Liang Xi was indeed not in a good mood. Bai Tu had just agreed to date him, and now he was off to Hong Kong to shoot for a film. Bai Tu’s responses on the phone were short and he never returned Liang Xi’s messages.
Liang Xi ranted to Wang Chao for half the day; the more he said the more upset he became. He held up a body pillow that had a picture of Bai Tu stuck on it and punched it a few times. Right after he punched it a few times, he felt bad, so he raised the body pillow and kissed the photo a few times.
Wang Chao was utterly speechless.
Wang Chao thought his Liang-ge was about to go insane. He comforted him blindlessly. “Maybe Bai Tu is just too busy. When you’re busy, you don’t pick up my calls either.”
Liang Xi, “That’s because I don’t want to deal with you. I’m not busy at all.”
Liang Xi started wailing again. “He’s popular, so being busy is a given, but is he really that busy to the point where he can’t pick up my calls?”
Wang Chao was munching on his grapes as he replied, “Maybe he just doesn’t want to deal with you.”
Wang Chao felt better after getting back at Liang Xi, but when he saw the heartbroken look on Liang Xi’s face, he thought maybe it was best to not mess with him after all. He comforted him, “Hey bro, you know I don’t have dating experience. Don’t listen to me.”
Liang Xi got up from the sofa and walked into his room.
Wang Chao, “…Are you really mad at me?”
Liang Xi called out to him from the bedroom, “Come in!”
Wang Chao walked in to see Liang Xi using his uninjured hand packing his clothes into a suitcase. “Help me pack.”
“What is this? Why are you moving when you haven’t even been dumped yet?” Wang Chao said in shock.
Liang Xi started cursing at him. “Shut your stupid mouth! Who said I was moving? I’m going to Hong Kong to find him.”
And so Wang Chao could only help him pack his stuff as Liang Xi sat on the side instructing him on what to pack and what not to pack. Liang Xi pointed with his finger as he sat on the bed. “Put that one in. That one isn’t good looking. Put that one in.”
Wang Chao had no idea how to fold clothes at all, so he could only messily stuff the clothes into the suitcase. Liang Xi’s closet was also fumbled into a mess by him.
Liang Xi’s mind was filled with thoughts of going to see his boyfriend so he didn’t mind. He suddenly asked, “Have you ever done it with a guy?”
Liang Xi could tell right away from Wang Chao’s expression. “Don’t pretend. I won’t tell your brother. Um….what do I do beforehand to prepare?”
Wang Chao couldn’t really understand what Liang Xi was getting at. “Prepare what?”
Liang Xi was embarrassed as he said, “Don’t laugh at me, but I’ve never done it with Bai Tu. This time, if the time is right, then I want to try it out. I heard that you can’t just put it in right away. I don’t want to hurt him if I do it wrong. I watched a few porn videos, but they were all so fake. They didn’t do any prep and the bottoms were all fake moaning. It sounded terrible – not like a man at all. Bai Tu wouldn’t be like that….are you listening to me?”
Wang Chao had long since tuned him out. He randomly replied, “Yeah, I’m listening. Bai Tu is nothing like a man.”
Wang Chao suffered two more kicks as he kneeled on the floor, silently organizing Liang Xi’s suitcase.
Liang Xi sat on the side with an undulating expression on his face. He had already entered his daydream of his upcoming Hong Kong adventures.
Wang Chao was also daydreaming.
He had already forgotten the details of his engagement with Bai Tu’s manager that night. From the beginning to the end, Wang Chao didn’t pay attention to the condition of the other person. He fucked him in his dizzy state and then left after he was finished. This was also the case with several of his past hookups. As long as there was a hole in front of him, he would be a piston for a few minutes.
But if he were doing it with Xiao Xie, then he wouldn’t be so rash.
He would kiss Xiao Xie first, then comfort him as he entered. “It won’t hurt, it won’t hurt, it really won’t hurt.”
….But what if it does hurt?
He asked Liang Xi, “Ge, where did you find those porn videos?”
Xie Zhuxing and Zhao Zhengyi had come back from walking Liang Xi’s dogs and heard that he was going to Hong Kong.
“It’s tonight’s flight. I’ll be coming back the night after tomorrow,” Liang Xi said. “Xiao Zhao, you’ll be in charge of feeding and walking the dogs for the next two days.”
Zhao Zhengyi complained, “Feeding them is no problem. The issue is that these two dogs are way too big. I can’t handle them all by myself. What if one of them runs away while I’m walking them? Then you’re gonna kill me when you come back.”
Liang Xi peered over at Wang Chao.
“What are you looking at me for? I can’t even take care of myself,” Wang Chao said.
The three of them turned their heads towards Xie Zhuxing.
Xie Zhuxing, “….Then, I’ll help Xiao Zhao out.” It just so happened that IceDream was going to Changsha the day after tomorrow anyways.
Liang Xi had a satisfied smile on his face as he patted his shoulder. “That’s right, my good couple match.”
Wang Chao removed his hand that was on Xiao Xie’s shoulder and said in a disdainful tone, “Stop taking advantage of our Xiao Xie.”
Liang Xi was in a good mood because he was going to Hong Kong, so he didn’t bother bickering with Wang Chao. He said, “Come, come. I’ll tell you guys how to act on variety shows.”
Of course, Liang Xi didn’t become the variety show king in China just by relying on his jokes. He had to learn how to make jokes without insulting others, know what to say and what not to say, how to say certain things, how to attract fans, how to not attract anti-fans, when to throw the conversation to someone else, when to continue a conversation, when to make a joke, how to lighten the mood when it gets tense, and how to control the scene when the atmosphere gets too high.
There were specializations in the art industry, and all of them were knowledgeable.
Xie Zhuxing listened carefully and took mental notes of everything Liang Xi said. The more Wang Chao listened, the sleepier he got. His brain felt like it was being pecked by a chicken little by little.
By the time Liang Xi finished speaking, Wang Chao had also woken up.
Liang Xi needed to board a plane that night, so the two left after saying their goodbyes.
“Did you understand what he was saying?” Wang Chao asked.
“A bit. I did get some pointers,” Xie Zhuxing replied.
“Then that’s good. We didn’t come for nothing.” Wang Chao yawned as he asked, “When are you going to walk the dogs tomorrow?”
“I’m going to meet up with Xiao Zhao at seven. What do you want for dinner?”
Wang Chao had woken up. His eyes rolled around a few times before he said, “I’m not gonna have dinner. I’ll send you home first. I have some errands to take care of.”
What errands could he possibly have? Xie Zhuxing warned him unhappily, “Don’t go to a club. What if the paparazzi catch you?”
But Wang Chao refuted, “I’m not going to a club. I’m going home.”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t believe him in the slightest. “What are you doing?”
Wang Chao felt guilty as he said, “What do you mean? You’re usually not this nosy.”
Whatever. He can do whatever he wants. Who cares?
When they got to Xie Zhuxing’s apartment, he got off and Wang Chao drove away.
When Xie Zhuxing went back into his apartment, he fixed himself a bowl of noodles. After he finished the noodles and washed his bowl, he circled his apartment a few times. He felt there was something wrong deep down.
What possible errands could Wang Chao have? And why was he so secretive about it? What else could he possibly be doing other than going out to play? That’s all that was in his brain anyway. If he wasn’t going to the club to have fun, then was he going to bring someone home? Xie Zhuxing could still clearly remember the ribbed condom he found on top of Wang Chao’s shoe last time.
When Wang Chao got home, he hurriedly pulled out his tablet and received the 1.3 GB file that Liang Xi had sent him.
The video was of two foreigners. They immediately took off their pants and started having sex. They even kissed loudly.
Wang Chao nibbled on his nails as he watched. He’s never kissed someone like that before, he felt that he was disgusting as he didn’t want to ingest someone else’s saliva.
His phone suddenly rang. He didn’t bother looking at the caller ID as he picked it up.
“Where are you?” Xie Zhuxing asked him.
“I’m at home. What do you want?” Wang Chao answered as he kept his eyes focused on the tablet.
Xie Zhuxing, “You have to get up early tomorrow. We have to go shoot a commercial at nine in the morning.”
Wang Chao wasn’t paying attention to him at all. “Aright, just call me.”
Xie Zhuxing could hear that his words were slurred and there was some audio in the background. “Are you watching a movie right now? Stop watching scary films or else you won’t be able to go to the bathroom by yourself tonight,” Xie Zhuxing said.
Wang Chao, “It’s not a horror film…”
His heart fluttered. “Do you want to watch it? I can send it to you.”
Xie Zhuxing, “What type of movie?”
Wang Chao, “European action movie.”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t realize what Wang Chao was getting at as he asked. “What’s the name? I’ll see if I’ve watched it before.”
Wang Chao, “You’ve definitely never watched it before.”
He pressed his and Liang Xi’s chat history on his tablet and tapped on the file. He tapped on “share file” and was about to press share until he paused.
How can he let Xiao Xie watch this type of stuff? Wasn’t this deliberately letting Xiao Xie know that he has other ulterior motives?
“Actually, nevermind. It’s not that good anyway,” he said into the phone. “Have you eaten yet? I want to eat mala crayfish.”
Xie Zhuxing, “Those things aren’t healthy at all. They’re oily and greasy. You shouldn’t eat them everyday. Where do you want to meet?”
Wang Chao smiled as he said, “Wait, I’ll go pick you up.”
Xie Zhuxing, “Don’t drive your car. You’re gonna drink and then have to get a driver. Let’s just meet up.”
Wang Chao closed the video and threw his tablet aside as he happily walked out the door.
Stupid porn video. Xiao Xie was much better looking.
When they started eating the mala crayfish, Xie Zhuxing stopped eating after only two. He had already eaten a bowl of noodles, so he wasn’t really hungry. Wang Chao knew that Xie Zhuxing didn’t really like these types of foods so he ordered a bowl of noodles for him. Thus, Xie Zhuxing could only pretend that he hadn’t eaten dinner yet and slurp down the bowl of noodles.
They also ordered 6 bottles of beer, most of which Wang Chao drank.
After they finished eating, they paid for the bill and left. Wang Chao pretended to be drunk as half of his body was leaning on Xie Zhuxing. His hands were being rowdy again as they rubbed Xie Zhuxing’s shoulder.
Xie Zhuxing knew he was pretending, but he didn’t expose him. He acted along as he said, “You didn’t even drink that much. How did you get this drunk? Call a cab first. I’ll go home after I send you off.”
Wang Chao didn’t want to go home by himself. “Let me sleep at your place.”
Xie Zhuxing refused right away. “No, go back to your own house.”
Wang Chao whined as he looped his arms around Xie Zhuxing. “Why not? It’s not like I haven’t slept with you before.”
“I have to go to Liang Xi’s house to walk the dog tomorrow. I’m not going to go back home either. I’m going straight to the shooting studio after grabbing breakfast.”
Wang Chao, “Then I’ll go walk the dogs with you.”
Xie Zhuxing, “I planned to meet up with Xiao Zhao at 7am. I’m going to get up at 6am, you won’t be able to wake up.”
Wang Chao, “Just call me. If you call me, then I’ll wake up.”
In the end, they both returned to Xie Zhuxing’s place.
Although they had slept together many times before, today was especially different.
They closed the lights, and after ten minutes, neither of them were asleep. Neither of them spoke either.
Wang Chao was bored. He called out, “Xiao Xie?”
Xie Zhuxing didn’t answer.
Wang Chao felt that he was probably asleep already. He inched closer to him and carefully put his hand on his shoulder. He still wasn’t satisfied and wanted to do something more, but he was afraid he would wake Xie Zhuxing up.
Xie Zhuxing turned over and they met face to face. They were so close that Wang Chao could feel his breath.
Flowers bursted in Wang Chao’s heart. Hehe, Xiao Xie, you did this to yourself.
He moved his hand from Xiao Xie’s shoulder to his pecs. He still wanted to move, but his hands were grabbed by Xie Zhuxing.
Wang Chao immediately pretended to be asleep.
Xie Zhuxing also seemed like he didn’t wake up at all during the whole process.
The two held hands and faced each other as they slowly fell asleep.
At around 6 in the morning, Xie Zhuxing dragged Wang Chao, who was still half asleep, out the door to go to Liang Xi’s place.
Liang Xi’s assistant Zhao Zhengyi had one dog while Xie Zhuxing had the other, along with a Wang Chao.
The commercial they needed to shoot today was for a sports brand. Their previous spokesperson was Nex, another group that was brought to fame by Duan Yikun. They were so popular that the members now had their solo careers, their group image slowly dispersing. The sports. The brand that had signed them for so many years was now going to sign IceDream.
The studio was very big. There were other commercials currently being shot in front of them as they had their makeup done.
Cheng Yao went to run a lap before coming back and seeing Wang Chao was currently sleeping with his head on Xie Zhuxing’s lap. He walked around for a while, but he still didn’t have the courage to walk up to them.
Xie Zhuxing felt that Cheng Yao had something to tell him, so he woke Wang Chao up and said, “Go fix your hair. It got messed up when you were sleeping..”
Wang Chao looked in the mirror, then went to find the hair stylist.
Cheng Yao hurriedly walked over and said in a quiet voice, “Xiao Xie-ge, Jiajia-jie is outside.”
Xie Zhuxing was stunned for a second.
Yan Jiajia was a model. It wasn’t weird that she would be here in the studio.
Cheng Yao, “She’s here to shoot for something and asked me what I was going to do. I told her that we were here to shoot a commercial. She said to go find her after you’re done. She has something to tell you.”
They’ve been broken up for so long, what could she possibly need from him?
Xie Zhuxing walked into the studio. There was only one line that needed to be said throughout the commercial.
Everyone knew that whoever said it would become well-known.
The director knew this too. He said, “The leader will say this line.”
But the leader said, “I don’t wanna read it. It’s too much work.”
The director was speechless, “…”
The leader pushed Xie Zhuxing forward. “Let him do it.”
The director and the members all looked at them.
Xie Zhuxing, “…You should do it.”
Wang Chao, “I said you should do it. Why are you talking so much?”
In the end, the director made a call and said when he came back, “I’ll add another line. You both can say one line.”
After they finished shooting, everyone went to their changing rooms to take off their clothes and makeup. Yan Jiajia sent a message to Xie Zhuxing, telling him to meet her outside.
Xie Zhuxing peered over and saw that Wang Chao was currently taking off his makeup in front of the mirror. He walked out alone quietly.
“I didn’t want to bother you, but I seriously don’t know what else to do,” Yan Jiajia said awkwardly with a red face. “Something came up in the family and they need money, but you know that I have none.”
Xie Zhuxing furrowed his brows.
She looked down at her shoes and said, “If you can’t, then it’s fine. I’ll go ask someone else.”
Xie Zhuxing knew that she probably had no other option, or else she wouldn’t have come to ask him. “How much?”
He sent her the money right there and then.
Yan Jiajia, “I pay it back to you right away when I can.”
Xie Zhuxing, “Alright, then I’m going back in. We still have other things to do.”
He turned around, the door of the makeup room was opened a bit. Someone was peeping from the inside. When he was spotted, he simply came out and the door closed automatically behind him.
Yan Jiajia knew she had embarrassed herself in front of Wang Chao, so she ran off without saying a word.
Xie Zhuxing said to Wang Chao, “What are you doing?”
Wang Chao, “That’s what I should be asking you. What are you doing?”
Xie Zhuxing, “Hurry up and change your clothes. We have to go.”
Wang Chao, “You’re just gonna give all your hard earned money to her?”
Xie Zhuxing, “I’m just lending her money.”
Wang Chao said mockingly, “Do you think she still hasn’t lied to you enough?”
XIe Zhuxing didn’t want to make a scene outside. “Let’s go inside.”
He pushed Wang Chao, intending to push open the door, but who knew that the door was closed shut. Wang Chao was pushed against the door with a bang, but the door didn’t open at all.
Wang Chao rubbed his shoulder as he looked at Xie Zhuxing with a shocked expression on his face. “Xie Zhuxing, are you crazy?! You hit me over some girl?!”
Xie Zhuxing, “…Does it hurt?”
Of course Wang Chao was hurt. He said angrily, “Back then, she dumped you because you were poor and had no money. Now that you have a bit of money she comes crawling back to you. Do you really think she wants you?! If you found a nice normal girl then I wouldn’t say anything, but you just have to find someone like her! Bad concrete can’t hold up a wall, do you understand?!”
Xie Zhuxing’s expression turned ugly.
The members heard the commotion and rushed over.
Ji Jie cut in, “We’re here to shoot a commercial. Let’s not make a scene.”
However, Wang Chao rambled on, “Who cares about some commercial. I don’t want to shoot a commercial with a dumbass!”
Xie Zhuxing said coldly, “Alright, then let’s disband this group. I don’t want to be in a group with an idiot.”
Xie Zhuxing turned around and walked away.
Wang Chao chased after him and jumped on him, saying in a hurried tone, “Where are you going?!”
Xie Zhuxing shook off his hands. “Let go.”
Wang Chao didn’t let go. He originally only had two hands wrapped around Xie Zhuxing’s neck, but he jumped up and wrapped his legs around Xie Zhuxing’s waist too. He said with a grieved tone as he hung from Xie Zhuxing’s body, “I just said a few mean words. Why are you so mad! Did I say to disband? I’m an idiot, alright?!”
The members all walked out of the room awkwardly, closing the door while they were at it.