Huo Yang personally drove Bai Tan back home.
Bai Tan had assumed he would simply drop him off at the building entrance and leave, but Huo Yang followed him out of the car. Just as they entered the hallway, Bai Tan turned around, but before the words “No need to walk me up” could leave his mouth, Huo Yang suddenly brushed a hand over his shoulder and pressed a gentle kiss onto his forehead.
Then, Bai Tan met Huo Yang’s deep, dark gaze and heard him say:
“Go on up.”
Bai Tan touched the spot on his forehead where he had been kissed, his mind filled with confusion.
What was that? How strange.
Supporting his aching waist, he entered his apartment. For some inexplicable reason, Bai Tan peeked out the window toward the street below.
Huo Yang was still there, leaning against the car, staring deeply at the window of Bai Tan’s home.
Accidentally, their eyes met.
Huo Yang’s expression relaxed; he shifted his gaze, turned around, opened the car door, and got in.
Bai Tan went into the bathroom, took off his shirt, and looked into the mirror.
His body was covered in a dense map of tooth marks and red welts it was a sight to behold.
His chest, in particular, was severely swollen. It had been chafing against his clothes the entire way back, forcing him to walk with an ungraceful, hunched posture.
After applying some ointment, Bai Tan sat on the sofa for a long time.
Scenes of losing control kept flooding back into his mind.
He couldn’t help but think of that sketch again.
Now, he could only pray that Yang Yueqian had gone to bed early last night. He absolutely could not let him have heard anything, let alone let him find out otherwise, Bai Tan would truly have to apologize with his life.
Bai Tan’s face flushed red, his mind a daze. Perhaps this is how it is for those experiencing it for the first time the urge to replay every detail is irresistible.
Huo Yang’s words “Make some noise, it sounds good, I like it” echoed in his ears like a clap of thunder. He played them back over and over, recalling the expression and tone Huo Yang used when he said them.
His heart began to skip beats and race erratically again.
He truly couldn’t reconcile the man who had never spared him a second glance with the man who, under the pretext of helping him clean up, had pinned him against the bathtub and demanded more.
Bai Tan suddenly sat up straight.
Dragging his broken body to the study, he opened his computer and pulled up the outline and character profiles for his new novel.
Writing guides often mentioned:
A person never has just one side; appropriate contrast can make a character archetype feel more full-bodied.
For example: a peerless martial arts master who happens to be great at baking “wife cakes” that’s a “gap moe” contrast.
Or, for instance: a man who appears refined and abstinent on the surface but undergoes a drastic personality shift in bed, becoming obsessively persistent, wanting three or four rounds a night. This is another way to showcase the female lead’s charm.
Perhaps Bai Tan didn’t even realize it himself, but as he expanded the male lead’s character profile, the corners of his mouth never once stopped curling upward.
The Next Day
Bai Tan was awakened by his phone ringing.
It was his agent, Yu Jian:
“Xiao Bai, I was too busy yesterday and didn’t get a chance to ask how are you feeling about this job? Are you planning to renew the contract, or do you have other plans?”
Only then did Bai Tan realize that his original intention for going to see Huo Yang that night was to clearly refuse him. But the situation had veered so far off track that he had completely forgotten about it.
However, after that night, his once-firm resolve had wavered slightly because his male lead’s character development was progressing so smoothly.
Truthfully, staying by Huo Yang’s side for this past month hadn’t been entirely without gain.
“Never mind,” Yu Jian said when he didn’t answer immediately. “Huo Yang is very busy these next few days anyway. If you haven’t decided, could you please go over and help out for a couple of days? You can discuss the specifics with Huo Yang later.”
Bai Tan’s pupils shrank. Now, just hearing the name “Huo Yang” from someone else’s mouth made his heart skip a beat for no reason.
He pressed a hand to his chest and got up to wash.
A day had passed, and while the hickeys on his neck had faded slightly, they were still very obvious.
Bai Tan rummaged through his wardrobe and found a black turtleneck T-shirt. He layered a white button-down shirt over it, carefully hiding the tooth marks and bruises.
On the way to Huo Yang’s house, Bai Tan was still debating whether to stay or go.
It seemed there was no longer a reason he had to leave, yet there was also no reason he had to stay.
Lost in thought, he arrived at Huo Yang’s door.
He pressed the doorbell, expecting to hear a muffled “Come in” from behind the door.
Whoosh— the door opened in front of him.
Huo Yang was wearing only a bathrobe, the lapels loose, revealing his well-defined muscles.
Bai Tan’s eyes widened instantly.
He quickly averted his gaze. “Mr. Huo, are you ready? There’s a magazine cover shoot today; it’s time to head out.”
The moment he finished speaking, a large hand cupped his chin, forcing him to look up.
He met a pair of pitch-black eyes that betrayed no emotion.
Then, a kiss landed on his forehead.
“Okay, in a moment,” Huo Yang murmured into his ear. Even though his lips had left his skin, they lingered, softly grazing against Bai Tan’s earlobe.
Bai Tan felt his head “buzz.” His heart rate accelerated again.
What is this? This strange atmosphere.
He touched the corner of his forehead where Huo Yang had kissed him.
It felt burning hot.
Ever since Huo Yang had accepted an interview wearing a new style that showed a bit of skin, more and more jobs using “sexy” as a gimmick had been coming his way.
His boss, Li Wenyan, seemed to have tacitly approved and didn’t interfere.
It was likely that with his current status, the boss no longer had the standing to boss him around.
The shoot this time was for the cover of Men’s Vogue, and he was to shoot alongside Yang Yueqian, whose popularity had been skyrocketing recently.
Bai Tan had already coordinated the workflow and personnel with the magazine before arriving, so he was mentally prepared. But when he saw Yang Yueqian in person, he couldn’t stop a tide of guilt from rising within him, and he instinctively lowered his head.
In just one month, Yang Yueqian was no longer the invisible “nobody” to be trampled on. Looking at him now, even his aura had changed. Perhaps bolstered by the crowd of assistants following him, a noble and sharp temperament was fully on display.
Bai Tan finally decided he would decline Huo Yang’s request for a contract renewal.
He felt he couldn’t continue staying by Huo Yang’s side. Huo Yang would have many more collaborations with Yang Yueqian in the future, and meetings would be unavoidable. Every time Bai Tan saw Yang Yueqian, he felt a sense of moral guilt.
He nodded to himself. It was settled.
At that moment, Huo Yang emerged from the dressing room.
Bai Tan’s eyes instantly lit up with a casual glance.
Huo Yang’s 192cm (6’3″) height was eye-catching anywhere, but whereas he usually wore formal attire like suits and shirts, this was the first time he had seen him in a leather jacket and jeans.
The magazine seemed determined to help Huo Yang complete his image transition; they didn’t leave him a single layer of clothing underneath, leaving his chest muscles fully exposed.
Out of professional habit, Bai Tan pulled a shirt out of his tool bag a shirt he usually kept for Huo Yang to change into between shots.
He unfurled the shirt and rushed over, as if someone else catching a glimpse would somehow harm Huo Yang, and abruptly covered Huo Yang’s chest and abdomen.
As he did, he looked back warily, checking to see if anyone was secretly taking photos.
Huo Yang looked down, his eyes hooded. From this angle, he could only see the slight furrow of Bai Tan’s brow and the long, thick lashes fanning out below.
Huo Yang raised a hand to his mouth, forming a fist to hide a burgeoning smile.
His body cooperatively leaned closer to Bai Tan’s palm.
Nearby, Yang Yueqian, who was having hand oil applied by an assistant, caught this scene out of the corner of his eye and let out a light scoff.
The medicine I went through so much trouble to get ended up benefiting this little assistant. Does he really think sleeping together once entitles him to stake a public claim?
How naive.
The photographer then called the two of them over to explain the poses.
Huo Yang patted Bai Tan gently, signaling him to let go, and then proceeded to button the leather jacket all the way to the top.
The shoot officially began.
In one smooth motion, Huo Yang unbuttoned every button, pushed his shoulders back, and let the leather jacket slide down, leaving most of his torso exposed under the strobe lights.
Bai Tan grew anxious, habitually gripping his tool bag.
Because not only him Yang Yueqian had also taken off his denim jacket!
The two of them were standing there, bare-chested and facing each other!
Huo Yang leaned back on a vintage burgundy sofa, his posture relaxed and loose, the jacket hanging only by the sleeves on his arms.
His incredibly long legs were unreservedly spread wide. His hands gripped the waistband of his boxer briefs just above his belt, perfectly showcasing the brand name logo.
His semi-damp hair fell forward, obscuring his slightly raised eyes. His broad shoulders, sharp muscle definition, and wild, rugged style accentuated by the sacred cross necklace around his neck created a powerful sense of “forbidden” pleasure.
Bai Tan’s eyes were wide as saucers; his heart was beating so fast it felt like it might jump out of his mouth.
That is, until he saw Yang Yueqian next to him, and his heart instantly turned to ash.
Yang Yueqian was shirtless, his denim jacket draped over his shoulder. His jeans, lacking a belt, sagged slightly, revealing the same brand logo on his underwear.
He leaned loosely against a wall, his head tilted naturally to one side, his gaze fixed directly on Huo Yang.
Looking at them like this, the two were undeniably a perfect match.
It easily reminded Bai Tan of the BL (Boys’ Love) dramas he had watched before:
The underbelly of a city, where old alleys trap the horizons and worldviews of those living there. A hidden love between men deep in the alleys that isn’t understood, and the abandonment of everything for an uncontrollable indulgence.
Finally, they stand side-by-side against the scorn of a prejudiced world, their eyes filled with a courage and determination that says they will never part, even if ten thousand armies were to attack.
Bai Tan instinctively raised a hand to his chest.
For some reason, the bridge of his nose felt a bit stingy.
In this world, it seemed some people were born with the “protagonist’s script.” Even if they are temporarily down, they will always break through their shackles and emerge from the cocoon.
This was true for the legendary Huo Yang, and it was true for Yang Yueqian, who seized every opportunity to climb upward at all costs using love and courage to finally climb to Huo Yang’s side.
Bai Tan slowly lowered his eyes. After his throat tightened, he let out a soft sigh.
The flashbulbs continued to fire along with the sound of the shutter.
Even in a purposefully weathered setting, the two protagonists before the lens remained radiant.
The shoot lasted a long time. Bai Tan stood like a motionless tree in the corner, staring blankly at the two people who sparkled like diamonds.
Should I be relieved? he thought. That I made the decision to leave.
Before I sink even deeper.