In reality, before shooting, the actors had taken all necessary safety precautions, primarily focused on sensitive areas. Xian Sui’s face was pressed against Gu Fanzhou’s thigh, while the latter lowered his gaze to watch the long black hair falling across his lap, unable to resist raising a hand to stroke the top of Xian Sui’s head.
Xian Sui tried his best to fake the swallowing motion, but several times he felt unequal to the task, looking either unconvincing or far too exaggerated. At moments like this, Gu Fanzhou would place his palm gently on the back of Xian Sui’s head to guide him, helping him slowly find the right rhythm.
Yu Zhifu did not call cut, most likely unwilling to interrupt the instruction, and even Xian Sui knew in his heart that this scene would inevitably have to be retaken. When Gu Fanzhou released his hand, he deliberately leaned down to ask Xian Sui, “Have you ever done this with a man?”
These were Jian Shuyu’s lines from just moments ago. At this exact moment, as if their roles had been inverted, Xian Sui felt a sudden shock ripple through him, causing him to involuntarily tremble. “I haven’t, Brother Gu. I don’t know how to do any of this.”
“Just kidding.” Gu Fanzhou straightened his posture, flashing a cryptic smile at Xian Sui. “Since you don’t know how, why have you never let me teach you? And why did you even ask me not to take up your private time? What is that supposed to mean?”
“I was wrong, Brother Gu.” Xian Sui shifted his knees closer to Gu Fanzhou than before, as if hoping to win his forgiveness this way.
“Be a good boy,” Gu Fanzhou’s palm caressed Xian Sui’s cheek. “We’ll let it go for now. Follow my lead and let’s run through it again.”
Mimicking the previous posture, Xian Sui placed his hands on Gu Fanzhou’s thighs and tried to rehearse the segment once more, lifting his gaze at the end as if seeking Gu Fanzhou’s appraisal. Evidently satisfied with the results of his own tutoring, the latter reached out and pulled Xian Sui up from the floor. “That take was very good. Sit down and rest for a bit, and we’ll start shooting when you’re ready.”
“I don’t need to rest. It doesn’t hurt to kneel on the soft mat, I can keep filming.” Xian Sui knelt back down on the floor, and seeing how persistent he was, Gu Fanzhou simply signaled Yu Zhifu to begin filming.
Xian Sui was a fast learner and executed the retake with much greater proficiency. Following the script, Gu Fanzhou pushed Xian Sui backward with moderate force. “You don’t need to force yourself. I am not one of your patrons from the City of Night.”
“If Young Master Fu were an ordinary patron, Shuyu wouldn’t serve you like this, let alone call it a force.” Xian Sui’s fingertips traced circles against Gu Fanzhou’s thigh. “How was that just now, Minglou?”
Instead of answering his question, Gu Fanzhou pulled him straight up from the floor, wrapped him tightly in his arms, and captured his lips without hesitation. The kiss cascaded down along the neck, and Gu Fanzhou shrugged off his suit jacket, falling backward to let Xian Sui lie atop him.
As Xian Sui unbuttoned Gu Fanzhou’s shirt, his palms came to rest directly against the other man’s chest. With a sudden roll, Gu Fanzhou pinned Xian Sui beneath him, locking him between his arms. Meeting Gu Fanzhou’s gaze, Xian Sui let out a soft laugh, his eyes seemingly carrying a deeper implication. “Minglou, you can do anything to me.”
Gu Fanzhou’s fingers pinched the collar of Xian Sui’s garment, and the next moment, he began to move. The cheongsam was casually tossed aside onto the floor; despite all the protective padding in place, facing Gu Fanzhou’s intense gaze made Xian Sui inexplicably panic. He suddenly realized that at this very second, he was no longer completely playing Jian Shuyu.
His fingers interlocked with Gu Fanzhou’s, and Xian Sui looked uncharacteristically helpless. Stripped of his costume and makeup, he seemed to forget that the man before him was Fu Minglou, as his vision was filled entirely and completely by Gu Fanzhou’s features. He had no wish to lose his composure on set, yet precisely in this scene, Xian Sui found himself reduced to little more than trembling, ultimately crying out in a voice that bordered on a plea. “Brother Gu…”
“Cut.” Yu Zhifu clearly sensed something amiss from the monitor. “Let’s take a break. Xian Sui’s state isn’t very good. Are you having trouble getting into character?”
Gu Fanzhou straightened his upper body, and Xian Sui naturally rolled off the bed, pulling on the jacket prepared beforehand by the side. “I’m sorry, Director Yu. I’ll adjust my mindset.”
“Xian Sui.” Making a hand gesture, Gu Fanzhou instructed everyone to temporarily leave the room, leaving just the two of them by the bedside. His assistant had just delivered some snacks, and upon opening the container, Gu Fanzhou discovered they were Japanese rice balls, casually handing one over to Xian Sui. “Eat something first.”
“Thank you, Brother Gu.” Xian Sui peeled off the wrapper and took a bite. Out of the corner of his eye, Gu Fanzhou glanced at him imperceptibly before reaching over to zip up his jacket. “Director Yu expects this scene to take a long time today, so you don’t need to feel pressured. Eat slowly.”
“I know.” Xian Sui continued nibbling on the rice ball. Before he could even swallow his last bite, Gu Fanzhou abruptly asked, “Why did you call my name just now?”
Xian Sui’s movements stalled instantly. “Because I couldn’t take it, and wanted you to stop.”
“But you must finish filming this segment. You either endure it or overcome it.” Gu Fanzhou extended a hand toward him. “Come here, I’ll help you.”
Finishing the last bite of the rice ball, Xian Sui lay flat on the bed. Gu Fanzhou unzipped his jacket halfway down and lowered his head to kiss him.
Xian Sui didn’t even dare look at Gu Fanzhou, yet forced himself not to look away.
Seeming to notice his distraction, Gu Fanzhou applied a light nip with his teeth. Subconsciously, Xian Sui pressed a hand against Gu Fanzhou to halt his movements. “Brother Gu, this part isn’t in the script.”
“Make a sound,” Gu Fanzhou ignored his resistance. “Can you do it?”
Xian Sui tried humming twice. Even without a reminder from Gu Fanzhou, he knew his performance wasn’t quite hitting the mark.
Gu Fanzhou pinned Xian Sui’s arm back down. “If you want to, call out.”
His lips descended once more, and the touch of his palms challenged the very limits of Xian Sui’s nerves. Unable to suppress himself any longer, he opened his mouth and let out a sound, prompting Gu Fanzhou to finally pause with a nod. “Just like that. It sounds very nice.”
To his utter embarrassment, Xian Sui found himself inexplicably blushing from the compliment. He took a deep breath and deliberately met Gu Fanzhou’s gaze. “Brother Gu, please help me a bit more.”
“That’s not what you said before.”
“I really was wrong.” Overcome by a sudden, irrational nervousness, Xian Sui instinctively pressed his lips together. “Before we finish filming this movie, I won’t refuse you, Brother Gu.”
“That’s more like it.” Raising a hand to stroke Xian Sui’s ear, Gu Fanzhou leaned in for another kiss the next second.
The break ended, and the essential crew members returned to the room to resume filming. This segment resumed from the point where Gu Fanzhou undressed Xian Sui.
Having grown somewhat accustomed to the sensation with Gu Fanzhou’s assistance earlier, Xian Sui performed much better in this official take than in the previous one.
Eventually turned over onto his stomach, Xian Sui had Gu Fanzhou positioned behind him, executing a few forceful thrusting motions. In reality, of course, the two were merely pressed against each other without any actual over-the-line actions.
Despite knowing what to expect from reading the script, Xian Sui still inexplicably slipped into illusion, unconsciously letting sound escape his throat without even needing to force it.
Afterwards, Gu Fanzhou praised him right by his ear: “You were quite good just now, just as good as during the rehearsal.”
Director Yu had already called cut long ago, but Xian Sui remained sprawled on the bed in a daze. If not for the heavy safety measures in place, he likely would have given himself away entirely.
“Xian Sui,” Gu Fanzhou tapped his back gently. “Get dressed.”
“Ah… right.” Hurriedly tidying his appearance, Xian Sui scrambled into the nearest restroom, only stepping out once he had managed to regain his composure.
Turning left at the far end of the corridor, he noticed the door of the lounge was left slightly ajar, with Gu Fanzhou inside smoking a cigarette alone.
“Brother Gu,” Xian Sui tapped on the door. “Can I come in?”
Gu Fanzhou turned his head and flicked the unburned portion of his cigarette. “It’s very smoky in here.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Is there something urgent?”
Xian Sui couldn’t answer. In truth, there was no pressing matter; he simply wanted to chat with Gu Fanzhou, yet worried that admitting the truth would get him chased away.
“Come in.” Gu Fanzhou stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.
Pushing the door open, Xian Sui was met with Gu Fanzhou’s opening question: “You stayed in the restroom for quite a long time.”
“How did Brother Gu know…” Xian Sui’s ears flushed red instantly, as the reason was far too mortifying to voice aloud.
“Do you know why I was smoking in here?” Gu Fanzhou pointed at the ashtray, which Xian Sui could see was already full of butts. “I’m just like you.”
Xian Sui froze. Never before had he noticed Gu Fanzhou showing any emotional fluctuation after filming intimate scenes, yet now he was casually admitting that he smoked simply to calm his physical reactions.
“If you don’t believe me, you can look down.”
“… A fierce internal debate raged inside Xian Sui, but curiosity ultimately won out as his gaze drifted downward, even though he knew full well how bizarre both Gu Fanzhou’s invitation and his own compliance were.”
“Having a physical reaction during these kinds of scenes is completely normal,” Gu Fanzhou looked at Xian Sui with an ambiguous half-smile. “Right?”
Silently, Xian Sui nodded in agreement with Gu Fanzhou’s point.
“With someone you hate,” Gu Fanzhou twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers, “does it happen too?”
A memory suddenly flashed through Xian Sui’s mind: the question Gu Fanzhou had thrown at him in the karaoke room restroom, asking him how much he actually hated him.
“I… it’s not like that.” At a complete loss for how to respond, Xian Sui failed to string together a coherent sentence and felt an overwhelming urge to flee the spot entirely.
Seemingly uninterested in digging deeper into the question, Gu Fanzhou lit the cigarette in his hand instead. “Go ahead and get busy.”
Recognizing a polite dismissal, Xian Sui hurriedly pushed open the door and slipped out of the lounge.
It seemed Gu Fanzhou had taken Xian Sui’s rehearsal promise of not refusing to heart. Over the weekend, while not on set, Xian Sui received a WeChat message from Gu Fanzhou stating that he was driving over to Xian Sui’s residence.
He instinctively replied: [Why is Brother Gu suddenly coming over?]
The other party answered: [To test if what you promised is true.]
Before Xian Sui could type out a reply, a knock sounded at his door, and Gu Fanzhou appeared in casual attire on the threshold.
“What about your car?” Xian Sui asked instinctively. “If you leave it parked outside, it might get scratched.”
“I know, I had the driver drive it away for now.” Welcomed inside by Xian Sui, Gu Fanzhou watched as the latter hurried off to brew a pot of tea. The last time the other had visited as a guest, he hadn’t even managed to properly brew a decent pot.
As he emerged holding the teacups, he saw Gu Fanzhou sitting on the sofa with the diamond necklace from the karaoke room resting in his palm.
Lifting his head, Gu Fanzhou locked eyes with him.
“Come here.”