Xia Xingcheng slept very deeply, and it felt like he didn't even have time to dream when he was woken up by Huang Jixin the next morning.
He opened his eyes and once he got used to the lights in the room, he asked Huang Jixin in a groggy voice, "Why are you here?"
Huang Jixin replied, "I got the keycard from Xiao Tang. I was scared that maybe you'd died."
Xia Xingcheng let out a breath that carried the smell of alcohol. Sitting up, he found that he was still in his dress shirt and suit trousers, only shedding off his suit jacket before lying down to sleep the previous night.
Huang Jixin asked him, "What did Yang Youming say to you last night?"
Xia Xingcheng buried his face in his hands, appearing very pained. "I don't remember." After a while, he spoke once more, "I only remember giving him a toast."
Leaning against the wall, Huang Jixing took out a cigarette. "I don't know what he said, but I saw that your previous matter was settled."
Lifting up the quilt and getting out of bed, Xia Xingcheng did not respond. He took off his wrinkled shirt and trousers and threw them on the floor as he walked towards the bathroom.
He turned on the shower head and stepped into the bathtub, and before the water heated up completely, he got under the stream of water, raising a hand to forcefully wipe at his face, then held his other hand against the wall as he panted slightly.
In fact, he still remembered what Yang Youming had said to him last night, and he remembered every word very clearly, including his harsh "Sober up."
Hot water poured into his nose and ears, and he coughed painfully, leaning over the edge of the bathtub. He heard Huang Jixin outside asking him what was wrong, but he didn't have the strength to answer.
A hangover is very unpleasant, and this time it was especially painful.
•••
Afterwards, that one scene was reshot once more according to He Zheng's requirements, but which scene would He Zheng select in the end—at present, Xia Xingcheng didn't know.
Fang Jianyuan had quarreled with Yu Haiyang and was even unwilling to talk to him whenever they bumped into each other.
At this time, Fang Jianyuan's middle school classmates had organized a gathering and urged him to hang out with them. That morning, he went out and left the family's grocery store to Mama Fang to tend to.
When Fang Jianyuan came back from his outing that afternoon, he ran into Yu Haiyang on the stairs and was half coaxed and half forced into the man's bed. This scene was the very first scene they shot when they had first joined the crew.
After that moment, the tension in Fang Jianyuan and Yu Haiyang's relationship had actually eased instead. More and more things began to take root and sprout out in Fang Jianyuan's heart that would shortly mature with a flourish.
During this period, something happened that made Fang Jianyuan wholly accept Yu Haiyang from the bottom of his heart.
When Yu Haiyang returned that day, Fang Jianyuan had already eaten dinner and was reading in his own room.
He sat in front of his desk with the window opened wide, and behind him stood the floor fan that Yu Haiyang had fixed up for him, blasting winds towards him.
Fang Jianyuan had one foot on the chair, then changed his posture after a while once it got uncomfortable so that both his feet were now on the chair.
Downstairs, there was the soft sound of a door closing.
Fang Jianyuan immediately straightened his back, unconsciously trying to catch any sound of movements that came from the floor below.
However, he did not hear Yu Haiyang's footsteps coming up until someone outside very gently knocked on his door twice.
Fang Jianyuan jumped down from the chair, and when he moved to wear his slippers, he immediately softened his movements, trying to make the smallest amount of sound possible as he went to open the door.
He knew that Yu Haiyang wouldn't want to alert his mother, so he also tried to be as quiet as he could. As expected, when he opened the door, he saw Yu Haiyang standing in the doorway.
Yu Haiyang carried a plastic bag in one hand and held it up for him, pressing an index finger against his lips, signaling for Fang Jianyuan to keep quiet.
Fang Jianyuan let him in, reached out and closed the door, then took the proffered bag from Yu Haiyang's hand. Opening it, he found that it was a bag of barbecued food, and among them were Fang Yanyuan's favourite—pork ribs and chicken wings.
While Fang Jianyuan was sitting at his desk eating the barbecued food, Yu Haiyang sat by his bed, smoking languidly.
Fang Jianyuan secretly watched Yu Haiyang and asked him, "Have you been drinking?"
Yu Haiyang smiled and said, "I drank a little. It's not much."
Fang Jianyuan sat cross-legged on the chair, lowering his head to eat, and after a while, said, "Don't smoke on my bed, take care to not burn my sheets." The truth was, he didn't really mind—all he wanted was to talk to Yu Haiyang.
Hearing this, Yu Haiyang said, "Sorry." then proceeded to immediately put out his cigarette, placing the cigarette butt on the bedside table and beckoning to Fang Jianyuan. "Xiao Yuan, come here."
Fang Jianyuan put down the bamboo skewer in his hand, licked his lips, and said, "What are you doing?" He stood up and walked over to Yu Haiyang's side.
As he neared the bed, Yu Haiyang grabbed his hand, then pulled him sideways and sat him down on top of his legs. Both his arms were tightly clasped around Fang Jianyuan's waist, and he pressed his head to Fang Jianyuan's chest.
Yu Haiyang had left in the morning and spent a busy day outside, and his clothes and hair carried the smell of sweat and cigarette smoke.
That night, Fang Jianyuan had turned on the fan after taking a bath, so his whole body was fresh and cool and smelled of the fragrant shower gel.
And yet when Yu Haiyang clung to him this way, he did not feel disgusted at all, and after a while, he reached out and hugged Yu Haiyang's head that was stuck to his chest.
Yu Haiyang gently pinched Fang Jianyuan's waist.
Somewhat startled, Fang Jianyuan was stumped for words, and he felt the hand push aside the hem of his sleeveless top and reach in, travelling across his skin.
The camera that was at a distance from his loose tank top could still capture the extent of Yu Haiyang's hand movements as it went up Fang Jianyuan's lower back, the fingers caressing the bumps of his ribcage. A portion of the tank top's hem was lifted, and under the warm yellow lighting, his fair skin was stained with a soft colouring.
Then, the hand shifted to Fang Jianyuan's back.
Goosebumps rose on Fang Jianyuan's body from head to toe, and his toes stretched taut. He wasn't even aware that his back was this sensitive, and when Yu Haiyang lightly stroked him with his palm, a burst of quivering sensations suddenly ran up his spine, and his whole body felt ticklish.
He wanted to struggle, but Yu Haiyang's arms were firmly wrapped around his waist. Right then, the man raised his head and kissed Fang Jianyuan's lower jaw, and then his neck.
"No," Fang Jianyuan whispered, trying to push Yu Haiyang away.
Yu Haiyang therefore stopped, lowering his voice to console him. "Fine, I'll just hug you."
Fang Jianyuan stopped struggling, his face reddening as he panted.
Yu Haiyang sat with Fang Jianyuan in his arms for a while, touching his nape and kissing his forehead. He let Fang Jianyuan go and stood up. "I'm going up. Make sure you rest early."
Fang Jianyuan followed after him and stood up.
Yu Haiyang smiled at him and walked over to the door.
That night, Fang Jianyuan lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep. It was as if he could still feel Yu Haiyang's touch on his back, which had continued to bring about a delicate shudder.
An unknown length of time later, Fang Jianyuan faintly heard Mama Fang yelling for him.
At first he thought it was an illusion. He sat up on the bed and listened carefully for a while. Finding that his mother was really calling out to him next door, he promptly climbed out of bed.