“Honk! Honk!”
The sudden blaring of the horn interrupted He Yun’s movement, and Si Yu also opened his eyes.
“Limey! Get a room!”
Si Yu: “How do they know we’re from England?”
He Yun: “License plate.”
Si Yu let out an “oh,” closed his eyes again, and leaned closer to He Yun—huh?
Click!
He Yun put down the camera. “This one looks good.”
Si Yu: “If I don’t kill you today, I’ll change my last name to yours!”
Si Yu ran out of breath, so exhausted that he fell fast asleep the moment he got into the car.
This also gave He Yun some rare peace and quiet during the next two-hour drive.
He Yun parked the car.
He turned his head, readjusted the jacket that had slipped off Si Yu’s shoulders, and let his gaze linger once again on Si Yu’s lips.
Too impulsive, He Yun thought.
He couldn’t pull his eyes away no matter how hard he tried.
No, it wasn’t an impulse, because right now, he still wanted to kiss Si Yu.
Buzz, buzz.
A phone call rescued He Yun just as he placed his hand on the back of the passenger seat.
He picked up his phone and tiptoed out of the car.
“Yun, good news. The house has been sold. The buyer was very generous, offering an extra fifty thousand pounds on the condition that all the furniture be left behind.”
He Yun froze.
You see, most of the furniture in the house had already been sold off long ago, and what remained was nowhere near worth that much.
But this anonymous buyer’s generosity didn’t stop there.
“The buyer won’t be back in London for another six months. He said you can continue living there in the meantime; he’s not in a rush. He already signed the paperwork a few days ago, and the deposit has been transferred to you. Once you return and complete the formalities, the balance will be settled.”
But—
He Yun turned his head to look at the car parked not far away.
Si Yu seemed to really like that neighborhood. If they had to find another place, would he like it?
After hanging up the phone, He Yun finally snapped back to reality.
Just as he hadn’t expected to react so strongly to Si Yu’s leaving without saying goodbye, he hadn’t expected that when the house was finally sold, the first question on his mind would actually be this.
He opened Rightmove, selected a few nice listings, and prepared to go back to the car to ask Si Yu—
“I’ve already arrived in Paris… Isn’t the brand event tonight? Yeah, I know, I’ll come over after dinner. Ah! You scared me!”
Si Yu hurriedly ended the call and looked at He Yun, who had pulled open the car door at some point.
He wasn’t sure how much He Yun had heard, nor did he know how to bring up his work schedule when he wasn’t at all prepared to discuss it with him.
“Awake? Let’s get out; parking is terrible in the city center.” He Yun pocketed his phone, picked up his backpack, and said, “Put your mask on.”
“Okay.”
Si Yu nodded and stepped out of the car.
Along the way, Si Yu kept turning his head to look at He Yun.
“He Yun…”
“The rooftop we booked has a great view. Even if we can’t see the sunset right now, we’ll still be able to see the illuminated Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur.”
His words were seamlessly interrupted by He Yun, leaving him no choice but to follow closely behind He Yun as they ascended to the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.
The restaurant owner recognized He Yun and presented the two of them with a bottle of fine white wine.
Although Si Yu couldn’t understand the French mixed with Italian, he could still clearly see the owner patting He Yun’s shoulder with an expression full of lingering regret.
“A friend?”
Si Yu bit into a piece of toasted bread smothered in fig jam.
“Not really. His restaurant in Italy was on the verge of bankruptcy before. Because my mother loved his food, my father helped out.”
He Yun lowered his eyes, his tone remaining flat. “And we only helped that one time; after that, he made it entirely on his own. I didn’t expect to run into him here.”
“Meeting a benefactor is rare, but having the ability to succeed on your own is even rarer.” Si Yu smiled at He Yun. “Even in the lowest valley, there is always a way out.”
He Yun nodded, looking entirely uninterested in his encouragement.
Throughout the meal, He Yun barely spoke a word, which made Si Yu—who hadn’t wanted to eat in the first place—lose his appetite completely.
“Not eating anymore?”
“No.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
He Yun settled the bill, left a tip, and stood up first.
Si Yu wasn’t very familiar with Paris. Even though he came every year for Fashion Week and attended necessary events and shoots, all his routes were arranged by his studio, leaving him with few opportunities to go out on his own.
Therefore, it wasn’t until He Yun led him to the wishing fountain at the entrance of the hotel that he finally realized.
“Did you know I was leaving?”
“Yeah.”
Unable to face He Yun’s straightforward response, Si Yu unnaturally looked away and asked, “How did you know which hotel I was staying at?”
He Yun raised the hand holding his phone. “I checked. Since you’re attending the brand’s anniversary celebration, naturally you’d stay at their affiliated hotel.”
“And you?”
“Returning to England.”
“Your vacation still has a long time left.”
Si Yu waited in vain for He Yun’s reply.
Instead, He Yun’s moment of silence attracted the lingering gazes of many people nearby, and Si Yu even heard familiar voices discussing him in Chinese.
“Is that Si Yu?”
“How can you tell with a mask on?”
“It’s Hernandez’s anniversary week, and Si Yu is the global ambassador. It’s not strange to see him downstairs at their hotel, right?”
As if he hadn’t heard a thing, Si Yu took a few more steps closer to He Yun.
“Your vacation is far from over. Aren’t you planning to stay in Paris a few more days?”
“It’s already over.”
A cold wind swept past, sending a sour, aching numbness through Si Yu’s heart.
“What do you mean?”
“Go inside.”
He Yun turned around.
“He Yun!”
Si Yu’s voice was loud enough not only to make He Yun stop in his tracks, but also to make the previously curious gossips even more certain of their suspicions.
He Yun closed his eyes, turned around again, and said in a low voice, “Someone has already recognized you. Hurry up and go inside.”
“No.” Si Yu’s eyes, visible above his white mask, stared straight at him. “Unless you come with me.”
“That’s an unreasonable request.”
He Yun refused him without hesitation.
“Then give me a hug.”
At once, He Yun’s dark pupils flashed.
He thought he had misheard.
Otherwise, how could Si Yu possibly say such a thing when he could already see people raising their phones to record?
However, the very next second, he saw Si Yu raise his arms.
“Hug me.”
“Oh my goodness, Ah Yu’s skin is truly amazing! Good thing we’re in Europe, otherwise we’d never find a foundation shade that matches!”
The makeup artist looked at the vacant-eyed Si Yu in the mirror and once again cast a look of desperate help toward Nie Shuang standing nearby.
Nie Shuang felt even more helpless; pressing his palms together in a pleading gesture, he mouthed: “Keep complimenting him!”
Yet, no matter how truthfully and thoroughly the makeup artist and stylist praised Si Yu from head to toe, they couldn’t elicit even a single smile.
Nie Shuang wanted to strangle himself on the spot.
Once inside the elevator, upon hearing Si Yu muttering to himself like he was possessed, Nie Shuang began banging his head against the wall repeatedly.
“He didn’t hug me, he didn’t wish me a good time in Paris, and he didn’t even say goodbye.”
Si Yu was dressed in a black suit tailored specifically for him by the design director.
On the matte, dark fabric, chaotic lines resembling shimmering raindrops seemed to slide down; upon closer inspection, one would find they were composed of tens of thousands of diamonds.
Outside the glass sightseeing elevator, the Paris night rain battered down, making Si Yu—who leaned against the glass—look melancholic and aristocratic, as if he had stepped right out of a medieval oil painting.
Yet Nie Shuang had no leisure time to appreciate it; his head was about to explode.
“Bro, He Yun is just a kid not even twenty years old, are you really falling head over heels for him like this?”
“Yeah, true, he really is very handsome.”
Si Yu looked at Nie Shuang’s gaping mouth, shrugged, and said, “If He Yun were an ugly guy, I’d explain to you why I like him. But look—you’ve questioned my intelligence before, but you’ve never asked why I actually like him. Isn’t it simply because his looks alone are enough to make me completely devoted?”
Nie Shuang thought that made so much sense.
“Smile, bro, I’m begging you!”
Nie Shuang was practically ready to pull out three incense sticks and kowtow three times right there on the spot to the living bodhisattva that was Si Yu.
The elevator doors opened, and countless camera flashes surged toward them.
Si Yu had already switched to a warm, spring-breeze expression of high-spirited triumph, waving his hand as he stepped out.
After the camera lenses shifted away from the finale-appearing Si Yu, He Yun closed his phone interface, slowly leaned forward, and rested his forehead against the steering wheel.
After a long while, He Yun rolled down the car window, and the chaotic street noises instantly flooded in.
Looking at the media and fans crowding the bus stop, wrapped in raincoats and holding umbrellas, he asked himself once more—
Why did I come?
Haven’t I already made my choice?
Haven’t I already accepted that Si Yu will always leave?
No, that’s not what I’m asking myself.
Haven’t you already realized your own incompetence?
If only he had met him sooner.
Si Yu might have liked the Oxfordshire estate where he was born;
Si Yu might have liked going to Cornwall with him to play cricket;
Si Yu might have liked his little black pony, Oliver.
He Yun leaned back against the seat, staring blankly at the rainwater on the windshield.
Or, if only he had met him much later.
No matter sooner or later, at least it shouldn’t have been this pathetic current self.
He Yun, your life really is an absolute mess.
His gaze drifted toward the steps where the camera flashes were swarming.
“Si Yu!”
“Si Yu, look here!”
“Si Yu, regardez ici!”
“Si Yu! I’m domestic media, look at me!”
Si Yu wasn’t holding an umbrella, purely so the media and fans waiting outside could capture more photos.
Suddenly, Si Yu stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Nie Shuang gently nudged Si Yu. “Didn’t you say not to stop and pose for photos if you aren’t holding an umbrella?”
“He’s here.”
Dropping those baffling words, Si Yu turned around and dashed straight into the rain.
“Si Yu!”
He Yun forced himself to step on the gas pedal, refusing to look back.
Had he known that this would be his last time seeing Si Yu for a long, long time to come, he definitely would have turned around.
Had he turned around, he would have seen Si Yu in the rearview mirror—
And he surely would have stopped.
Si Yu entered the cast.
The early location shooting took place deep in alpine forests, where the cell service was terrible and cables were snapped by the wind every other day, causing even Ou Xiaofeng’s frequency of reporting in to Shen Que to dwindle.
Si Yu looked at the pinned chat box resting right where it was three weeks ago, lowered his eyes, and extinguished the screen.
“Let’s cut it.”
Si Yu picked up his script.
The director and the styling crew nearby all breathed sighs of relief, because this hairstyle change had been entirely too abrupt and last-minute.
The exterior scouting team discovered that the snow mountain filming location they were heading to next was going to face terrible weather conditions for the foreseeable future.
While the protagonist fighting wits and courage with the villains in a world of ice and snow to climax at the peak of the snow mountain would look great, Si Yu’s long hair would be blown so wildly that not even a single second of his face would be captured clearly.
There was no time to change locations or wait for re-approvals, so they had no choice but to rely on the protagonist—who was constantly traveling through different dungeons leveling up, plus acting as a magical little Yu playing a dress-up game—to make things work.
“Though my temper is a bit rough, every colleague I’ve ever worked with says I’m quite dedicated.”
Si Yu looked at the crew members who kept bowing and apologizing, looking thoroughly baffled.
“You guys are making way too big a deal out of this.”
“Everyone in the industry knows Teacher Si is dedicated, but we also know that this hair isn’t just deeply loved by your fans—it holds special significance for you. We’re truly grateful that you’re willing to cooperate.”
Si Yu’s fingers paused mid-page flip.
Not for any other reason, but because the claim that his hair held special significance was completely false.
It had only ever been because of the persona his company had crafted for him all along, and because Shen Que liked it.
Si Yu sighed. “I’m an actor; my fans’ aesthetic preferences won’t affect my work. You guys need to grow some backbone too—you’re all good directors and a solid crew, there’s no need to roll out the red carpet just because it’s me.”
With the forest scenes wrapped up, Si Yu, now sporting a short, choppy haircut, followed the crew without a moment’s rest straight to the snow mountains.
Struggling to pull off his gloves and remove his mask, Si Yu shivered from the biting cold, yet still managed to lift the corners of his mouth and snap a few selfies.
He had just sent one to He Yun in an attempt to break the silence of their quiet chat box when a notification popped up at the top.
Shen Que: You cut your hair?
Shen Que: Why didn’t you tell me?
You’re out of your mind! Why on earth should I—
Before he could finish typing, another message popped up.
Shen Que: It doesn’t look good.
Si Yu froze, quickly swiping right, tapping into the pinned chat, and grabbing the tiny two-minute window to recall the photo.
His phone vibrated continuously.
Shen Que: You’ve gotten a lot darker.
Shen Que: There’s even a scar left on your face.
Shen Que: Your cheeks are so thin there’s hardly any meat left.
Shen Que: It doesn’t look good.
Walking along, Si Yu opened his photo album, pinched the screen to zoom in, and inspected the photo carefully.
Damn it!
Watching Si Yu throw punches at empty air beside him, Ou Xiaofeng asked curiously, “Bro, what’s wrong?”
Si Yu took a deep breath. “Um… what’s that app for editing photos called again?”
Ou Xiaofeng’s mouth dropped open into an abyss, his eyes widening so much he looked ready to audition on the spot for Black Cat Detective.
“Bro! You… you never edit your photos!”
“Download it for me.”
Si Yu curled his lip, tossed his phone to him, and stomped forward at an accelerated pace out of sheer spite.
Portrait – One-Tap Beautification – Fairies’ Bare-Face Glow
Huh? It requires VIP? Open it, open it, open it!
Face Sculpting – Face Shape – Narrow Face – Slim Down
There, now my cheeks look fleshy enough!
Skin Tone – Cold White – Cool it down, cool it down
Now it’s pale enough, right?
Si Yu flashed a devilish, confident smile and triumphantly sent the picture over.
“Everyone, keep up!”
An instruction came through the walkie-talkie.
Looking at the six characters reading “The other party is typing…”, Si Yu ultimately held back, turned off his screen, and walked onward toward higher ground.
Upon reaching the filming location and finishing discussions with the director regarding the shoot, Si Yu hurriedly pulled out his phone—
“What? No signal!”
However, when he handed the photo to Ou Xiaofeng—
“Bro, maybe… maybe let’s not edit photos anymore…” Ou Xiaofeng looked at Si Yu’s expectant gaze, stammering for half a day, “You really look great! Short hair looks great too! Being a little tanner looks great!”
Refusing to trust his aesthetic judgment, Si Yu grabbed his phone and ran through the entire crew like an energetic rabbit—
“Teacher Si, not even your face can withstand this kind of abuse.”
“Brother Si Yu, is it possible you’re just naturally a silver-screen face and don’t need filters?”
“Si Yu, if I may be frank, you could probably file an injury claim against a plastic surgeon for this face.”
Si Yu’s heart grew colder than the eternal snows of the Gangshika Snow Peaks.
Returning to base camp, looking at the stacked notifications on his screen, Si Yu flatly refused to click them open.
Yet someone still came knocking at his door—
“According to what you look like right now, should I contact a plastic surgery clinic so you can be admitted the moment you come down the mountain?”
“Take your phone and get out!”
“Next up are the tropical rainforest scenes. Should I consult a primatologist in advance to prevent you from undergoing reverse evolution?”
“GET LOST!!!”
Si Yu jumped and roared, successfully inducing instantaneous hypoxia at an altitude of 4,360 meters.
“Brother Si Yu!” Ou Xiaofeng didn’t even care about Shen Que still on the other end of the line; he hurriedly shoved the oxygen tank toward Si Yu’s mouth. “Quick, quick, breathe some oxygen!”
The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.
“What’s going on?”
Si Yu glared viciously at Ou Xiaofeng.
Ou Xiaofeng had no choice but to report truthfully: “Just now, Brother Si Yu was cursing you out too loudly and got altitude sickness from lack of oxygen.”
Shen Que fell back into silence.
“Si Yu, is this what you meant when you said you didn’t want me managing your life? You’re twenty-two years old, yet you still haven’t learned how to take care of yourself; you’ve been acting for seven years, and when doing action scenes, how to protect yourself—”
Resuscitated from the jaws of death by sheer anger, Si Yu snatched the phone back and hung up on the call with the very last ounce of his strength.
He felt so miserable he wanted to cry.
He was miserable from hypoxia and altitude sickness, miserable from being angered by Shen Que, and miserable from how ugly those two edited photos were.
The thought that he had actually sent such an ugly photo to He Yun made him feel even more wretched.
He Yun…
Right now, the person making him the most miserable of all was He Yun.
The He Yun who had refused to hug him, the He Yun who hadn’t turned his head even when he chased after the car, the He Yun who hadn’t sent a single message in three weeks.
“Everybody loves Si Yu.”
That phrase seemed to completely lose its validity in front of He Yun.
Across the ocean.
He Yun lay in bed, repeating his nightly tossing and turning.
He buried his face into the pillows and blankets, only sitting up once he could no longer breathe.
I shouldn’t have washed it.
He got up, walked to the laundry room, and stared at the cool gray machine.
He Yun: “Why did you have to wash it so clean?”
Washing machine: ……
Thud—
He Yun gave it a light kick and turned to leave.
Washing machine: ……
Three seconds later, He Yun walked right back.
He Yun: Sorry.
Washing machine: ……
He lay down on the sofa, turning his head to look in the direction of the bedroom.
The occasional swaying shadows of trees on the floor vaguely resembled a human figure, and every time this happened, He Yun would sit up, only lying back down once he saw clearly that it was merely the wind rustling outside the window.
Ding-dong!
The message notification sound—linked to a Bluetooth speaker turned up to maximum volume—rang out, and He Yun instantly snapped his eyes open.
The screen clutched in his hand wasn’t locked, causing his heartbeat to react a fraction of a second faster than his fingers.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Headacheee: [Picture]
He Yun stood frozen in place for a full minute—
So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute! So cute!