Chapter 94

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An important scene was to be shot today—it was the climax of the entire film.

At first, the whole family was supposed to be out on a trip, and that day, there should’ve been no one in the house but the housekeeper with increasingly bad hearing. Qian Chengjin and his girlfriend sneaked back home to steal money, and yet as a result, his girlfriend was mistakenly killed by Qian Buqiong who had also slipped away and returned to the house to kill Jia Lizhi.

Qian Buqiong pacified the frightened Qian Chengjin and even hid his girlfriend’s corpse. At the same time, Gao Hai had driven back with Jia Lizhi. Qian Buqiong and Qian Chengjin decided to kill the two of them together and hide Gao Hai’s body in his car, disguising him as the killer of the two women, after which they would flee the scene.

The part they would be shooting that day was the scene in the villa’s garden, which featured Xia Xingcheng’s Qian Chengjin wrestling Zhu Tianjie’s Gao Hai.

The filming took place at night.

After Xia Xingcheng and Zhu Tianjie’s conversation in the toilet that noon, the two of them have not been alone together.

Xia Xingcheng was somewhat ill at ease. In addition to the incident with Zhu Tianjie, it was also because of those unpleasant rumours between him and Yuan Qian.

Zhu Tianjie, however, acted undisturbed, even joking around with the staff after he returned to the set. He even spoke to Xia Xingcheng in a normal tone, displaying that good-natured public appearance of his.

The scene between Qian Chengjin and Gao Hai was that of a life-or-death struggle. Both them and the director had choreographed the actions and course of the fight. Qian Chengjin strangled Gao Hai from behind and threw a few punches, but Gao Hai fought back and the two of them fell to the ground. Qian Chengjin gained the upper hand and dragged Gao Hai to the fountain, intending to drown him.

Faced with his imminent death, Gao Hai managed to reverse their positions, throwing Qian Chengjin in the water, then reached out to push his head down and prevent him from resurfacing.

The first half of the scene was shot without a hitch, right up until it came to the part where Gao Hai threw Qian Chengjin in the water, which had to be retaken several times.

At that time, it was only March. Though it was already spring, the nights had the same slight chill as the previous months. What’s more, the water in the fountain was cold to the touch.

That scene eventually passed with great difficulty. The next one was of Qian Chengjin’s struggle to resurface and Gao Hai pushing him down.

Xia Xingcheng’s entire body was soaking wet as he kneeled forward on the edge of the fountain. As he tried to climb out, Zhu Tianjie’s fingers grabbed his hair and gripped his skull, then pushed his head underwater.

Except— that hand exerted a lot of strength. Xia Xingcheng had already used up most of his energy when filming the fight scene, and at this time, he felt that his whole body had gone weak without even needing to act. In the water, he couldn’t see nor hear anything, and it quickly became difficult to breathe.

Then, Zhu Tianjie let go.

Xia Xingcheng lifted his head. Zhu Tianjie supported him with a hand. “Is everything okay?”

He shook his head and dodged Zhu Tianjie’s hand, leaning on the edge of the fountain.

Ding Wenxun said it was no good and wanted a retake.

Xia Xingcheng felt the unceasing flow of water streaming down his hair and gasped for breath. His assistant Hua Hua brought a towel and wrapped it around him, letting him sit and rest by the fountain.

Ding Wenxun explained the scene to Zhu Tianjie, correcting his movements and expressions.

On the second take, Zhu Tianjie pushed Xia Xingcheng underwater once again. This time though, he was released quite quickly, and when he raised his head, he found that it was due to Ding Wenxun calling for a stop.

Zhu Tianjie stood beside the fountain, massaging his right wrist with his left hand. To Xia Xingcheng, he said, “Sorry, my bad.”

Xia Xingcheng was so severely cold that he felt like he’d lost all his strength.

Ding Wenxun asked Xia Xingcheng whether he needed to take a short break. Xia Xingcheng said that it wasn’t necessary—he wanted it to be over quickly.

Afterwards, this scene went on for six to seven takes without passing. Xia Xingcheng indistinctly felt that this was probably Zhu Tianjie’s attempt at screwing him over and suggested a short break to Ding Wenxun.

Hua Hua wrapped him in a towel and found a portable electric stove for him to warm himself at.

The fluorescent light of the electric stove shone red on Xia Xingcheng’s face, yet he was still shivering.

At the other end, Zhu Tianjie was listening to Ding Wenxun explaining the scene, appearing sincerely apologetic.

Xia Xingcheng stared at him. After, Zhu Tianjie walked over to him and crouched down in front of him, whispering, “Are you okay?”

Right then, they were the only two people around; everyone else was some distance away and couldn’t hear them.

Xia Xingcheng looked at him and didn’t answer.

Zhu Tianjie faintly smiled at Xia Xingcheng, “Suffering a bit of hardship when you’re young will hone you. After you fall in the pit, you’ll gain some wit*. It’s just learning from experience.”

*or; once bitten, twice shy

Xia Xingcheng knew that he was deliberately messing with him.

At this time, Ding Wenxun called for someone to ask Xia Xingcheng if he could start shooting again.

Xia Xingcheng shifted his eyes from Zhu Tianjie’s gaze and nodded at the man.

He stood up and said, “Jie ge, let’s continue.”

It was already past four in the morning when they concluded filming that day. Before Xia Xingcheng even reached the hotel, as he sat in the car, his temperature started rising. His cheeks burned red, and his lips were deathly pale.

The driver directly drove him to the hospital for emergency treatment, and Hua Hua accompanied him all the way to the ward for an infusion.

Xia Xingcheng felt terrible. He was dizzy and his vision was blurred, yet he couldn’t sleep until the fever medicine worked. After, he tossed a little in his sleep once the sky brightened.

He slept very deeply, during which he had numerous dreams of extravagant delusions. It was as if his body was floating, and he wasn’t able to distinguish whether he was awake or dreaming.

He even dreamt that Yang Youming had come to see him, that he was sitting in his ward, holding his hand, and saying that he missed him.

Later on, he woke up.

Xia Xingcheng didn’t open his eyes. He realized that he had been dreaming, and now those troubles rushed forth in his mind and erased his sleepiness, so he slowly opened his eyes.

He didn’t know what time it was. In any case, it was bright out, and the lights weren’t on in his private ward. Only the window curtains were half drawn.

A person sat on the chair at his bedside, bent over at the waist and leaning forward, elbows propped up on the edge of the bed, hands interlocked as they watched him attentively.

Xia Xingcheng’s eyes stung, his sight was fuzzy. He blinked a few times and tears ran down the corner of his eyes before he finally saw the person at his bedside. In that instant, he thought that he still hadn’t woken up from his dream.

Yang Youming reached out and touched his sweat-drenched forehead, pushing up his hair and wiping away the tears at the corner of his eyes.

Xia Xingcheng found the touch slightly painful, and after a while, he said, “I’m not crying, my eyes just hurt.” As he spoke, he realized that his voice was hoarse.

Yang Youming nodded and said, “I know.”

Xia Xingcheng turned his head and glanced around the room, then asked Yang Youming, “What time is it?”

Yang Youming said, “It’s past three p.m., you slept for a long time.”

Xia Xingcheng realized that he was no longer hooked up to an IV. He didn’t know how long he’d slept on the bed, but his body was sore and weak, as well as soaked through with sweat.

Yang Youming took two tissues from the bedside table to wipe the sweat on his face. He was wearing a thin knitted cardigan, and the collar fell just below his neck, where Yang Youming wiped at as well.

Again, Xia Xingcheng asked, “Where’s my assistant?”

Yang Youming said, “You mean the girl? I told her to go back and rest.”

“She just left when you told her to?” Xia Xingcheng thought Hua Hua was actually a little unreliable.

Yang Youming threw away the tissue that was wet with Xia Xingcheng’s sweat and got up to pour a cup of hot water from the kettle on the bedside table. “Drink some water, okay?”

He helped Xia Xingcheng sit up.

Yang Youming tested the water temperature with his lips, then fed him the water in the cup.

Xia Xingcheng was unbearably thirsty, and he lightly panted after drinking more than half the cup. He licked his lips, his face still had a little unnatural flush to it, and because of the fever, the skin on his face appeared like it had dried up. Only his eyes were full of tears, like there was irritation from a foreign object, thus they were moist as he stared at Yang Youming and asked, “Why are you here?”

Yang Youming put the cup down and sat down at his bedside once more, his lashes lowered. He slowly said, “I saw the news about you and Yuan Qian, so I immediately bought a plane ticket.”

Xia Xingcheng whispered, “Did you come to break up with me?” He turned away from Yang Youming as he spoke, not daring to look at him, and his expression was exceptionally lonely.

Yang Youming reached out and took his hand. “I never thought of breaking up with you.”

Xia Xingcheng felt that his grip was just as strong as the one in his dream a moment ago. He said, “So you’re waiting for me to break up with you?”

“Xingcheng,” Yang Youming sounded a little helpless. “I’m really not.”

Xia Xingcheng said, “You gave me the silent treatment.”

Yang Youming quietly said, “I wanted you to be able to think clearly.”

Xia Xingcheng said, “There’s no need for that. Some obstacles are just there, no matter what, they’ll need a great effort to overcome. There’s only one thing I know—I want to be with the person I love.”

Yang Youming lowered his gaze, his lashes quivering.

Xia Xingcheng suspected that his fever was returning; his breaths were gradually growing heated, and he felt his forehead with his hand and said, “Then, have you figured it out? Is the one you love Xia Xingcheng, or are you just too deep in the act and only see Xia Xingcheng as a substitute for Fang Jianyuan?”

Yang Youming said, “You’re not anyone’s substitute. Don’t say that, Xingcheng.” He raised his hand and felt Xia Xingcheng’s forehead. Seemingly sensing that it was a little hot, he picked up the thermometer that the nurse had placed on the bedside table a while ago and said, “Let’s retake your temperature.”

Xia Xingcheng tilted his head, letting Yang Youming pull down his collar while raising one arm.

However, after he pulled down his collar, Yang Youming never made another move.

Xia Xingcheng gave him an odd look, then saw that the man’s gaze was fixed at his shoulder, dazed. He thus looked down, and it was only then that he realized that Yang Youming wasn’t looking at his shoulder, but at the tattoo on his collarbone.

Yang Youming was somewhat stunned, his gaze more than a little shaken.

Xia Xingcheng bluntly pulled down his collar a little more, exposing his tattoo completely. He grabbed Yang Youming’s hand and placed it on his scorching hot skin, then gestured: “This is the sun, and this is the moon. Together, the sun and moon make up ‘Ming’. This is me, the star. Even if you don’t want me, my love will always be here.”

Yang Youming stared intently at the tattoo. His lips opened slightly, then closed once more, as if he was choking down a sob. At last, he said, “I never not want you.” With that, his breathing grew abruptly heavier, yet he was gentle as he approached Xia Xingcheng’s tattoo, gently licking and kissing it with his tongue.

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – aaaand ming ge’s back! sorry this chapter took so long, i was busy with grad stuff all week. i’ve somehow acquired a degree tho

⟵ Chapter 93 | TOC | Chapter 95 ⟶

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