After the first take, He Zheng didn't say whether or not he would reshoot the scene.
Xia Xingcheng lowered his head, sitting in a corner and bending over at the waist with a large towel draped over his shoulders. In fact, the temperature in the studio was high and he was sweating all over, so he didn't actually need it, but he needed something to wrap himself in so he could bear the surroundings' emptiness.
He looked at Yang Youming out of the corner of his eye and saw that the man was also sitting calmly, not speaking a word, a serene expression on his face without the tiniest bit of emotion showing through.
If you left the body's reaction alone, it would slowly calm down, leaving only a certain vacancy in your heart. Yet no matter how long he sat there and waited, he feared that there was nothing he could do to return to his former self.
He Zheng was adjusting the lighting and camera positions for a few more shots.
The staff who had left the set came back, and the makeup artists began touching up Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming's makeup. The staff members who were in charge of the props carried a board over to close off the fourth side of the cubicle, and a camera was raised on top suspended, shooting down at the inside of the cubicle.
When Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming were sealed off alone in such a closed space, that sense of realness became even more intense.
It was obvious that Xia Xingcheng had not yet come out of the previous scene's emotions. Before the shot officially began, his eyes were already fixed on Yang Youming's lips, faintly looking forward to the sensation of being kissed once more.
Yang Youming seemingly appeased his mood by raising a hand to his neck, then asked He Zheng in a loud voice, "Do you need the entire scene?"
He Zheng said, "No, I just need some filler shots. The way Xingcheng raised his head a moment ago was really good, just do the same while looking straight at the camera."
Xia Xingcheng gave a small nod. After a while, realizing that He Zheng could only see him from the monitor, Xia Xingcheng said, "Okay." When he spoke, he realized that his throat had become unbearably hoarse.
Yang Youming looked into his eyes and suddenly said, "Wait a moment." He pushed open the cubicle door and went out, then returned with a bottle of water, unscrewing the bottle cap and handing it to Xia Xingcheng.
Xia Xingcheng drank a big mouthful and gave the bottle back to Yang Youming, whispering, "Thank you."
Filming officially commenced, and once Yang Youming kissed his neck, he tilted his head up and directed his line of sight straight at the camera overhead. His cheeks were hot, his lips slightly opened, exhaling a hot breath of air.
For a long period of time after that, Xia Xingcheng didn't dare to look at the image of himself on camera, so much so that he didn't even watch the movie. It wasn't until much later on in the future, when he and Yang Youming sat next to each other and watched the movie together, did he know that when he looked up at the camera above him, his eyes were brimming with a love and desire so intense that had been impossible for him to carry it out in his capacity as an actor at that time.
•••
On the day Mama Fang recovered and was discharged from the hospital, Yu Haiyang said that he would cook a meal for Fang Jianyuan and his mother.
In fact, there was a lot of food that Mama Fang still had to avoid eating, and she was only allowed to eat light food. Moreover, sitting in the kitchen after a while made her feel a bit unwell, so she went upstairs first and told Fang Jianyuan to call her down when it was time to eat.
Yu Haiyang said, "You don't need to trouble yourself to come down again, I'll have Xiao Yuan send it up to you later so you can eat in your room."
Mama Fang hurriedly said, "Do I have the nerve? It's been hard on you, I'll be sure to come down to eat together later."
Yu Haiyang smiled. "I've inconvenienced the both of you so many times and even mooched off several meals. It wouldn't make sense for you to still be so polite with me, jie."
Smiling, Mama Fang thus said, "Okay, I won't be polite with you. Xiao Yu, make sure you don't make too much. I'm worried that you and Xiao Yuan won't be able to finish it all."
Yu Haiyang said, "Xiao Yuan has a growing body and can finish everything."
Fang Jianyuan couldn't help stealing a glance at him, then seeing his mother standing up and walking outside, he hurriedly chased after her.
After helping his mother up the stairs, Fang Jianyuan's footsteps were light and quick as he ran down to the first floor and returned to the kitchen.
Yu Haiyang poured chopped white radish into a steaming pot for a soup specially made for Mama Fang, then gently stirred the vegetables in the pot with a ladle.
Fang Jianyuan walked over to him and hugged his waist from behind, his head resting on Yu Haiyang's back.
Turning the stove's heat a little higher, Yu Haiyang wiped his hands on his apron and turned around, lifting Fang Jianyuan up and sitting him down on the dining table in the middle of the room, saying, "Dinner will be ready in a minute."
With that, Yu Haiyang turned back to face the stove.
Fang Jianyuan couldn't resist hooking the man's leg with his foot, and when Yu Haiyang turned his head, he raised his head and pretended to look at the ceiling, only to find that the ceiling near the stove had been blackened by soot.
Smiling, Yu Haiyang spread out his arms and embraced Fang Jianyuan, gave him a tender kiss on the lips, then propped up his hands on both sides of his body, eyeing Fang Jianyuan as he said, "If you won't let me cook, what will your mom eat later?"
Fang Jianyuan said, "My mom can't cook at all these days. What should I do?"
When Yu Haiyang smiled, the corners of his eyes slightly bent down. He said, "I'll cook for you everyday, all right? Everyday, when I get back from work, I'll run back and cook for you first thing. Just tell me what you want to eat the night before."
Holding the fingers of his left hand in his right hand, Fang Jianyun lowered his head and said, "You have so many social outings."
Hearing the words, Yu Haiyang feigned a sigh, distressed. "That's right," then further said, "but nothing is as important as my baby. What if he gets hungry?"
Fang Jianyuan couldn't help but smile and laugh.
Yu Haiyang chuckled and kissed the corner of his mouth, "All right. Uncle will go and cook for you."
Fang Jianyuan watched his busy back at the stove and said, "Who's the uncle? You're only fourteen years older than me."
Yu Haiyang watched the soup in the pot boil and turned down the gas, pouring vegetable oil into a frying pan. At the same time, he answered, "I call your mom 'jie', but how come you don't call me uncle?"
Fang Jianyuan let out a laugh. "In your dreams! Stop making fun of me!"