“I married Lin Shen simply because I like him. It has nothing to do with anything else.”
Not wanting to keep the elders waiting, Lin Shen ultimately decided not to change his clothes and went straight to Lu Jing’s dressing room.
At that moment, there weren’t many people near the dressing room. Xiao Xu accompanied Lin Shen, keeping an eye out. Seizing a moment when no one was paying attention, Lin Shen walked over and knocked on the door.
The door opened from inside. Lin Shen looked up to see Lu Jing.
Lu Jing stepped aside to make space. Lin Shen brushed past his shoulder and entered. As the door closed, Lu Jing whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Lu Jing had already said “Don’t be nervous” once in their WeChat chat earlier, and now he repeated “Don’t worry.” Lin Shen could roughly guess Lu Jing’s parents’ attitude toward him.
He pressed his lips together and gave a soft “Mm,” then followed Lu Jing inside.
“Mom, Dad, Lin Shen is here.”
A middle-aged couple sat on the sofa in the lounge. Lu Jing’s mother had delicate features and an elegant posture, her smooth long hair coiled at the back of her head. From the moment the door opened, her gaze had been fixed on Lin Shen, her entire demeanor appearing capable and shrewd.
Lu Jing’s father wore a crisp suit and glasses, his body relaxed against the sofa back, long legs crossed naturally. Though he also looked at Lin Shen after seeing him, compared to Lu Jing’s mother, his overall aura was much gentler.
Lin Shen walked up to them and addressed them the same way Lu Jing did: “Dad, Mom.”
Lin Shen’s parents had passed away early. This was the first time since the car accident that Lin Shen had called anyone “Mom and Dad” who wasn’t in a photograph.
For a moment, Lin Shen felt emotional, but the atmosphere didn’t allow him to dwell on it.
Lu Jing’s mother frankly and slowly looked him up and down before finally speaking, though not to Lin Shen.
She turned her head to look at Lu Jing. “Why is he here?”
Lin Shen hadn’t expected this situation. Lu Jing’s parents didn’t seem to want to see him.
Had their marriage not received the elders’ approval?
Lost in wild thoughts, Lu Jing took his hand and said, “I asked him to come.”
His right hand suddenly held, Lin Shen was startled and almost instinctively tried to pull back. But the large hand gripping his tightened its hold, firmly enclosing his hand in its palm.
Lu Jing’s mother frowned slightly, her sharp gaze falling on their joined hands as if trying to see through their palms.
After a long moment, her eyes finally lifted, returning to Lu Jing’s handsome face.
“Lu Jing, in these two years, you’ve done too many things your father and I can’t understand.”
Hearing this, Lu Jing’s father, sitting beside her, quickly straightened up and explained, “Not including me. It’s your mother who can’t accept it.”
Lu Jing’s mother shot him a glance, and he immediately shrank back against the sofa with a sheepish look.
Lu Jing said calmly, “My marriage was decided by Grandpa himself, and we informed you on the day we registered.”
Lu Jing’s mother looked extremely displeased. “What’s the use of notifying us only after you’ve already gotten the marriage certificate?”
“It was merely a notification from the start,” Lu Jing replied flatly. “Did you really think I would use my lifelong commitment as a bargaining chip for your business dealings?”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Lu Jing’s father straightened up and interjected, “How can you call it a bargaining chip? You’re our own son, not some commodity on the market. Your mother is only thinking about your lifelong happiness.”
He then turned to Lin Shen. “But I think Xiao Shen is quite a good kid. He’s so handsome, polite, and respectful toward elders. There’s nothing wrong with Lu Jing marrying Xiao Shen.”
Such praise left Lin Shen somewhat flustered. His fingers twitched slightly, only to be gripped even tighter by Lu Jing.
“Nothing wrong? Lin Shen is a man. No matter how good-looking he is, he can’t have children. All those good genes won’t be passed on to the next generation! Besides…”
“Mom,” Lu Jing interrupted her, “same-sex marriage has been legal for five years now. Moreover, even if I married a woman, the decision of whether to have children wouldn’t lie with me, nor with you. It would rest solely with that woman. Besides, I made my sexual orientation clear to you a long time ago.”
“I’m attracted to men, and that has never changed all these years.”
Although Lu Jing’s mother still maintained her basic composure, her rapid breathing made it clear she was nearly at her breaking point.
“Is that why you agreed to the agreement your grandfather proposed…”
“Mom!” Lu Jing cut her off again. “It’s not because of that.”
“I married Lin Shen simply because I love him. It has nothing to do with anything else.”
The warmth in Lin Shen’s hand seemed to grow even hotter.
Lu Jing’s mother grabbed her visibly expensive handbag from the table and stood up. When both were standing, Lu Jing towered over her, forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. Their eyes locked in a silent, tense standoff, neither willing to yield an inch.
After a long moment, Lu Jing’s mother spoke first. “I’ve seen the agreement. You still have half a year left to reconsider.”
With that, she strode toward the door. Lu Jing’s father hurriedly rose from the sofa and said to Lu Jing, “Don’t take your mother’s words too seriously. She’s just like this—she won’t actually force you to do anything.”
He then dashed after Lu Jing’s mother, and their figures soon disappeared from the lounge.
Only when everything had settled into silence did Lu Jing release Lin Shen’s hand.
Handing Lin Shen a glass of water, Lu Jing asked, “Were you scared?”
His voice had returned to its usual gentleness, a stark contrast to the authority he had displayed when facing his mother.
Lin Shen took the water and took a small sip. “It’s fine.”
“Although same-sex marriage was legalized five years ago, there are still some people who can’t accept this community, especially middle-aged and older individuals. To them, it seems like an absurd form of marriage, and the idea of continuing the family line seems deeply ingrained in their minds.”
Lin Shen nodded blankly.
The environment he had grown up in had always been free and open. His family had provided him with love and understanding above all else. Even when he came out to them in high school, they were only briefly surprised before choosing to respect and accept his sexual orientation.
Even his grandfather did not show any opposition, only advising him to keep his eyes open when choosing a partner.
“But my mother’s disagreement with this marriage isn’t just because of that reason, or rather—that’s only a very small part of it.”
“My marriage would be very helpful to her business dealings. That’s the most fundamental reason for her strong desire to control my marriage.”
Lin Shen listened in stunned silence as Lu Jing spoke in a low voice, never expecting that someone as dazzling as Lu Jing would have such troubles in places others couldn’t see.
He thought he should at least offer a few words of comfort now, but after turning the words over in his mind, he couldn’t bring himself to say them.
Someone as resolute and self-possessed as Lu Jing probably didn’t need such trivial words of consolation.
So Lin Shen put down his water glass, took a step forward, and gently embraced Lu Jing.
Lu Jing’s body stiffened for a moment before quickly relaxing. He reached out and returned the embrace.
After a long silence in the air, Lu Jing gently ruffled Lin Shen’s hair and asked softly, “Have you eaten?”
Lin Shen shook his head, his hair brushing against Lu Jing’s chin and cheek. “No.”
“Let’s eat here then. I’ll have Ren Chen prepare something.”
Lin Shen hesitated slightly. “What if someone finds out…”
“They won’t,” Lu Jing said. “Ren Chen will stand guard outside.”
Since Lu Jing had already said so, Lin Shen naturally wouldn’t refuse.
“Alright.”
Lu Jing actually wanted to say that it wouldn’t matter even if they were discovered—the idea of going public had been brewing in his mind for far too long.
But he clearly knew that going public would have a huge impact on Lin Shen’s career, which was why this idea still couldn’t be put into practice.
However, he was willing to wait—wait for Lin Shen to fully accept his feelings, wait for Lin Shen to be willing to tell everyone together that they loved each other deeply and had decided to spend their lives together, growing old side by side.
Lin Shen’s lunch break wasn’t very long. After eating, he had to return to the filming set to continue waiting for his scenes.
Under the cover of Ren Chen and Xiao Xu, Lin Shen walked out of Lu Jing’s restroom and slowly made his way toward the more crowded areas.
Xiao Xu followed beside him, his face full of astonishment. “Were those Film Emperor Lu’s parents just now? They looked so imposing, but there was a cold aura around them that made you afraid to even get close.”
Lin Shen didn’t respond to Xiao Xu’s words, only quickened his pace and urged, “Let’s walk faster. There are still some things to prepare for this afternoon’s scenes.”
Xiao Xu sighed about how fast long legs could walk while speeding up to catch up. “Director Jiang is still eating his boxed lunch while staring at the camera. There’s no need to rush so much.”
Everyone could see how much effort Director Jiang was putting into this production. For this drama, he worked from dawn to dusk, spending almost the entire day on set, wishing he could handle every detail personally. Even his meals were eaten while working during breaks in filming.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Shen treated this drama and the role he was playing with exceptional care.
Lin Shen’s afternoon scene required some atypical explosive energy. The makeup artist was touching up his makeup while he held the script, rehearsing the scene in his mind for what felt like the hundredth time.
As the climax of the plot approached, Xiao Xu suddenly appeared in his line of sight, slightly out of breath from running. “Bro, guess who’s coming to watch you film this afternoon?”
Lin Shen’s mind was still occupied with his lines, leaving no room to ponder Xiao Xu’s question. He simply responded along with the flow, “Who?”
Xiao Xu announced brightly, “Lu Jing, the film emperor!”
Lin Shen nearly dropped the script in his hand.
“You mean he’s starting to supervise the filming this afternoon?”
“Exactly! Director Jiang said he has a wealth of acting experience and can offer some guidance to everyone. I also heard he was originally supposed to be on set with Director Jiang this morning, but something came up and he couldn’t make it.”
Lin Shen tightened his grip on the script, instantly feeling the immense pressure.
Although Director Jiang had mentioned on Lu Jing’s first day on set that Lu Jing’s purpose for joining the crew was not only for a cameo role but also to learn and practice directing, Lin Shen hadn’t expected him to start supervising the filming so soon.
The scene scheduled for this afternoon had already made him feel somewhat embarrassed and challenged. Now, with Lu Jing suddenly coming to watch him perform, he felt the difficulty skyrocket.
At home, Lin Shen had grown accustomed to Lu Jing guiding his performances. Most of the time, his scene partner was Lu Jing himself, and occasionally, there were even some ambiguous moments that felt like “sneaking in personal touches.” But that was always at home—a private and reassuring place. Now, performing in front of so many people, with Lu Jing standing behind the camera, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Moreover, Lin Shen hadn’t seen Lu Jing for quite some time, so it was inevitable that he would feel stiff and awkward in his presence.
Just like the goodnight kiss before bed last night, Lin Shen had only felt the long-lost touch and warmth on his forehead, yet he had stiffened, unsure how to react. He could only stand there in a daze, waiting for Lu Jing’s next move.
His kiss on Lu Jing’s forehead had been as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, fleeting like a passing shadow, yet the curve of Lu Jing’s lips had still deepened, and his own heart had raced uncontrollably.
Whenever Lu Jing was around, an invisible force seemed to tug at him, influencing him, making his mind wander and leaving him at a loss.
At the camera station, Director Jiang had already finished his lunch, and Lu Jing was striding over. The crew was making final preparations. Lin Shen was about to perform the climax of his character’s transformation right under Lu Jing’s watchful eye.
A dissolute image of someone forced by life to submit to reality, engaging in deeds that ordinary people couldn’t understand or even scorned, would be portrayed by Lin Shen under Lu Jing’s witness.