He reminded him, ¡°I will call you.¡± Xu Jingzhe responded, ¡°Okay.¡± He originally wanted to remind Liang Yu that he didn¡¯t need to make so many phone calls. However, in the end, he figured that, even if he didn¡¯t pick up, Liang Yu wasn¡¯t going to get angry. It was just a few phone calls. If he wanted to call him, he could call. KfLeyI Liang Yu was wearing sunglasses. He stared at Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face behind the shades. He suddenly spread his arms open and said to Xu Jingzhe, ¡°Come here.¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed and stepped forward to hug him. Liang Yu didn¡¯t let go of him right away. He leaned close to Xu Jingzhe¡¯s face and kissed Xu Jingzhe¡¯s earlobe. ¡°Xu Jingzhe.¡± Liang Yu¡¯s tone was very serious. He said earnestly, ¡°Our relationship now has a name to it. You are soon to be a married man. You should use some forced perspective for the kiss scene with Luo Yaoye. Don¡¯t go over the script with Jiang Xiao in the middle of the night. It¡¯s not a good influence. Do you understand?¡± HtRWyL Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± CH 28 Twin Fish [Translator]11-13 minutes Green Water¡¯s outdoor scenes took about a month at most, and the remaining scenes would need to be filmed at Hengdian World Studios. Director Liu had already scoured the entirety of the conservation area for virtually every shot he could possibly get. Xu Jingzhe and Luo Yaoye simply needed to reshoot a couple of scenes and they were done. Xu Jingzhe and Zhu Xiaoxiao decided to go ahead and fly to Hengdian. He sent a copy of his new itinerary to Liang Yu. Liang Yu soon contacted him. 4mHEPL ¡°What time is your flight?¡± Liang Yu was probably still in Paris. Xu Jingzhe quickly calculated the time difference in his head. He asked, somewhat surprised, ¡°You still haven¡¯t gone to bed?¡± Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com Liang Yu said indifferently, ¡°I bought too much stuff. Xiao Luo¡¯s gone to arrange everything with the hotel before booking a room for me.¡± Xu Jingzhe: ¡°¡­¡± In terms of shopping and fashion, Liang Yu was a true gay through and through. He loved going out and shopping. He was generous towards his own and nitpicky towards anyone else. HAGQMq ¡°I bought some second-hand goods.¡± Liang Yu was still explaining everything that he¡¯d bought. ¡°One of them¡¯s this eighteenth-century style cape. I think it¡¯ll suit you a lot.¡± Xu Jingzhe was helpless against him. ¡°I have enough clothes as it is.¡± Liang Yu said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as it looks good. Just wear it for fun.¡± Liang Yu had said it himself. He really loved to make phone calls. Thankfully, he had a copy of the other¡¯s schedule this time. There were no more missed calls like last time. However, as long as there was even the slightest chance, it was completely within the realm of normal for them to call four or five times in a single day. kfeosi Luo Yaoye once asked him about what they even talked about to require so many phone calls. Xu Jingzhe thought back to some of his conversations with Liang Yu. None of them were really anything of note. What did you eat? What did you do? Were there any outtakes today? As for the rest of their conversations, Liang Yu spent most of it detailing his adventures in Paris. He went on and on about what he saw, what he bought, and who he met. Naturally, the stuff that he bought was the most important part of the conversation. He could spend an entire hour talking about a set of plates that he bought. Of course, in the eyes of others, these plates could represent proof of their ¡°love¡± for each other. Xu Jingzhe wasn¡¯t going to go out of his way and elaborate. Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu were both adults in their thirties. Since their last conversation in which he joked about them being ¡°in name only¡±, Xu Jingzhe had already begun to realize that the relationship between the two of them had changed, an invisible and untouchable glass window standing between them. It¡¯s just that the only one facing a glass window was Liang Yu. Xu Jingzhe was facing an entire brick wall. wDEnYX We Alcuhtf mbcajmafv Gg. Jtfc ktlif tf kjr kbgxlcu obg atf olgra alwf fnfg. We Alcuhtf kjr cba rbwfbcf atja kbgf tlr tfjga bc tlr riffnf. Lf gjgfis rbeuta bea tfiq. Lf¡¯v cfnfg ibra tlr mbwqbregf lc ogbca bo Gg. Jtfc, cba fnfc lc atf fjgis rajufr bo fgfmalif vsroecmalbc vljucbrlr. ¡°How¡¯s it been in the mornings lately?¡± Dr. Chen¡¯s voice sounded very gentle through the phone. He slowly offered him guidance. ¡°Don¡¯t put yourself under too much stress. Remember to relax. Do you want me to perform an in person consultation?¡± Xu Jingzhe hesitated for a moment but decided to refuse. ¡°Hengdian is kind of crowded, so it¡¯s not very convenient.¡± xgLCtN Dr. Chen expressed his understanding. He comforted him, ¡°Going through these emotions is a very good sign. You don¡¯t need to go out of your way to avoid it or suppress it. Love and desire are beautiful things. You should face it head on and share in it. I¡¯m sure your partner would understand.¡± Xu Jingzhe was silent for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s not an issue of whether he understands or not.¡± He said. Xu Jingzhe paused before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m a man. I want to spoil him too.¡± Dr. Chen was a little caught off guard by the word ¡°spoil¡±. He subconsciously asked, ¡°Spoil him how?¡± Xu Jingzhe thought for a bit. He seemed a little embarrassed and explained, ¡°I guess I just don¡¯t want him to worry about me. I¡¯m able to get somewhat of a reaction every now and then, but I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to satisfy my partner if we were to do it. You could say that I¡¯m self conscious. You could also say that I¡¯m worried he¡¯ll mind. Anyhow, I don¡¯t want to embarrass myself when the time comes.¡± cWErIT ¡°I just hope that I can be like any normal guy.¡± Xu Jingzhe¡¯s tone of voice was calm. He said in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s enough to make him happy and spoil him.¡± Dr. Chen probably didn¡¯t expect all of this cheesiness in the middle of psychological counseling. He couldn¡¯t just keep urging the other to face his emotions head on, so he simply told him to come in for an in person consultation once he left Hengdian. Chrysanthemum Garden. ¡°I guess the road to happiness is paved with hardship,¡± Dr. Chen said with a smile. He was well aware of the true nature of the relationship between Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu. ¡°Couples should be lively and sweet when they¡¯re dating.¡± Xu Jingzhe laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like the two of us are that young anymore.¡± dHkcLO ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If the shoe fits, wear it.¡± Dr. Chen muttered, ¡°Maybe a fiery guy like him will be able to warm up a cool guy like you.¡± The crew spent a bit of time reorganizing itself once they arrived in Hengdian. Xu Jingzhe had several new costumes that needed last minute changes. The costume department had been extremely busy over the past couple of days. Luo Yaoye went to one of the changing rooms early in the morning to get into costume. Once she was done changing, she joined the rest of the crew for styling. Xu Jingzhe was already there. He was getting his hair done. Luo Yaoye noticed the loose-leaf binder in his hands and casually asked, ¡°Did they add new lines?¡± FSXt4 Xu Jingzhe looked up from the binder and greeted her. ¡°No, I¡¯m looking at something else.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Luo Yaoye leaned over and found that it was a binder of custom-made jewelry designs. Xu Jingzhe wore the massive gemstone of a ring that Liang Yu gave him almost everywhere when he wasn¡¯t filming. In her eyes, Liang Yu was basically a control freak. In fact, Liang Yu even asked Xu Jingzhe to send him photos of him wearing the ring just so he can make sure that Xu Jingzhe was wearing the ring properly. Crazier still, Xu Jingzhe actually agreed to such a weird and perverted request. He obediently took the photos and sent them over to him for inspection. sK5Zc In any case, Luo Yaoye didn¡¯t understand it. She felt that, if it was her, she would already be calling the police. ¡°Liang Yu¡¯s going to buy you another ring?¡± Luo Yaoye¡¯s first reaction was this. Xu Jingzhe shook his head. ¡°No, I was planning on buying a pair of rings. It¡¯s somewhat inconvenient to wear this one since it¡¯s so big.¡± Luo Yaoye breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad to know that Xu Jingzhe was still a normal person. In that case, they could continue being besties. 6CvpAV Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t want to just haphazardly dismiss Liang Yu with a pair of ready-made rings. He hired a prolific jewelry designer, Mr. Fang, to take charge of the design. Xu Jingzhe put forward his requests, and Mr. Fang then drew up several designs and sent them to him. Luo Yaoye watched as he agonized over the designs. She couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Have you still not settled on one yet?¡± Xu Jingzhe glanced at her. He was uncharacteristically hesitant. ¡°I¡¯m not too confident in my ¡­ sense of style.¡± ¡°?¡± Luo Yaoye thought she¡¯d misheard. hAl2m3 Xu Jingzhe explained, ¡°Liang Yu has really good taste. He tends to be pickier than me. I¡¯m worried he won¡¯t like my choice.¡± Luo Yaoye let out a huff of laughter, an expression of disbelief on her face. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and said earnestly, ¡°I might not know much about fashion, but Liang Yu clearly likes big gemstones. If you give him something bright and shiny, he¡¯ll definitely like it!¡± Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden. It wasn¡¯t much, but ¡°bright and shiny¡± was at least somewhat of a direction. Xu Jingzhe finally picked out a few designs and sent them back to Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang said that he would get the finished product within a month. In all honesty, Luo Yaoye was kind of envious. ¡°How nice. If someone was willing to buy me a ring like this, I would¡¯ve married him.¡± 4sad0T Xu Jingzhe couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Is a ring like mine no good?¡± Luo Yaoye choked. She stammered, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s no good. I mean, at the very least, someone who can afford such a huge gemstone must be very rich!¡± Zhang Man knew that Xu Jingzhe was preparing the couples¡¯ rings. She wasn¡¯t opposed to it. After all, it would be stranger for him not to. Liang Yu had sent him such a huge ring, so it was only natural for him to step up his game. Zhang Man simply treated it like another part of the job. She even held a meeting with the team to discuss how they were going to push this matter onto the trending list. ¡°Liang Yu¡¯s ring ranked even higher on the trending list than the engagement that day.¡± Zhang Man was truly envious right now. ¡°I heard from Yang Jierui that a bunch of international jewelry brands had contacted them. Liang Yu will probably be able to make back everything he paid for the ring in advertising fees. I¡¯m absolutely positive Yang Jierui did something to push the topic so high on the trending list.¡± ZJbBIg Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°Why are you competing with them over this?¡± Zhang Man: ¡°What should we compete over if not this? You¡¯ve put in so much work. It¡¯s only natural for us to work just as hard. We can¡¯t let them take all the good stuff for themselves.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Jingzhe didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her that his efforts were driven by selfish motives. It all led to the same result of course, but he still felt a little guilty about his professional integrity. Xu Jingzhe then asked Zhu Xiaoxiao to look through his upcoming schedule. He suggested, ¡°I have an empty stretch of time off in my schedule once I¡¯m done filming Green Water. Should we arrange some more work?¡± 3AwYhL Zhang Man¡¯s working spirit was, to some extent, no less than that of her boss. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you. Poultry TV recently contacted us. They asked if you wanted to participate in a reality show. Have you heard of Singapore¡¯s Same Bed, Different Dreams? They bought the rights to it and have tentatively titled it One Cozy Blanket. Do you and Liang Yu want to try it?¡± Once she finished speaking, she let out a deep sigh. It was clear that she was very happy. ¡°Poultry TV is seriously loaded. The appearance fee that they offered is amazing. If you take this job, I¡¯ll be able to buy a house next year!¡±