Shen Jingwei appeared for his private lesson with Teacher Zhou the next day, but unfortunately, he was unable to do much.
His palms were covered in blisters so painful that holding anything resulted in excruciating pain. Another sword-fighting lesson was out of question.
In the end, Teacher Zhou dismissed him with a sympathetic, "I hope you use the three days off well to recover. Otherwise, we will bandage your hands for the next time."
".... Yes, Teacher Zhou. Thank you, Teacher Zhou."
Shen Jingwei sneaked a glance inside the room and did not see Yan Renzhong inside.
Teacher Zhou caught his eyes and said, "Mr. Yan has other activities planned for today. You two will meet again in four days."
"Oh."
"And this."
Teacher Zhou handed Shen Jingwei the pair of training shoes he borrowed from Yan Renzhong the previous day.
"Mr. Yan said there's no need to return these training shoes to him. Consider it a gift from a co-star."
"..."
Great.
Now he had to prepare something else to repay this gift. Clearly, a single curry bun did not make an adequate return gift.
Although Shen Jingwei was supposed to rest his tired bones, Zhu Dongyi refused to let him sleep for three entire days.
No, no.
Manager Zhu, this overzealous manager, had already replaced all his sword training hours with a flurry of activities, mostly related to the drama he was filming.
Among which, costume fitting for the upcoming shooting period.
When Shen Jingwei arrived at the fitting room, he found Lang Yuxuan inside. Standing on a dressing stool, he was the focus of the costume designers' attention. A silky, light purple robe with the finest texture draped his slender form, cinched at the waist by a thick cloth belt that emphasized his graceful physique.
"Senior Shen," the younger man greeted Shen Jingwei with a smile.
Shen Jingwei forced himself to return the smile.
"Junior Lang."
The words sounded unnatural to him. Apparently, Lang Yuxuan too found the address rather awkward. Nevertheless, he chose to ignore it.
"Senior Shen, what happened with your hands?"
Shen Jingwei lifted his bandaged hands.
"This? Oh, just some blisters from sword practice."
Lang Yuxuan narrowed his eyes at Shen Jingwei's hands.
"It looks painful," he commented, but his lips were curved into a slight smile, almost as if he enjoyed the fact that Shen Jingwei hurt himself during sword practice.
"Eh, it's fine."
Oh, it was more than painful.
It felt like having his hands run over by carriage wheels five times at the very least. But he was not going to say that to Lang Yuxuan.
"I heard that Senior Shen goes to the same martial arts school as my Senior Yan."
Your Senior Yan?
Shen Jingwei barely restrained himself from sneering in response.
"Correct," he confirmed.
"I was there yesterday," Lang Yuxuan said.
"Oh?"
"I asked him to kiss me."
"..."
Lang Yuxuan stared at Shen Jingwei without blinking, almost as if trying to register the tiniest reaction from the other man.
But Shen Jingwei gave nothing away.
"I see," was all he had to say.
He tried to sound nonchalant, but he was in actuality desperate to make Lang Yuxuan stop talking.
The kiss Lang Yuxuan gave Yan Renzhong that night had inflicted a wound on Shen Jingwei's heart, deep and raw.
The prospect of witnessing a genuine lip-to-lip encounter between Yan Renzhong and Lang Yuxuan was a torment he couldn't stomach.
The sheer knowledge was agony enough; he didn't need to witness it to believe it.
"Senior Shen doesn't need to worry," Lang Yuxuan smiled. "Senior Yan did not agree to kiss me."
"... Oh."
Shen Jingwei looked away, his eyes betraying a fleeting relief that hastily concealed a more profound sentiment buried deep within.
A soft chuckle escaped Lang Yuxuan.
"Senior Yan is such a gentleman. He said he didn't want to take advantage of me. Isn't he just amazing?"
Meanwhile, Shen Jingwei finally regained his composure.
"Yes," he agreed. "A true exemplar of a seasoned actor indeed."
"I plan to start dating him in the near future. Senior Shen, do you think that we make a great match?"
Shen Jingwei redirected his gaze back to Lang Yuxuan.
"Shouldn't you ask Yan Renzhong this question?"
"I want to know Senior Shen's opinion," Lang Yuxuan said. "After all, Senior Shen, you dated Senior Yan in the past. You must be aware of his likes and dislikes."
Shen Jingwei chuckled before he shot Yan Renzhong's mentee a ridiculing sneer.
"Apologies, I cannot remember details of all my past relationships. Best direct your questions to Yan Renzhong directly. You shall obtain the factual details and not unsubstantiated claims."
"Oh."
Lang Yuxuan nodded slowly in apprehension.
"I understand, Senior Shen."
After a while, Lang Yuxuan was allowed to leave.
He was already at the door before he turned around and called out for Shen Jingwei.
"Senior Shen, can I ask you one more question?"
Shen Jingwei, who just stepped onto the dressing stool, raised both hands so that the costume designers could start working on him.
"Sure," he replied.
With a smooth, satiny voice, Lang Yuxuan asked, "Senior Shen, you don't mind at all if Senior Yan starts dating me, do you?"
-------------
Author's note :
Mini theater!
Author : Little Lang is launching a direct attack at Little Shen! What is Little Shen going to do???
Little Shen : *vomits blood due to unvented resentment*