You’re not wearing a watch or any jewelry… Wow, you aren’t going to give me that green jade bracelet, are you?”
He blinked his eyes, acting like a fox in wolf’s clothing. “That’s too precious!”
Song Xueyan suppressed a laugh and said, “I’ll count to three”
“No need to count.” Yan Qi closed his eyes and extended his right palm. “Give it to me.”
Song Xueyan reached into his pocket, fished out a small object, and placed it gently on Yan Qi’s palm. He didn’t pull his hand away immediately, but following a sudden impulse, his pinky finger brushed over the small mole on Yan Qi’s middle knuckle.
For only a second, he withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, but Yan Qi suddenly closed his palm, grabbing the gift—and the person who gave it.
Song Xueyan was startled, seeing Yan Qi open his eyes and look at him heavily. He pursed his lips and tried to preempt him. “What are you doing?”
That small mole had become a spark, and having been touched by Song Xueyan, a numbing sensation surged everywhere. Yan Qi stared at him for a long time and asked, “With all this thunder tonight, will you be able to sleep?”
The topic changed so quickly that it took Song Xueyan two seconds to react before he lied, “I’m quite tired; I’ll be able to sleep the moment my head hits the pillow.”
“Oh.” Yan Qi naturally let go of Song Xueyan’s hand, seeing a pink, square, milk-flavored candy sitting on his palm—the exact brand he frequently bought. He was surprised, hesitated for a few seconds, and asked, “How did you know I liked this brand of candy?”
Song Xueyan said with a calm expression, “You like this brand? I just happened to buy it. What a coincidence.”
Yan Qi let the candy roll on his palm. This was a foreign brand without official retail channels in the country, and it was quite niche; few proxy buyers sold it. How did Song Xueyan “just happen to buy it”?
He stared at Song Xueyan, brazenly interrogating him. “Where did you ‘just happen to buy it’? Tell me, I’ll go try my luck later.”
Song Xueyan, true to being an actor who could compete for awards with veteran performers every year, recalled with immense naturalness. “I have an acquaintance who went on a trip abroad during his break and brought back a lot of imported goods. He specifically asked me if I wanted to pick a few things. I owed him a favor, so I chose this candy.”
The young “rookie” Yan Qi didn’t see a single sign of lying. “Oh, I see.”
Song Xueyan nimbly blocked his path. “It’s a pity, though he bought them all mixed together, and he’s been busy lately, so he probably won’t be able to buy it for you again.”
Yan Qi suppressed the intuition that something was wrong. “It’s fine; if I want it, I can ask the company’s overseas department to buy it.”
He paused, thinking that although the candy hit his preferences perfectly, Song Xueyan shouldn’t have known beforehand; this thank-you gift was far too casual.
Is he trying to coax a child?
Yan Qi held out his hand. “Help me unwrap it.”
Perhaps out of a sense of gratitude, Song Xueyan was very obedient tonight. He took the candy, slowly unwrapped the paper, held the candy block through the paper, and brought it to Yan Qi’s lips. “Ah”
Damn, he really is coaxing a child!
Yan Qi complained internally, but his mouth opened unconsciously. By the time he realized what was happening a second later, Song Xueyan had already stuffed the candy into his mouth—that speed! Did he practice the “One-Finger Zen”? Yan Qi reflexively closed his mouth, catching Song Xueyan’s fingertip perfectly!
The soft sensation was transmitted through his fingertips to his heart. Song Xueyan’s pupils shrank, and he looked up at Yan Qi abruptly, only to find the culprit looked even more terrified than he was. He pulled his finger away, stiffly pressing it against his leg. Even as his own heart hammered like a drum, he didn’t forget to tease him. “You’re so easily embarrassed. It was your request, after all.”
“Is being embarrassed against the law?” Yan Qi stiffened his neck. “Go find a cop to arrest me.”
The dead duck still had a hard beak. Song Xueyan became even more relentless. “Do you know we have a kissing scene tomorrow?”
Of all things to bring up!
Yan Qi almost suspected Song Xueyan was doing it on purpose. “Of course I know.” He looked at Song Xueyan with grievance. “What do you want to say? Bring it on, I’m not afraid.”
“What could I possibly say?” Song Xueyan laughed. “I’m just sympathizing with Director Fang in advance. Since you’re so easily embarrassed, you’ll definitely NG many times tomorrow, right? First you’ll be angered by Yuan Mo, then tomorrow you’ll be angered by yourself—I imagine your head will swell up even more.”
Hearing this, Yan Qi was immediately terrified: Don’t tell me I’m the one who will be mercilessly criticized in front of the whole crew tomorrow?!
Song Xueyan saw his expression and took a step forward, saying seriously, “Beg me, and I can help you.”
Yan Qi automatically ignored the first two words and asked curiously, “This can even be helped? Could it be that there’s some ‘One-Night Kissing Technique Quick-Success’ guide?”
“I don’t know if that exists, but what I mean is…” Song Xueyan hid his tail tightly, posing as a great, kind, good senior and colleague. “We can practice the scene in advance.”
“Ah!” He had only lightly kissed him before and it had already made his head roar; he had just sucked on his finger and he still hadn’t fully recovered. If they really kissed properly, would he even be able to walk back to his bedroom in front of Song Xueyan?
Yan Qi stepped back in terror, his voice trembling. “You’re overthinking it.”
Song Xueyan looked unperturbed. “Hmm?”
“You’re overthinking it!” Yan Qi was so angry and embarrassed by Song Xueyan’s gaze that he turned and ran, not forgetting to leave a harsh parting shot.
“My kissing technique is more awesome than your acting skills. Prepare yourself properly don’t let me kiss you into a seizure!”
Song Xueyan couldn’t believe it. He raised his voice toward his retreating back. “Is your mouth coated in lead?”
Yan Qi twisted the doorknob and SLAMMED the door shut!
The silent night was shattered by panic. With a door between them, both had their own wild imaginations.
Song Xueyan stood in place and suddenly chuckled. Rubbing his fingertips, he raised his right hand, stared at it in a daze for a long while, and whispered, “Goodnight… you silly kid.”
A long time later, another door-closing sound echoed through the room.
Yan Qi’s back leaned against the door. He opened it like a thief and peeked through the crack. The light in the room across from him was shining brightly, and the light leaked out from the crack in the door.
Closing the door again, Yan Qi leaned against it, the night’s experiences flipping through his mind over and over again.
He remembered the way Song Xueyan looked in his arms that waist, that back, wrapped within his arm.
Song Xueyan was used to being cold and detached; even his fear was restrained. He only knew how to tense his body and force his voice to be hoarse and soft as he buried his face in Yan Qi’s chest. The imperceptible trembling was like a hook, piercing his skin and flesh, like ants gnawing at his heart.
Yet, a person so restrained would rush over during a thunderstorm, jump up, and cling to him—as if protection was his first priority, before even having time to be afraid.
Sliding down the door, Yan Qi squatted on the floor, chin resting on his knees, finger poking his shoetip, his nerves a tangled mess.
Wang Dezhi had looked at Song Xueyan with lecherous, low-class filth. He hadn’t liked it; he had turned to block it, instinctively treating Song Xueyan as his most precious private possession, beyond anyone else’s reach.
But I am not the type of person who suffers from excessive possessiveness or protectiveness.
Yan Qi took out his phone and habitually opened his WeChat to “Suiqiong,” saying in a confused and wronged tone, “The first setback of my life has arrived.”
The phone vibrated. Song Xueyan came to his senses, looked down, and saw a string of WeChat messages from Yan Qi.
Text and voice messages, a screen full of bewilderment thicker than soybean paste.
When a person is lost, pouring one’s heart out to someone they trust is a disguised form of seeking help. Their defenses drop, and it becomes easy to be led by the thoughts of others. Even though he knew Yan Qi would never be easily swayed by others’ words, he still hesitated.
Since their reunion, every interaction had been prompted by him. He was like a greedy villain, always hovering near someone, unwilling to miss out on any benefit. He plotted their encounters, staying in the same room, living together… but he didn’t want to use such schemes at a time like this.
Song Xueyan dove under the covers and clicked on the voice message.
“Let’s call this setback ‘Little Y.’ I think he’s wicked. Ever since I met him, I’ve felt like I was cursed. I always find myself behaving against my own will acting on impulse, unable to control myself, my heart and mouth out of sync, unable to stop!”
Hearing this string of words, Song Xueyan curled the corners of his lips.
“I feel like my brain and behavior are being controlled by him! I don’t want to look at him, but when I come to my senses, my eyes are already glued to him. I want to look at him, but I’m too embarrassed, so I act all sneakily, I feel like I’m doing something weird! Don’t you think this is strange?”
“I actually asked a good friend of mine indirectly. He helped me analyze it, thinking it’s probably because Little Y is the most beautiful person in the whole place, so I’m just appreciating his beauty. At first, I agreed with this, but now I want to overturn it—even if I want to look at him and have close contact with him because of his beauty, I also want to hug him and kiss him! Am I a perverted sex maniac?!”
Want to hug him and kiss him… Song Xueyan held the phone, stunned for a moment, then suddenly curled himself up, rolling around in the blankets.
Yan Qi’s confession was like a waterfall, pouring out non-stop.
“Actually, I didn’t want to go to the banquet tonight, but I saw the name of someone who might have a grudge against him on the guest list let’s call him Old Wang. I wasn’t sure if they really had a grudge, and even if they did, and they ran into each other, nothing big would happen Little Y would at most just suffer a little grievance. But I went anyway. Honestly, my brain hadn’t even reacted yet, but my assistant was already preparing the car. I drove my supercar super fast just because I was afraid of missing it.”
“So, he came for me.” Song Xueyan buried his face in the quilt and laughed foolishly.
In a long drought, a sweet rain falls—how could one not be happy?
“As soon as I entered, I didn’t see Song Little Y, so I hurriedly checked the surveillance and found that they had both entered the same area one after the other. How could that be allowed? I ran at 50 times my normal speed, stopping just as I got close to fix my appearance. It turned out Old Wang was trying to get closer; he wanted to bully Little Y!”
Song Xueyan could easily reconstruct the image in his mind.
In his freshman year, Yan Qi had participated in a summer sports meet organized by the school, signing up for the 100-meter relay, the 5,000-meter long-distance run, and the men’s high jump. During the competition, many girls stood around the field, cheering and screaming. He had hidden behind the crowd, silent and quiet, using his height to carve the image of Yan Qi competing into his memory.
That day, the name “Yan Qi” had appeared 17 times on the school broadcast. The name was written all over a large confession wall. The girls would push and shove, gathering in groups to draw hearts on it, unafraid of letting the sun see their joy. Only he, taking advantage of the dim night, had picked up a pen that was almost out of ink and, like a thief, hid his own feelings there too.
The moon had mocked his cowardice, unaware that he, hiding in the crowd, was already using all his courage.
Song Xueyan clicked on the final voice message.
“I could smell the lecherousness on Old Wang from far away. That old guy definitely wanted to sleep with Song Little Y. An old cow eating tender grass it’s truly unbearable! If it were someone else, I would have spoken up to help, but I never would have said anything like ‘friends’ wives are not to be touched’… I think I’m really done for. My brother saw it too; he even called tonight to ask me! What’s worse, I have to film a kissing scene with him tomorrow. Help me!”
Mighty Boy: “This guy is too good at casting a spell on people. I think I need to use magic to fight magic. Do you think I should… hire a sorcerer?”
Song Xueyan laughed and replied, “You should be a firm materialist!”
Yan Qi replied in seconds: [I said that to him tonight too. By the way, he hugged me tonight, and I hugged him back. I even patted his back to coax him. My younger brother used to be afraid of thunder, and I would let him lie on me to sleep, wrapped in a quilt, but I had never patted his back. So in my heart, he is already a baby smaller and more fragile than my brother. (Fatigued emoji)]
Speak of the thunder, and the thunder comes.
Song Xueyan hid himself from head to toe in the quilt and said, “The thunder tonight is really loud.”
Mighty Boy: “I wonder if he can sleep. He’s so good at acting tough he’s probably curled up in a ball crying his eyes out. Sure enough, the shortcut to solving trouble is encountering another piece of trouble. I suddenly don’t want to know what’s wrong with me; I want to know if he’s fallen asleep.”
Song Xueyan, an expert at crying scenes, stared at the screen and instantly shed tears.
Yan Qi sent another WeChat: [I decided to test him.]
Song Xueyan roughly wiped his eyes and, realizing what was happening, quickly switched accounts. Sure enough, a few seconds later, he received a WeChat from Yan Qi. Before he could click on it, Yan Qi had already retracted it.
“What is this?” He guardedly didn’t click on it.
A minute later, Yan Qi sent another message and retracted it a few seconds later, repeating the process.
Song Xueyan understood. He poked into it and typed: “In the middle of the night, is a ghost playing sit-ups with your phone?”
“Ah!” Yan Qi rolled over, receiving a small scare. “You’re still awake?”
Nandu Cursed King, Song: “The thunder is too loud.”
“So you were scared!” Yan Qi whispered, exposing him, and rolled back. He rubbed his face in frustration. An image appeared in his mind: Song Xueyan curled up in his quilt, shivering all over, hugging his head in a breakdown, tears falling like pearls, eyes swollen into walnuts—looking incredibly pitiful.
By the time he cleared the image from his mind, he was already standing up.
“Damn it.” Yan Qi let out a sigh of relief and walked out the door with large strides.
Why did he stop replying.
Song Xueyan held his phone, switched accounts, and saw that Yan Qi hadn’t replied on either side. Fallen asleep? He felt a bit lost. But they had to film early tomorrow, so it was better if Yan Qi slept early.
He moved his phone under the quilt. He didn’t plan to turn off the lights tonight.
The thunder sounded from time to time, and the rain poured like a waterfall. The first cautious knock on the door was ignored by Song Xueyan; the second knock was three times heavier, and he woke up as if from a dream.
Stunned for a few seconds, Song Xueyan scrambled out of the quilt and got out of bed, unable to wait a moment longer. The muffled thunder had smashed his defenses to pieces; he didn’t want to pretend anymore he wanted to see Yan Qi.
As the door opened, the frustration and hesitation on Yan Qi’s face suddenly disappeared. He saw Song Xueyan’s reddened eyes.
He really was scared to tears…?!
His lips moved. “Do, do you have trouble sleeping in new beds?”
Song Xueyan shook his head. Yan Qi said, “I do.”
“Are you here to compete over this?” Song Xueyan suppressed the corners of his mouth. Seeing Yan Qi shake his head, he tilted his head in confusion. “Then you are here—”
“So, come sleep at my place.” Yan Qi saw Song Xueyan’s eyes widen, his lips slightly parted so shocked, as if he had heard something truly thunderous.
His embarrassment and annoyance appeared for only a moment before being suppressed. He deepened his tone to make himself look irresistible. “Go sleep at my place, hurry up.”
Song Xueyan gripped the doorknob tightly and only managed to say after a long while, “Are you sleepwalking? Shall I kick you and turn you into a vegetable?”
“Don’t be a paper tiger at a time like this.” Yan Qi brazenly pushed past the half-open door, trespassing into Song Xueyan’s domain. He reached out to grasp the side of Song Xueyan’s neck, his thumb sliding along the smooth jawline to lift Song Xueyan’s chin.
Their eyes met. His voice was low. “You look terrified. If I leave you alone, I imagine you won’t be able to sleep until dawn.”
Song Xueyan tilted his head back, his nostrils flared. “None of your business.”
“I have scenes with you tomorrow. If you can’t sleep, your condition will be poor tomorrow, which will affect me. Do you think it has nothing to do with me?” Yan Qi’s tone turned cold. “Because of you, I’m annoyed to death. Just looking at you right now makes me angry! If you’re smart, you’ll go grab your quilt and go don’t provoke me any further.”
Song Xueyan was also a mere mortal. The person he loved had sent an invitation to sleep in the same room how could he not be tempted? But if he went over now and leaned against Yan Qi, he’d probably be even less able to sleep. Moreover… the sudden thunder fueled his nightmares; he had his reservations.
“Thank you for your kindness, Yan Qi.” He pursed his lips. “But”
“I shouldn’t have wasted my breath on you!” Yan Qi interrupted Song Xueyan, suddenly stepped back, bent down, hugged Song Xueyan’s waist, and threw him over his shoulder. He didn’t care about the quilt, slammed the door shut, and walked away. Song Xueyan tried to wiggle and struggle, only to receive a smack on the back of his legs.
“Yan Qi!”
“Shut up!”
“You’re sick!”
“Then you’re the virus!”
“You little bastard, you’re looking for death!”
“You pretender, you’re looking for a beating!”
Yan Qi walked to the bed, bent down, and tossed Song Xueyan onto it. He flipped up the corner of the quilt, threw it over him, pulled, and rolled wrapping Song Xueyan into a silkworm cocoon.
Song Xueyan’s whole body was bound; a lime-like scent enveloped his face. First stunned, then anxiously, “Let me go!”
Yan Qi said nothing, took his sleep mask out of the drawer, and leaned over to put it on Song Xueyan. Song Xueyan opened his mouth to bite him, so he pinched the fair-skinned, flushed face and whispered, “I’m turning off the lights.”
“Don’t!” Song Xueyan quieted down and said in a low voice, “Don’t turn them off.”
Yan Qi didn’t agree. He let go of him, gently pressed down on his eyelids through the mask, and said, “I’m right here.”
The room plunged into darkness. Song Xueyan’s entire body tensed, gripping the corner of the quilt. After a few seconds of silence, a shuffling sound echoed in the room. “What are you doing?”
“Moving the sofa.” Yan Qi pushed the long sofa to the side of the bed closer to the window, leaning it against the edge. He lay down, turning his head to fumble for Song Xueyan’s outline in the dark. “I’m sleeping right next to you. If you call me, I’ll answer.”
Song Xueyan stiffened his neck, smelling him, and said hoarsely, “Yan Qi.”
“Yeah.” Yan Qi pulled the thin quilt to his chest to cover the sound of his restless heartbeat.
Song Xueyan’s eyes remained open, dampness soaking the eye mask. “Yan Qi.”
“Yeah.” Yan Qi turned his head, watched Song Xueyan for a long time, and said nonsensically, “You really are beautiful.”
Song Xueyan finally turned his head, as if he could see.