“Watch my mother for me,” Gu Fanzhou specifically instructed the servants, before bidding farewell to his mother and hurriedly pushing open the door to leave.
Knowing that Fu Minglou had discovered him, Jian Shuyu turned to leave, but he was too late. Fu Minglou grabbed his wrist from behind and dragged him into a secluded corner of the hospital. “Why did you know I was here? Did you come specifically to look for me?”
“Young Master Fu, don’t flatter yourself. Shuyu just happened to be passing by to visit a friend.” Jian Shuyu forcefully pulled his hand away from Fu Minglou’s grip.
“I sensed someone at the door for a while now,” Fu Minglou clearly didn’t believe Jian Shuyu’s lie. “I checked specifically just now and realized it was you.”
“Since Young Master Fu didn’t confirm it with his own eyes from the start, anyone else could have been standing guard outside your hospital room.” Jian Shuyu turned his face away with feigned indifference. “It seemed like someone spread false news claiming Young Master Fu was critically ill, so naturally, others eyeing the Fu family came to watch the spectacle. That person just left in a hurry, and Shuyu happened to be lingering around.”
“You came here because you heard I was critically ill.” Fu Minglou’s tone was resolute. He didn’t seem aware of the misunderstanding his friend had accidentally created, nor did he know that his friend had visited Jian Shuyu’s residence, yet he inexplicably harbored a deep conviction that Jian Shuyu wasn’t as indifferent as his words suggested.
“Young Master Fu, even if Shuyu genuinely came to see you, it is only because the young master has helped Shuyu and frequently patronizes the place, with no other intentions whatsoever.”
“I never mentioned any other intentions,” Fu Minglou stepped closer to Jian Shuyu. “I wonder what Miss Shuyu means by that. Please enlighten me.”
Jian Shuyu deliberately avoided Fu Minglou’s gaze. “Why must Young Master Fu be like this?”
“The one who is being like this is you, Shuyu.” Fu Minglou took a diamond necklace out of his pocket. It was clearly a high-end foreign import, sparkling dazzlingly despite the dim lighting of the corner. “Stay with me, even if it’s just for a quarter of an hour.”
Jian Shuyu’s gaze lingered on the necklace for a long time. It wasn’t that he was greedy for wealth, but no one had ever given him anything so precious. “Shuyu cannot accept this.”
“I want to.” Fu Minglou forcefully placed the necklace around Jian Shuyu’s neck. The latter tried to refuse, but failed to break free from Fu Minglou’s grip. “I don’t deserve something so pretty.”
“How could that be? You are prettier than it is.” Fu Minglou smiled faintly, his eyes fixed on the diamond resting against Jian Shuyu’s chest. “Did you know, I went out of my way to have someone buy it back for me. While we were making the exchange at the teahouse, soldiers suddenly rushed in and started shooting.”
“How could that happen.” A momentary look of worry crossed Jian Shuyu’s face, though he quickly forced himself to remain calm. Fu Minglou pulled back his left sleeve, revealing a bullet graze that had already been treated at the hospital with no blood left in sight. “A superficial wound, nothing to worry about.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“Your eyes can’t lie.” Fu Minglou met Jian Shuyu’s gaze. “I was wondering, if I died because of this necklace, would you shed tears at my grave?”
“Don’t say such inauspicious things.” Jian Shuyu interrupted him immediately, cutting off Fu Minglou’s next words by pressing a kiss to his lips.
Fu Minglou instinctively pulled him into his arms, wrapping an arm around his waist. Before the kiss could even conclude, a servant pushed Fu Lady past the corridor outside in a wheelchair. Both of them clearly heard the noise outside, but Fu Minglou kept kissing the person in his arms, and Jian Shuyu made no move to push him away.
“Is someone there?” Fu Lady turned her head at that exact moment, asking the servant beside her.
The servant also faintly heard the sound, but not daring to make random assumptions, replied to Fu Lady that no one was visible, and hurriedly pushed her away.
“Your mother is right outside. Aren’t you afraid?” Jian Shuyu looked at Fu Minglou. If Fu Lady happened to catch them, or if Fu Minglou ended up being punished, or if Fu Lady’s illness flared up from the shock, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for any of it.
“She has never seen you before. She’ll just think you’re an ordinary girl from a decent family.”
“Clever in your own conceits.” Jian Shuyu didn’t continue debating the topic with Fu Minglou. Instead, he took out his own silk handkerchief, folded it neatly, and slipped it into Fu Minglou’s upper pocket. “Young Master Fu, see you at the City of Night.”
The scene wrapped up there, and Gu Fanzhou hurried away from the set immediately after finishing his shots. Xian Sui watched his retreating figure gradually disappear; ever since the time Xian Sui had invited him into his house, they rarely interacted much.
At that moment, the assistant sidled up to him and whispered some insider gossip he had recently picked up. Gu Fanzhou was currently busy preparing his personal studio, juggling negotiations for contract termination with his former company, hiring staff in advance, and leasing a venue. He was swamped with work, which explained why he left the set the exact moment his filming ended every day without lingering for even a single minute.
“Word is that the contract termination with President Xie isn’t going very smoothly,” the assistant lowered his voice deliberately. “You know how it is, Actor Gu is so famous, he’s basically a golden cash cow. President Xie definitely won’t let him go easily, and considering they used to be at odds with each other, they’re either going to drag this out and refuse to release him, or set some extremely harsh conditions.”
“Isn’t his contract expiring soon? Can the company just trap people and refuse to let them leave?”
“This is Star Award we’re talking about,” the assistant sighed imperceptibly. “Capitalists are all cut from the same cloth; they have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.”
Xian Sui wanted to ask more, but a conversation among the staff members nearby suddenly caught his attention. Apparently, right as filming was wrapping up earlier, a fan had delivered some gifts. Since shooting was still underway at the time, no one dared to disturb them, so the items were temporarily left outside.
They were supposed to have someone bring them inside after shooting, but Gu Fanzhou had left exceptionally early, and by the time the staff remembered, it was already too late. “These small boxes are fine, they probably just contain regular gifts, but small cakes left out here overnight are going to spoil for sure.”
“Why don’t you eat it yourself, then?” another staff member joked casually.
“Handling someone else’s things this carelessly isn’t right,” the staff member frowned. “Should we ask Brother Gu? But does anyone even have his contact info?”
“Excuse me, are these gifts for Brother Gu?” Xian Sui walked over to the two staff members. After understanding the situation, he instinctively pulled out his phone, but quickly tucked it back into his pocket. “I know where Brother Gu is. I’ll deliver them to him.”
“How can we trouble you like this, Xian Sui-ge? Why don’t you make a call first? Brother Gu should be able to send someone to pick them up.”
“My phone battery is dead, but it’s no trouble. Leave it to me.” Xian Sui took the gifts from the staff members. There were too many for him to carry alone, so his assistant helped hold two bouquets of flowers, and eventually all the items were loaded into the vintage car that had just been repaired recently.
“Xian Sui-ge, why go out of your way to do this?” The assistant didn’t even finish his sentence before Xian Sui cut him off deliberately, telling him he could head home early while he drove the things over to Gu Fanzhou himself. The assistant gave his employer a strange look, but unable to figure anything out, happily clocked out for the day.
Xian Sui drove all the way to the entrance of the villa area where Gu Fanzhou lived, and used his phone to contact Gu Fanzhou, letting him know he was outside the gates. Gu Fanzhou didn’t reply to the message, but before long, he appeared in front of Xian Sui’s car and guided him into the villa.
“You came all this way just to drop off fan gifts?” Gu Fanzhou found it almost laughable. “I thought it was something urgent.”
“It is urgent. Fans put a lot of thought into these, and the cake might even be handmade. If it spoils, it’ll go to waste.” Xian Sui handed the cake to Gu Fanzhou first, followed by some smaller boxes. Perhaps because there were too many things, when Xian Sui handed them over, he accidentally knocked over one of the boxes, causing its contents to spill out.
At first glance, it appeared to be a garment with intricate patterns. When Gu Fanzhou picked it up and brought it to his eyes, he realized it was a traditional opera costume, likely handcrafted by the fan. Many fans knew Gu Fanzhou’s mother loved singing opera and that Gu Fanzhou himself often listened to his mother’s favorite opera records, which was why someone sent such a gift.
Gu Fanzhou’s expression turned grim instantly. Xian Sui still remembered that because of his mother, Gu Fanzhou had been drinking alone in the villa early in the morning. Without hesitation, he snatched the garment out of Gu Fanzhou’s hands. “If you don’t like it, just throw it away.”
“Didn’t you just say it’s the thought of a fan?”
“Your fans want you to be happy,” Xian Sui balled the clothing up in his hands. “If they knew it upset you, they’d probably want to take their gifts back themselves.”
Gu Fanzhou remained silent for a long while before Xian Sui finally broke the ice. “Don’t let this matter torment you for the rest of your life.”
Having spent a long time practicing smoking, Xian Sui carried a lighter with him. Right in front of Gu Fanzhou, he lit the garment and watched it burn into ashes. A small plume of thick smoke rose inside the villa, choking Xian Sui into a fit of coughing.
Without a word, Gu Fanzhou pressed the elevator button and headed upstairs. A moment later, he reappeared carrying a massive stack of opera discs. “Outside.”
Xian Sui followed Gu Fanzhou out of the villa into the backyard. He watched the other man ignite a metal fire pit, where orange-red flames flickered and leaped before his eyes. Gu Fanzhou placed the discs into the fire one by one, watching them warp and twist under the heat.
“Since she has chosen her own new life,” Gu Fanzhou’s eyes seemed to reflect the roaring firelight, “then I no longer need her.”
Xian Sui kept Gu Fanzhou company in silence as they burned the discs from the first one to the very last, eventually sitting side by side on the backyard lawn in wordless companionship. Gu Fanzhou extinguished the fire pit, unaware that a stray spark had landed on Xian Sui’s ankle, causing him to flinch sharply.
“How is it?” Gu Fanzhou crouched down in front of Xian Sui. “Your leg.”
Xian Sui assured him it was nothing serious, but Gu Fanzhou insisted on rolling up his trouser leg to inspect it. Xian Sui’s slender, fair leg was bent at the knee before him, and the spot where he had been scalded by hot tea earlier was still slightly pink.
Gu Fanzhou unconsciously touched the reddened injury. “You have leg-baring scenes coming up in a few days.”
To be precise, Xian Sui was scheduled to film a scene where Gu Fanzhou kissed his leg, starting from the ankle all the way up to the thigh, and an injury would ruin the visual effect of the shoot.
“Let me help you. Come inside.”