“Uh… I…” Jiang Xun’s brain suddenly cleared, and he instantly understood Chen Shu’s underlying meaning. He began to stutter. “…I, I was wrong! I didn’t—didn’t mean to insult you.”
Ye Hancheng raised an eyebrow. “Your timid apology makes me even more curious about what happened to you back then to make you turn out like this.”
“I’m curious too.” Chu Xingyun raised his hand and started scrubbing through the video again. “Look, right here. After he beat Chen Shu and went to do a fist bump with the other team, he didn’t even dare to make eye contact. If he doesn’t have a guilty conscience, then what is it?”
“Chu Xingyun—” Jiang Xun gritted his teeth, glaring at him. “You just wait until this time tomorrow.”
When that time came, he would definitely use a magnifying glass to find every detail on the screen frame by frame; he was going to embarrass Chu Xingyun to death!
“It’s obvious he’s hiding something,” Lin Shen joined the discussion. “One of my students writes idol dramas. She said that in this kind of plot.”
“Stop, stop—” Ye Hancheng interrupted. “An idol drama?”
Lin Shen blinked. “Yes, an idol drama.”
Ye Hancheng was puzzled but gestured for him to continue. “…Go on.”
“In an idol drama, when someone acts this guilty upon seeing another person, they are either a villain who did something bad and is afraid of being caught by the protagonist, or they like the other person.”
Ye Hancheng and Chu Xingyun spoke at the same time: “What bad thing did you do? / Do you like Chen Shu?”
Jiang Xun: “…”
He was so stupid. Why did he ever choose Chu Xingyun to come out to? This guy acted like he wanted to broadcast Jiang Xun’s secrets to the whole world!
“I know,” Chen Shu said suddenly. “Is it about that time you lied to me, saying your boss only wanted to sign one person?”
Jiang Xun stared, stepping onto the excuse that had unexpectedly appeared. “Ah… yeah.”
Chen Shu continued explaining to the others, “His club is one of the richest in the league. Their boss told me later that he actually wanted to sign both of us, but the package price would have been much lower than signing us individually. Since he contacted Jiang Xun first, and Jiang Xun said he wanted a solo contract, the boss gave up on looking for me.”
“All for a little money.” Ye Hancheng poked Jiang Xun’s shoulder, disappointed. “You ruined a perfectly good friendship.”
Jiang Xun chose to accept the criticism. “Yeah! It was a lot of money.”
“His family situation wasn’t great, so he cares a lot about money,” Chen Shu explained with a smile on Jiang Xun’s behalf. “And regardless of being rich or poor, people who don’t care about money are always in the minority.”
“What about now? Do you still care that much?” Cen Jing suddenly asked.
“Of course, I do.” Jiang Xun said softly. “Didn’t I come to this show for the money too?”
“If you had chosen to tell the truth back then, Chen Shu might have understood. Why make it so awkward?” Lin Shen said regretfully.
“Well… anyway, I can’t go back in time to change my choice.” Jiang Xun’s eyes wandered around. “It doesn’t matter if I’m understood or not.”
Cen Jing asked, “So, what are your plans now?”
“I don’t know,” Jiang Xun answered quickly. “At—at least let me get through tonight first.”
“Alright, you two should have a good talk tonight.”
“If you can’t talk it out, you can come to me for some private advice.”
“The live stream is ending soon. Everyone, let’s head out.”
…
Chen Shu watched Jiang Xun enter Room 3.
“Uh, anyway, it’s late. You go shower first,” Jiang Xun urged as soon as they entered the room.
Chen Shu closed the door behind him and locked it.
“No rush. We’ll talk after you finish your confession.”
“I already confessed!” Jiang Xun argued immediately.
“You’re finished?” Chen Shu pulled over a chair and sat down, watching Jiang Xun calmly. “…You didn’t actually take that story I made up as the final answer, did you?”
Jiang Xun played dumb. “Which part?”
Chen Shu didn’t fall for it. “Before I decide to stop saving face for you, tell the truth.”
Seeing that he couldn’t dodge it, Jiang Xun could only lower his head and shut down. Various thoughts felt like they were tossed into a washing machine, spinning wildly into a mess that he couldn’t straighten out.
But soon, he remembered the idea Chu Xingyun gave him earlier that day. If he actually went through with it, it seemed he would inevitably have to tell the truth.
Damn it. A coward dies a thousand deaths; let’s just get it over with.
Jiang Xun suddenly looked up, staring intently at Chen Shu. He took a deep breath. “I want to kiss you.”
Chen Shu felt his head buzz. “…What?”
“I want to kiss your mouth!” As if encouraged, Jiang Xun stood up abruptly and walked toward Chen Shu.
Chen Shu: “…”
Chen Shu remained unmoved. “Just to avoid the truth, you’re using this kind of stuff to gross me out?”
“Four years ago, when we held the World Championship trophy in New York, I already wanted to kiss you.” Jiang Xun leaned down until his eyes were level with Chen Shu’s. His tone was heavy. “Chen Shu, I’m gay.”
Chen Shu blinked slowly, seemingly unable to process the meaning.
“I’m gay!” Jiang Xun clutched his chest as if in pain. “Not only am I gay, I wanted to hit on my best friend. How could I let that happen?! I would never allow it!”
“You’re gay,” Chen Shu repeated.
“That’s right.” Now that he didn’t have to keep the secret inside anymore, Jiang Xun spoke more fluently. “When I realized it, I was terrified. And every time I saw you, my gaze would unconsciously become creepy.”
“Creepy…” Chen Shu’s eye twitched. “You’re pretty harsh on yourself.”
“I couldn’t control my brain!” Jiang Xun felt defeated. “My eyes had a mind of their own. They always wanted to wander over to you.”
“So that’s how it was.” After the initial brief shock, Chen Shu regained his composure. “You didn’t want to hit on me, so you chose to leave the team, right?”
“Yeah!” Jiang Xun stood up and rubbed his nose. “Pretty noble of me, right?”
“Yeah.” Chen Shu nodded in confirmation. “So after that, did you ever want to hit on anyone else?”
“How is that possible?!” Jiang Xun reacted like a startled cat, denying it immediately. “Even if I’m gay, it’s not like I’d go for just anyone, okay? None of them look as good as you. What qualities do they have that would make me want them?”
Chen Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “I see.”
“Right, exactly.” Jiang Xun’s eyes unconsciously followed the dimples on Chen Shu’s face as he smiled. “…I’m a gay man with standards, okay?”
“Yes, I understand.” Chen Shu nodded, his eyes lowered, looking at nothing in particular. “So now… what are your thoughts?”
“What do you think?” Jiang Xun scratched his head in frustration, but his words were blunt. “If the meal you couldn’t eat four years ago was placed back in front of you, would you want to eat it?!”
Chen Shu smiled. “Of course, I would.”
“That’s why I wanted to go sleep in Chu Xingyun’s room.” Jiang Xun pouted at the ceiling. “I was really afraid my animal instincts would take over and I’d kiss you while you were sleeping. Do you know how scared I was this morning when I woke up and saw your face so close?”
Chen Shu remembered Jiang Xun’s panic from this morning and couldn’t help but laugh again.
“In… in short, it’s all for your own good,” Jiang Xun said awkwardly. “For your safety, let’s put something in the middle of the bed to block us while we sleep.”
“Have you ever kissed anyone?” Chen Shu asked suddenly.
“…No.” Jiang Xun shook his head honestly. “Why do you ask?”
“I haven’t kissed anyone either. Want to try?”
…
Inside Room 4.
After checking today’s trending topics related to Long Time No See and confirming there was no negative press regarding himself and Cen Jing, Chu Xingyun contacted his manager. He told them to have the company’s marketing accounts release evidence that Xia Sha was being supported by three wealthy women at the same time.
Xia Sha’s acting career was definitely over.
As for whether he would receive love or torment from those women, Chu Xingyun couldn’t be bothered to care.
Click—
The bathroom door opened.
Cen Jing came out, his bathrobe wrapped tightly around him, not showing an inch of skin. Chu Xingyun looked over instinctively. His gaze felt warm, traveling from Cen Jing’s collar down to his waist.
Cen Jing: “…”
It was strange; even though he was covered up, he felt like he was being looked at as if he were naked.
“Go take a shower,” Cen Jing said, breaking the strange atmosphere. “Your dried clothes are on the left side of the closet.”
“Why are you rushing me to shower?” Chu Xingyun placed his phone face down on the table and rested his chin on his hand, staring directly at Cen Jing. “Once I’m finished, is the next step getting into bed?”
“Perhaps you could be more specific,” Cen Jing said, remaining unfazed. “The next step is getting into bed to sleep.”
“It’s the same thing.” Chu Xingyun acted innocent. “Getting into bed and then sleeping is common sense. I shouldn’t need to explain it unless you’re thinking of something else.”
Cen Jing: “…”
With him looking like that, it was hard not to think of something else.
“What are you thinking about, Brother?” Chu Xingyun blinked softly, his eyes full of teasing. “Thinking about how you used to have your way with me in bed?”
Cen Jing glanced at the camera, which was currently off, and felt a headache coming on. “…Are you crazy?”
“Just curious.” After acting like a good boy all day, Chu Xingyun felt like he would go insane if he didn’t act out a little. “After all, I think about it often.”
Cen Jing closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his words carrying a bit of a sting. “If you’re that thirsty, find a video and take care of it in the bathroom before you come out.”
“…Oh.” Chu Xingyun looked thoughtful. “That won’t be necessary. I tried being self-sufficient yesterday, but the results weren’t great.”
Cen Jing: “…”
How could this person say these things without even blushing?
“Just kidding.” Chu Xingyun burst out laughing, starting to back off. “One thing led to another. Brother, you don’t mind, do you?”
“I do mind.” Cen Jing didn’t want to act generous or relaxed about this and let it slide. “In the future, don’t make those kinds of jokes.”
Chu Xingyun followed his lead. “Alright, no more jokes like that in the future.”
He would only do it for real.