Chapter 102

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Jiang Zihe had once made a move on Xia Xingcheng in a previous photoshoot. This came as no surprise to anyone, Jiang Zihe hit on many people; young, handsome male models, newly debuted rookie idols—if he took a fancy to them, he’d hint at it, and if the other person rejected him, he’d let it go. At the time, Xia Xingcheng was still a staunch heterosexual. He didn’t respond to Jiang Zihe, and they thus put the matter behind them, not treating it as something serious.

But Jiang Zihe had never hit on Yang Youming. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare to. If he were to rank the male celebs in the industry he longed to sleep with, Yang Youming would definitely top the list. But so what? For so long, everybody knew that Yang Youming had Yuan Qian at his side. Even now, without Yuan Qian, he’d still never believe that he’d ever have a chance to sleep with Yang Youming. Delusions would always be delusions.

So after hearing Yang Youming mention a photoshoot, the instant he saw Xia Xingcheng, Jiang Zihe was overcome by an odd premonition—to the point where he called out Xia Xingcheng’s name in shock. But he quickly dismissed the thought. How could it be possible? This was Yang Youming!

Xia Xingcheng was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt the colour of bean paste. It was soft and oversized, and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal fair arms. The collar was a little low, revealing half a collarbone—the tattoo there was plainly visible.

Jiang Zihe glanced at his tattoo and merely noted the complicated design. For a while, he couldn’t clearly make out what it was.

As Xia Xingcheng reached the first floor, he cast a brief look at the hand Jiang Zihe had around Yang Youming’s wrist before smiling and extending a hand towards him. “Long time no see, Steven.”

Jiang Zihe could only let go of his grip on Yang Youming’s arm. He shook Xia Xingcheng’s hand and said, “We’re not at work, just call me Zihe. Long time no see, Xingcheng.”

Xia Xingcheng nodded. “It’s really been a while.”

The two let go of each other’s hands.

Jiang Zihe looked to Yang Youming and asked hesitantly, “Ming ge, who are you taking photos with?” He still held a glimmer of hope, thinking that he must be mistaken.

As a result, Yang Youming candidly reached out for Xia Xingcheng’s hand. “With Xingcheng.”

A chaotic rumble rang throughout Jiang Zihe’s head. He stood stock-still for a while; it was as if the gears in his brain were rusted over and jammed, unable to turn. He didn’t return to his senses for a long while.

Upon seeing this, Yang Youming said, “What are you standing there for, go sit down and we’ll talk over some tea. We don’t get guests here all that often.” With that, he turned to Xia Xingcheng and said, “Xingcheng, go upstairs with Zihe. I’ll bring the tea up.”

Xia Xingcheng nodded, then reached out to help Jiang Zihe with his camera.

Jiang Zihe subconsciously avoided his hand, flinching. “I’ll do it myself.”

Xia Xingcheng laughed, but didn’t insist. He turned to go up the stairs. “Let’s go to the second floor.”

Directly above the entrance hall on the first floor, between the two doors on the second floor, was a small drawing room that faced the staircase. It only had two sofas, a two-seater and an armchair, and a coffee table between them.

Jiang Zihe followed Xia Xingcheng upstairs, his head in a mess. He had no mind to take in the old house, staring at Xia Xingcheng’s back, engrossed, noticing how nice and perky his ass looked. He then remembered that it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed this. When he had shot his photos that year, he had asked Xia Xingcheng to lie on his stomach on a table and thought that he truly had a nice ass, and even pretended to correct his posture to cop a feel.

In the midst of his flights of fancy, Jiang Zihe finally reached the second floor. Xia Xingcheng invited him to sit down, adopting the tone of someone entertaining guests in his own home.

Taking advantage of the fact that Yang Youming hadn’t come up yet, Jiang Zihe grabbed Xia Xingcheng’s arm and asked, “What’s your relationship with Yang Youming?”

This question stunned Xia Xingcheng for a moment. He then said, “Isn’t it obvious?”

Jiang Zihe snapped, “There’s no way!”

Xia Xingcheng wasn’t all too willing to offend Jiang Zihe, but right then he found the other man’s anger a little funny. The two of them were close. He winked at Jiang Zihe, the corners of his lips quirked as he whispered, “Ask him, he invited you here to take our wedding photo.”

Jiang Zihe felt like the sky was spinning.

Right then, the sound of Yang Youming’s footsteps resounded from the stairs. Jiang Zihe let go of Xia Xingcheng and conveniently sat down on the two-seater sofa, not forgetting his camera, and he carefully placed it by his side.

Yang Youming brought tea for Jiang Zihe.

Jiang Zihe promptly stood up and took it from his hands. “Thank you, Ming ge.”

Yang Youming laughed as he sat down on the armchair, then said, “It’s me who’s inconvenienced you. It’s a small matter, but I troubled such a busy person to come so far.”

Xia Xingcheng sat on the armrest of Yang Youming’s armchair.

Jiang Zihe said, “It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. I’m just stopping by, and the trip here didn’t take long, either.” Jiang Zihe then glanced at Xia Xingcheng before turning back to Yang Youming. “Ming ge, are you guys—”

Yang Youming held Xia Xingcheng’s hand. “Let me officially introduce you to my little boyfriend.”

Xia Xingcheng wasn’t all too pleased. He shifted closer to Yang Youming’s ear and whispered, “You have to say lover—a lifelong one.”

Yang Youming smiled as he glanced at him, then said to Jiang Zihe, “My lover, who I’ll be married to for a lifetime.”

Jiang Zihe felt his gut twisting, it didn’t hurt, but the ache was a pain in the ass. He made no attempt to conceal his misery from showing through, and said, “Ming ge, how could you do this?”

Yang Youming looked at him uncomprehendingly.

Jiang Zihe felt like he was sucking on a lemon. “It’s whatever if you marry Yuan Qian and like women, but how can you like men?”

Yang Youming laughed, “Why can’t I?”

Aggrieved, Jiang Zihe complained, “If you like women, I can tell myself that straight men can’t be forced and blame it on gender; if you like men but don’t like me, then how am I supposed to console myself?” His tone was wretched, but he was actually more envious than he was miserable, just like a fan who abruptly found out that their idol was in a relationship; they were perfectly aware that they never had a chance in the first place, but they were nevertheless still unhappy.

Right then, Xia Xingcheng said, “You can be at ease. Yang Youming won’t like any other man—he only likes Xia Xingcheng alone.”

Jiang Zihe rolled his eyes. “That’s even worse.”

Yang Youming could only say, ”Is it that big of a deal? I’ve never realized that you liked me. Don’t joke now.”

The sullen Jiang Zihe remained silent.

Yang Youming had no other choice but to say, “Stay here tonight, Zihe. There’s a guest room on the second floor. I’ll cook for the two of you tonight and we can all have a drink.”

Jiang Zihe immediately turned to him. “Are you doing the cooking yourself?”

Yang Youming laughed and asked, “Who knows? Will you let me do the honours?”

Jiang Zihe exclaimed, “Wow! It’d be my pleasure!”

Having decided on staying, the brokenhearted Jiang Zihe maintained his professionalism and surveyed the house, finally suggesting they take the photos in front of the staircase on the first floor. Because the lighting was no longer great right then, though, and it would be another clear, sunny day tomorrow, they’d take the photos the next day instead when there’d be plenty of light. Jiang Zihe could also contact a photo studio through one of his friends and develop the photos before leaving.

“I promise that I’ll do everything myself, no one else will get their hands on them.” He said to Yang Youming.

Yang Youming leaned on the staircase’s railings and said, “I don’t really mind myself. But if our relationship were exposed, it’d definitely have a big impact on Xingcheng. I want him to be able to continue growing in this industry.”

Jiang Zihe sighed. “The more you talk, the more envious I get.”

Yang Youming clearly didn’t take his words seriously, smiling as he patted Jiang Zihe’s shoulder.

It was getting late. Yang Youming started on dinner in the first floor kitchen and asked Auntie Tian to go back to her room and rest.

Xia Xingcheng accompanied Jiang Zihe in the dining room, which was separated from the kitchen by a lone door. He took the thermal kettle on the table to add hot water to Jiang Zihe’s cup, and Jiang Zihe merely stared at him without a single word of thanks.

Jiang Zihe observed Xia Xingcheng’s white and slender wrists, the pretty line of his collarbone, and with how close he was sitting right then, he could now carefully observe the tattoo on his collarbone.

Xia Xingcheng poured himself a cup of water, cupped it in his hands, and took a small sip, then raised a hand to slightly pull his collar down. Lowering his voice, he said to Jiang Zihe, “Have a good look.”

It was only then did Jiang Zihe notice the overlapping sun, moon, and stars design. Struck, he glanced at the direction of the kitchen, then leaned closer to Xia Xingcheng and said, “How did you seduce Yang Youming?”

Xia Xingcheng laughed and said, “We love each other. You don’t even know the half of it.”

Slightly angered, Jiang Zihe carefully examined Xia Xingcheng from head to toe. “I don’t see anything special about you, you have an average figure.”

Xia Xingcheng actually had a great figure. He had particularly good proportions; his legs weren’t just long, but also straight, and compared to when he filmed ‘Gradual Distance’, they now had a bit more meat to them. His entire body was toned with a thin layer of muscle and looked especially good in front of the camera. To the Jiang Zihe who’d seen a great many beautiful male bodies, however, Xia Xingcheng could indeed be considered average.

Xia Xingcheng didn’t take offence and simply smiled at his words. He knew that Jiang Zihe was just being sour, but who cares? He was dying to tell the whole world that he and Yang Youming were together, yet he couldn’t say a thing because of their identities. But now—since Jiang Zihe had delivered himself to Xia Xingcheng’s doorstep, he said, “Whether I have a good body or not isn’t important, what matters is that Ming ge likes it.”

Jiang Zihe was thoroughly fed up.

Xia Xingcheng laughed and glanced towards the kitchen.

Whispering, Jiang Zihe asked, “Have you and Yang Youming slept together?”

Xia Xingcheng couldn’t help laughing. “What are you talking about.”

Jiang Zihe unhappily squeezed the handle of his cup. A good while later, he still couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Ming ge, he—is he fierce in bed?”

This time, Xia Xingcheng said, “Why would I tell you?” He picked up the cup and drank, his face furtively reddening.

Jiang Zihe saw right through him and internally cursed ‘Little Slut’. Seeing Xia Xingcheng swaying on his stool with more than half his butt hanging out, he couldn’t help but reach over and pinch it.

At this sudden attack, he spluttered, his stool swaying a little before its four legs steadied once more. He stared at Jiang Zihe in astonishment. “What the hell are you doing?”

Jiang Zihe said, “I wanted to see how that ass of yours seduced Yang Youming.”

The moment his words fell, Yang Youming’s voice suddenly resounded from the kitchen, shouting, “Xingcheng, come here.”

Both Xia Xingcheng and Jiang Zihe jumped in fright. Xia Xingcheng shot a vicious glare at Jiang Zihe and hopped down from his stool, scampering off to the kitchen. He stopped just behind Yang Youming, then peered over the man’s shoulder and saw sliced vegetables. He called out, “Ming ge.”

Yang Youming was cutting the beef, so he didn’t turn his head and only asked, “What are you up to?”

Xia Xingcheng heard the slight hint of sullenness in his tone, so he promptly replied, “Jiang Zihe harassed me. He’s jealous of me.”

The kitchen knife in Yang Youming’s hand fell quickly and steadily. “I can’t do anything about him,” he said as he sliced the meat. “I can only look after you.”

Xia Xingcheng laughed and hugged Yang Youming from behind. “Then I’m not leaving. Is it okay if I help you out here?”

Jiang Zihe stayed in the dining room for a while. Seeing no signs of Xia Xingcheng returning, he couldn’t help himself from getting up and quietly walking up to the doorway of the kitchen. When he peered in, he saw Xia Xingcheng facing the door as he leaned against the edge of the stove next to the sink. Yang Youming picked up some vegetables with the chopsticks in his right hand, his left hand cupped below it, and fed it to Xia Xingcheng.

Yang Youming watched Xia Xingcheng chew and asked, “How is it? Does it need more salt?”

Xia Xingcheng tasted the food earnestly, and answered, “No, I think it’s fine.”

A drop of leftover seasoning smeared the corner of his mouth; Yang Youming wiped at it with his thumb and directly sucked on it, then nodded.

When Xia Xingcheng looked up, he happened to catch sight of Jiang Zihe looking their way. He then reached out and grabbed for Yang Youming, who was about to turn away, clinging to his neck and kissing his lips.

Yang Youming kissed him back half-heartedly at first as he made to pull away.

As a result, Xia Xingcheng tightened his arms around Yang Youming’s neck, not letting him go, and wrapped a leg around the man.

Yang Youming tried and failed to pull away from him, so he simply put the chopsticks in his right hand to the side and put one hand around Xia Xingcheng, kissing him hotly as he pressed their bodies together. At the same time, he slotted a leg between Xia Xingcheng’s and kneaded his waist until he trembled.

Xia Xingcheng’s breaths were erratic and he was soft at the knees, and only then did Yang Youming release him, saying, “Be good, if you keep pestering me, we won’t have anything to eat.”

Xia Xingcheng let go of him too, and winked at Jiang Zihe through the doorway.

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – thank you to britener for the kofis ❤

⟵ Chapter 101| TOC | Chapter 103 ⟶

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