In the end, Shen Qi didnât manage to stay the night⊠There were kisses, hugs, touches⊠After mutual relief, Jiang Changshen sent him home.
After all, it was only the first day of their relationship. It wasnât good to get physical immediately. It was best to be friendly at the start to judge compatibility and how the relationship grew.
Whatâs more, the happiness value had risen by five points after their physical activities, reaching fifty-nine points. Just a little more and heâd reach the passing line.
The next day, he woke up and packed his bags. His agentâs assistant brought him on a plane to head to the filming area. And as if by great coincidence, they ran into the Film Emperor Jiang on the same flight.
The two agents exchanged a helpless look. The seats had been changed so that actors could sit together.
This was no coincidence, of course. The ticket had been modified last night when Jiang Changshen was on his way home to drop off Shen Qi.
Because it was a short trip, the first-class area wasnât separated into special compartments like long flights. There were single and double seats, with only an armrest that could serve as a small table between the two.
It wasnât a holiday period or a weekend, so the first-class area was not full. There were three seats in one row. They were the only ones in the row where Jiang Changshen and his manager, Song Yan, sat. When Shen Qi came over, it felt like he and Jiang Changshen were the only ones there, everything else fading away.
When Shen Qi sat down, he grabbed Jiang Changshenâs hand. His pretty eyes fluttered, incapable of containing his excitement.
Jiang Changshenâs hands were long, healthy and strong. Unlike Shen Qi, whose hands were pale and delicate because of his upbringing. He looked like he had never done any hard work.
Shen Qi played with Jiang Changshenâs hand as if he had found a new toy. He picked it up and smelled it. Since Jiang Changshen had recently smoked, it had a faint scent of cigarette.
It was like a cat holding its masterâs hand.
This thought came to Jiang Changshen suddenly as he watched. In a moment of softness, he stroked the kittenâs cheek with a hint of amusement.
Only then did Shen Qi realize how his actions would appear. He let go with a cough, his expression becoming serious.
âDid Brother Jiang sleep well last night?â
Jiang Changshen rolled his eyes as if it meant nothing. âFine, and you?â
Shen Qiâs ears flushed red. He remembered his charming dream and his eyes sparkled. âI-I slept okay tooâŠâ
Jiang Changshen gave a light chuckle: âHeh.â
How could he misunderstand when the teenagerâs expression was so obvious? But in the end, while heâd guessed the truth, he wasnât about to be irritating about it, so he changed the subject.
âHave you read the script carefully?â
Shen Qi was slightly relieved and nodded. âI read it all. Yang Yuan helped me research the details, and I watched past films and TV shows about it.â
The two of them discussed how theyâd act in various scenes. It was mostly Shen Qi talking while Jiang Changshen listened, giving him advice from time to time. If a flight attendant were to pass by, their interaction wouldnât come off oddly. At most one would lament that the two were close.
The journey took less than two hours and the landing was quick.
Once they were off the plane, Shen Qi planned to leave separately. After âCountryside Lifeâ and âEating Everything under the Heavensâ had aired, heâd gained a lot of popularity. Todayâs so-called âfresh meatâ idols always attracted a small group of fans with sniper eyes whoâd figure out what flight their idol was on and be there when he arrived.
Shen Qi wasnât a big fan of that habit, though. After all, it was mostly underage students who liked him, spending their parentsâ money and sometimes even running around during school hours to do this kind of thing.
It was just baffling to Shen Qi. He didnât lack money or power, and entering the entertainment industry was just a personal hobby, so he didnât need his fans to back him up in this way.
But he had no control over the actions of others. Even though he had often advised against such behaviour online, some girls still followed him.
Moreover, when faced with this kind of fans, it didnât matter that it was unadvisable for them to go after him. If something were to happen, it would still be Shen Qi being blamed.
For almost 20 years, Jiang Changshenâs once young fans had been mature. They wouldnât deliberately track the flight to chase after him. It was much easier for him.
So in order to prevent Jiang Changshen being besieged like him, Shen Qi was going to walk separately. Anyway, he was young, so he could take being squeezed and tugged in all directions.
But how could he have guessed that Jiang Changshen would stay close? The man waved at Manager Song Yan. âYou have Xiao Li and Xiao Qiâs assistant pick up the luggage. Weâll go out together later, and youâll contact the crew to have the car drive over here.â
Song Yan and Yang Yuan looked at each other. They could only do as they were told and felt a bit of empathy for one another. They were in the same situation: an artist was a boss, so they could only obey orders. An artist was a young master no one could afford to offend. Yet despite being agents, how could the two of them be so miserable?
âThanks Brother Jiang!â Shen Qi was so touched that if it werenât for the crowds, he would have hugged Jiang Changshen. All he could do was take hold the manâs hand and hide the act behind the folds of their clothes.
Jiang Changshen grabbed the hand and shifted the hold so their fingers were intertwined. He held it tightly before releasing it. Then, he whispered in Shen Qiâs ear:
âHow are you going to thank me?â
Shen Qi looked down and licked his lips, his gaze wry and ambiguous.
Jiang Changshen picked up his hat and placed it on his head. He waited.
The appearance of Film Emperor Jiang Changshen and popular idol Shen Qi at the airport together, as well as the two brotherâs positive interactions immediately garnered a lot of attention.
Fans and netizens who were aware of Shen Qiâs life path expressed their envy and admiration. They were impressed with how far Shen Qi had come in pursuit of stardom. This attention also gave a publicity boost to their upcoming collaboration in a new drama. The director-producer was happy to see it happen and even gave a push to the media attention towards those two.
Of course, there are also some cynical black powder fans, almost all of them mocking Shen Qi, thinking that he was going against his persona and trying to leech popularity from others.
However, Shen Qiâs fanboyish tendencies were corroborated by evidence, and the words of those hate-fans were ignored.
Shen Qi lay on his hotel bed brushing up on the news. His heart was full of pleasure, close to overflowing. He had been in love with Jiang Changshen for eight years, and finally the day had come for their names to be placed side by side. He had trouble expressing his excitement.
He was on a videocall and Jiang Changshen was on the other end of the phone. Shen Qi looked at him, his eyes burning with excitement.
âI love you so much.â
After saying that he whimpered, rolling over twice on his bed.
He waited for a reaction. When none came he sat up, only to find that at some point, the video call had dropped. He called back and it rang a few times, but no one answered. Instead, there was a sudden knock at the door.
The voice was deliberately low, but Shen Qi knew right off the bat who it was. He didnât even bother to put on shoes and almost flew to the door. He opened and it was indeed Jiang Changshen.
Jiang Changshen gazed straight at him, deep emotion in his eyes, as if something was brewing. He came in nonchalantly and closed the door behind him.
âBrother Jiang, what are you doing here⊠?â Happy, Shen Qi went to take the manâs hand.
âWhy canât I come?â Jiang Changshen, however, had cracked at this moment, grabbing him by the wrist and pushing him up against the door. âWell?â
Shen Qi wasnât afraid of him at all. He smiled as he reached out and wrapped his arms around the manâs neck. With butterflies in his stomach, he brought his phone up to Jiang Changshenâs face.
âBrother Jiang look, in the news, Iâm named with you!â
He toggled the picture. âThis is the best one. Iâm saving it⊠Ah!â
He shrieked as Jiang Changshen actually picked him up. He was completely startled as his body was suddenly up in the air and instinctively hugged Jiang Changshen like a baby. Once he got over the surprise, he clamped his legs together and put his hands around the man.
âYouâre that happy?â Jiang Changshen hugged him back and walked further into the house.
âBro-Brother JiangâŠâ Shen Qi reddened.
Ouch. That pose, that movement, it was bringing him to his knees. That was cheating!
Jiang Changshen walked nonchalantly, his big hands wrapped right around Shen Qiâs hips, obviously not moving lower, yet it made Shen Qi feel hot and searing, his body pressed against Jiang Changshen and his insides heated up.
Calm down, Little Shen Qi!
He plucked up his courage and pretended not to feel anything. âYes, Iâm that happy! I entered show business to be near you. Now that my name and yours are put together, Iâm glad.â
Jiang Changshen suddenly stopped and kissed him on the forehead.
âYour Weibo history,â he said. âIâve seen it all.â
He had seen the entire record of this fan of his, Shen Qiâs complete admiration and appreciation for Jiang Changshen, and how he had worked hard, step by step, to come and stand beside his idol.
âYou like me that much?â
He smiled with a sense of pleasure and auto-satisfaction that Shen Qi couldnât see.
Shen Qi could not resist the temptation of beauty and decisively confessed everything: âYeah, thatâs how much I like you. I didnât actually even think at first that youâd want to be with me. I was hoping that we could be friends. That would have been nice. But the first time I saw you, I knew that you and I were the same, and I decided to pursue you!â
Shen Qi hadnât thought Jiang Changshen would really have caught on. What was that saying? Ah yes, that he must have saved the universe in a previous life to be this lucky!
âI like you!â Full of love, he leaned in and kissed Jiang Changshen on the lips. âAll my life Iâve only loved you. Iâve dreamed of you every night. Iâm willing even if youâre only momentarily interested in me.â At that moment, the excitement in his eyes dimmed. âIf you donât like me anymore, just tell me. I wonât make it difficult for you, and Iâm happy enough that youâre willing to give me a chance.â
Jiang Changshenâs eyes fluttered, and finally sighed. He kissed the tip of Shen Qiâs nose lovingly. âPoor little thing. Why do you make yourself sound so pathetic?â
Shen Qi became a bit red. It had come out before he could think. In retrospect, his words could seem a bit pretentious. âAh, thatâs what I meant to sayâŠâ
âWhat am I to do?â Jiang Changshen nuzzled against Shen Qiâs forehead, so their noses were entwined, and bit him on the lips. âTalking so pathetically makes me want to bully you even more.â
Suddenly he changed his voice: âYou said you dreamed about me every night. What kind of dreams?â
âAhemâŠâ Shen Qi instantly choked and turned bright red.
Jiang Changshen kissed his forehead.
âHave you been dreaming of me like this? Or like this?â
He continued downwards in a trail of kisses, to the eyes, the tip of the nose, the cheeks, and finally down to the lips. Suddenly, his eyes changed, and the soft kisses became very fierce, full of nibbling and sucking as if he were going to tear Shen Qi apart and swallow him.
As Shen Qi was kissed, his body turned towards Jiang Changshen. The man carried him over to the counter near the fridge and placed him on it. As soon as Jiang Changshenâs hands were free, he immediately clasped the back of Shen Qiâs head and brought him close.
This kiss was completely different from their last gentle lingering one. The ferocity almost frightened Shen Qi. It was as if Jiang Changshen was going to chew him up inch by inch and swallow him.
Shen Qiâs hands and feet were completely relaxed. If it wasnât for Jiang Changshen holding him by the waist, heâd almost go limp. His awareness was fading, and he could only follow Jiang Changshenâs actions.
Shen Qiâs eyes were closed, but Jiang Changshenâs eyes were open. He was watching Shen Qi from tip to toe, without blinking. He observed as Shen Qi reacted to his actions, his eyes cold and frightening.
Shen Qi didnât see, too distracted to notice. Only one thing was on my mind; something was wrong. Why hadnât the happiness level gone up?