Chapter 3: 3

“Lift your chin.” Xia Shaoqian said to Cheng Yan in a low voice.

It wasn’t the first time Cheng Yan had this problem. He would always look down whenever he was around a lot of people. As a result, his original agent often said that he was “unsuitable for fame”–he wasn’t good at attracting other people’s attention.

When he heard this sentence in his ear, Cheng Yan felt that his chin had been lifted by an invisible hand.

“Sorry, I…” he whispered.

Xia Shaoqian furrowed his brow. “What? Speak clearly.” As if he was demonstrating to Cheng Yan, he spoke slowly, clearly articulating each word, his volume neither too high nor too low. As if he was the actor.

Cheng Yan hesitated for a moment, and in that interlude, some people came over to talk to Xia Shaoqian. A small circle quickly formed with him in the centre, leaving Cheng Yan on the outside.

In that instant, he let out a sigh of relief. Then he felt a surge of frustration and disappointment.

Standing in a corner, he quietly observed Xia Shaoqian.

Xia Shaoqian’s entire body gave off a sense of frank haughtiness. A little bit of “this baller has the right to be so arrogant”, and a little bit of “not only am I a businessman, I’m also a man of taste”, or… “if the heavens abandon me, I will become a demon”[1]. Cheng Yan laughed. Xia Shaoqian was really suitable for this kind of temperament.

Just as Cheng Yan was amusing himself, a young man squeezed in beside Xia Shaoqian. The two seemed to have known each other before, and they quickly started talking. As they chatted, the young man would repeatedly smile.

The youth had a slender figure and shoulder-length hair. From time to time, he would unconsciously brush back strands of hair that covered his eyes, making his fingers appear even more slender and delicate. What was most striking was his complexion, which was so fair that it appeared strange. Cheng Yan was stunned for a while before he finally reacted: He was probably mixed race.

A handsome young, mixed race man, who almost had the word “bent” carved on his forehead.

However, Xia Shaoqian’s attitude was still the same as before. His behavior was still polite, without any extra movements or gestures. His eyes were neither deliberately lingering nor moving around.

Cheng Yan watched with interest as the young man’s enthusiasm went from abundant to exhausted, finally turning into discontent and displeasure. When this expression appeared on the face of a beauty, it appeared even more pained and melancholic.

“Why! Shaoqian! Why do you want to leave me!”

“Sorry. It’s impossible for us.”

“Why! Shaoqian! You still love me! Don’t hide your love for me, I can see it clearly!”

“XXX!” (Here, a low bass voice, with deep affection, depressed and slightly trembling, called the name of the mixed race man.)

“I… hate you!”

“Everything I do is for your own good!”

Cheng Yan watched their mouths open and close, making up the lines for them in his head.

In reality, these were the lines of the male and female leads in a romance he filmed. He played the role of the butler of a male supporting character who had attempted to conquer the female lead.

When the mixed-race man left, Cheng Yan suddenly understood how he should deal with these occasions in a leisurely manner.

Just like Yang-laoshi said, “Then treat it as acting.”

He needed to play another person. He couldn’t show Xia Shaoqian his bewildered true nature. He had to play a confident and elegant lover.

“Mr. Xia.” Cheng Yan smiled slightly, his eyes calm, his hand, perhaps intentionally, perhaps unintentionally, coming to rest on Xia Shaoqian’s arm.

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“I saw Director Xu over there.”

Xia Shaoqian replied immediately, “Come here, I will introduce you to each other.”

“You’ve met in the past?”

“He shot a lot of commercials for the group.”

“So it turns out that he shoots commercials. I always thought he only made MVs.”

Upon hearing MV, Xia Shaoqian’s gaze suddenly rested on Cheng Yan’s face. Cheng Yan automatically began playing background music in his head, “Like rain drizzling on the bottom of my heart, that feeling is truly a mystery, I can’t help but raise my head and look at you, but you don’t show a trace… that’s the look in your eyes… ah…”[2]

“Mr. Xia?” He met that gaze and asked warmly.

Xia Shaoqian simply handed a glass of wine to him. “Come.”

After a while, a reception desk was set up in the hall. That was when Cheng Yan realized this wine party was originally for exchanging antiques.

The host was a famous announcer on TV, quickly heating up the atmosphere. Xia Shaoqian showed Cheng Yan a vase that he had brought to exchange.

Cheng Yan nodded. “Is this Yue kiln celadon[3]? The shape is very beautiful, and it should be heavy to handle.” A good lover should have some common hobbies.

His left hand was held.

“Let’s go.” Xia Shaoqian whispered in his ear.

“Ah…” Cheng Yan went out of character for a moment, and stammered, “You don’t need to… handle this side?”

Xia Shaoqian almost seemed to laugh, “With the secretary here, it’s fine.”

The room had long been booked in advance.

This time, while showering, Xia Shaoqian pressed him against the glass door. The room was so full of hot steam that he almost fainted.

Then the two of them slid into the tub together. Cheng Yan could only cling to Xia Shaoqian’s shoulders, otherwise he would fall back into the bath water and drown.

“Ah…” He couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, moaning loudly like a qualified lover, actually to breathe in more air.

Xia Shaoqian just moaned lowly twice, entering deeper from within the water.

In the end, Cheng Yan forgot how he managed to get out of the bathroom. It seemed that he was half-hugged and half-dragged out in a daze.

When his head cleared, they were already lying in bed, Xiao Shaoqian’s arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

Xia Shaoqian said in his ear, “Do you want to be a lead actor?”

At that moment, Cheng Yan woke up completely.

[1] From the video game The Legend of Sword and Fairy, also known as Chinese Paladin. The final boss in the fourth game of the series says this line. From baike (Chinese online encyclopedia), it seems that he is a sympathetic villain. Although he went against the gods and became a demon, he also helped the main character save a lot of people.

[2] The song he’s thinking of is Cai Qin’s “Your Eyes”. It’s about that inexplicable emotion, looking at the silent and dispassionate eyes of a (ex?)lover, and feeling filled with joy at the sight of their beauty.

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