Su Leyan’s dream shattered before it had even begun. Pei Youting had told him it was over.
Su Leyan held a cup of hot coffee in his hands. The steam clouded his face, making his eyes appear damp. With a choked voice, he asked Pei Youting, “Is it because of Jiang Zui?”
He knew that Pei Youting used to love seeing him look so pitiful, but this time, Pei Youting did not answer. He merely smoked one cigarette after another in silence. However, Su Leyan knew the answer from that silence. He gave a bitter smile and said, “I understand.”
Pei Youting crushed his cigarette, rose from his seat, and tore off a check, tossing it to him. “You can fill in any amount you want.”
With that, he prepared to leave.
Su Leyan hurriedly stood up to grab his sleeve, but in his panic, he knocked over the coffee on the table. The dark brown liquid dripped off the edge. With reddened eyes, he pleaded, “I don’t want your money.”
Pei Youting frowned and pulled his sleeve away from Su Leyan’s fingertips. “Fill it out or don’t. It makes no difference to me.”
He left without a shred of mercy. Suddenly, Su Leyan shouted after him, regardless of who was watching, “What do I lack compared to Jiang Zui?”
“I am obedient, I am sensible. Aren’t those the things you like about me? Haven’t I done well? Anything he cannot do, I can do better!” he cried out.
Pei Youting finally looked back, his gaze cold. “You have overstepped.”
He picked up the coat he had left on the chair, draped it over his arm, and strode out of the café. The wind chime at the door jingled, sounding cruelly cheerful.
Su Leyan sat back down, devastated, covering his face with his hands.
Pei Youting should never have bumped into Jiang Zui.
Su Leyan had finished his scenes early that day and gone back to rest ahead of schedule. He had sent Pei Youting a message, but the other man never saw it. As a result, the moment Pei Youting walked onto the set, he saw Jiang Zui.
From that moment on, things spiraled out of control.
Pei Youting felt incredibly frustrated. He had not been interested in anyone lately. He had almost thought about seeing a urologist, but the moment he saw Jiang Zui, his dormant desires erupted like a traveler dying of thirst in the desert finally seeing sweet water.
It was just a pity that Jiang Zui did not know what was good for him.
Pei Youting was used to being arrogant. For years, everyone around him had treated him like a deity. To him, the fact that things had ended so poorly with Jiang Zui, only for him to find himself unable to let go and wanting to return to his past love, was already a humiliating blow.
Moreover, the other party was not even buying it.
Su Leyan returned to the set with eyes red and swollen from crying. With Pei Youting no longer by his side, he dropped the innocent flower facade. When he saw Jiang Zui, he shot him a vicious glare.
Jiang Zui found his behavior baffling and ignored him, focusing on removing his makeup. Who would have thought that Su Leyan would only grow bolder, rushing forward to sweep the cosmetics off Jiang Zui’s table? “You must be very smug right now, aren’t you?”
“Are you having a breakdown?”
“You did this on purpose, did you not? By seducing Pei Youting away, you think you can climb back to the top?” Su Leyan panted, his chest heaving. If his assistant had not held him back, he likely would have lunged at Jiang Zui to start a physical fight. “I am telling you! If I cannot have him, do not think you will either!”
Jiang Zui was so amused by this bizarre declaration of war that he let out a laugh. He had no desire to have any further entanglements with Pei Youting, but seeing Su Leyan’s attitude, he could not help but want to spite him. “Oh? And what do you intend to do about it?”
“Instead of wasting time having a breakdown in front of me, you should be figuring out how to see that guy again,” he said with a cold laugh. “In the time you have spent here, he has probably already forgotten you and is busy rolling in the sheets with someone else.”
Su Leyan looked as if he were about to faint from rage. Jiang Zui paid him no mind and pushed past him to leave. Xiao Lin followed behind him, saying indignantly, “Brother, do not take his words to heart.”
“Of course,” Jiang Zui replied with a faint smile. “Why would I bother with him?”
“Life and Death Appraisal is almost finished filming. It is hard to say if we will ever see each other again,” Jiang Zui said softly.
Su Leyan was pathetic, but so was he. Looking at Su Leyan today was like looking at his own furious self from the past. They were both being played by Pei Youting, who was both heartless and promiscuous.
Xiao Lin looked at him with concern. “Brother, are you in a bad mood?”
Jiang Zui was looking down, typing on his phone without replying. Xiao Lin craned her neck to peek and saw the contact name was “Director Xu.” She teased with a smile, “Director Xu invited you to dinner again?”
Jiang Zui gave a hum of acknowledgement, his fingers tapping on the screen to compose a short reply.
JZ: Sorry, Xizhe-ge. I do not have much of an appetite today. I think I will head back to the hotel.
Xu Xizhe replied quickly: Understood. Get some rest.
Jiang Zui let out a sigh he did not know he was holding. He pocketed his phone and stared at his own feet while walking. Seeing him like this, the smile on Xiao Lin’s face faded. “Brother, you did not have dinner. Are you sure you do not want to go?”
Jiang Zui said he was fine.
Xiao Lin fell silent. They say those involved are confused while bystanders see clearly. Before Pei Youting showed up, Jiang Zui and Xu Xizhe got along quite well. They would walk the streets and explore shops together, and they seemed happy.
She had thought that after spending so much time together, they would have developed feelings. But sometimes, there was an inexplicable feeling. When Jiang Zui looked at Xu Xizhe, it seemed something was missing. She had not realized it at first.
But when she saw Jiang Zui look at Pei Youting, she understood. What was missing was the intense, burning love. Even though Jiang Zui cursed Pei Youting, fought with him, and claimed to hate him, when Jiang Zui looked at that man, the mutual attraction between them could not be hidden.
Compared to Pei Youting, Jiang Zui’s feelings for Xu Xizhe were far too lukewarm.
From that day on, Jiang Zui stopped accepting Xu Xizhe’s invitations.
The filming of Life and Death Appraisal ended as scheduled, but Jiang Zui did not even attend the wrap party. For a long time afterward, Xu Xizhe and Jiang Zui did not meet.
After the film was released in North America, the box office was impressive, and as expected, Life and Death Appraisal was nominated for awards.
Jiang Zui was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Even Lin Yan at the hospital heard the news. Because of this nomination, her attitude toward Jiang Zui improved. Good news came one after another, yet for some reason, Jiang Zui could never lift his spirits, appearing constantly lethargic.
When he went out for a drink with a friend, Zhang Xiaoyue looked at him with keen eyes and said, “You are still thinking about him, aren’t you?”
Jiang Zui remained silent.
Zhang Xiaoyue already knew what had happened between him and Pei Youting. He sneered, “Does he not just want to eat his own grass again? Look at how soul-stricken you are.” He paused and added, “You are not still holding out hope for him, are you? That would be too pathetic.”
“People like Pei Youting; the further away you stay from him, the better.”
Jiang Zui lowered his eyes, watching the layers of color in his drink, the dry ice rising in a pale mist. He stayed quiet for a long time before saying, “I need time.”
Life and Death Appraisal received great feedback overseas, and the investors held a celebration banquet. An invitation was delivered to Jiang Zui, and after a moment of hesitation, he went.
There were many people, and he felt uncomfortable, so he quietly drank in a corner. Given his current fame, there were people who came up to talk or take photos, and he handled them one by one. Just as he was about to catch his breath and move, a familiar voice reached his ears: “Jiang Zui.”
Jiang Zui turned his head and vaguely recognized Xu Xizhe.
Xu Xizhe approached him, reeking of alcohol. Jiang Zui frowned at the scent and wanted to take a step back, but this small movement seemed to shatter the balance. Xu Xizhe stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. “Are you going to hide from me again?”
His tone was aggressive, and his grip was forceful. Jiang Zui struggled to break free. “You are drunk, Director Xu.”
“I am not!” Xu Xizhe moved closer, more agitated, grabbing Jiang Zui’s shoulders. His fingertips dug in, causing Jiang Zui some pain. “You are the one hiding from me! All this time, you have been hiding from me!”
“I do not understand. Were we not good before? Why does everything change as soon as you see Pei Youting?!”
“Director Xu, you are really drunk. Can I please have some space? I think this has nothing to do with him.”
“I have never been more sober than I am right now!” Xu Xizhe panted, shaking him repeatedly. “Why do you always reject me, over and over again?”
“Do you think I cannot tell? As soon as you see him, your eyes are no longer on me. You realized this too, did you not? That is why you have been rejecting me and treating me with such coldness. You wanted to force me to give up?”
It was as if something had been laid bare in the light of day. With just a few sentences, all the stubbornness and hardness he had projected became nothing more than a cover-up. In that instant, even Jiang Zui had a moment of epiphany. So that was it.
He stood frozen, but Xu Xizhe interpreted his silence as an admission. When people are drunk, they reveal their hidden sides. While sober, those grievances and impatience are suppressed by reason, but now, intoxicated, he only felt exhausted by the wait.
“Am I not as good as him?” Xu Xizhe said with a trembling voice. “You know it, do you not? He has never been a good person.” He applied more pressure with his hands, his body closing in on Jiang Zui.
Jiang Zui realized what he was about to do and subconsciously pushed him away. However, he did not pull his strength back in time, and with Xu Xizhe already drunk and unsteady on his feet, he stumbled toward the champagne tower.
Crash.
It was a disastrous moment. The force of the push sent Xu Xizhe collapsing to the floor. The glasses toppled in every direction, alcohol splattered, and broken glass shards covered the ground. In that instant, Jiang Zui became the focus of everyone’s attention. He stood there, dazed and bewildered.
Someone stared at him for a long time before suddenly exclaiming, “Yu Song, is that not the brat who stole your role before?”
Yu Song? Who was Yu Song? Jiang Zui felt like an old, rusted machine, turning blankly toward the person who had spoken. He saw a man standing beside the speaker, a man whose face looked familiar, one he felt he had seen on screen many times.
That man stared at him with ill intent for a long time, then sneered, gritting his teeth as he spoke coldly:
“Fuck, it really is that male prostitute.”