Chapter 2: 2

Bai Wenchen was not bothered by the strange tension between the former classmates. In a casual tone, he replied to He Yiming’s statement with a few token words. Then, he slipped away to Fang Ziling’s trailer to look for his little mistress.

Su Pei and He Yiming were left to face each other.

He Yiming was as tall and handsome as Su Pei remembered. As usual, the broad-shouldered man was clean-shaven and neatly dressed, and his crisp attire only made his dark eyes seem sharper. This was further emphasized by the serious expression he wore. There was not even a hint of a smile on his face. He exuded indifference, just like the last time they had met. However, despite his cold aloofness, Su Pei felt that He Yiming’s charms had only grown more magnetic.

After the previous year’s argument, they had gone their separate ways and had not properly spoken since. However, they had not completely cut off communication; they still followed each other on social media, and had even texted each other a few times, though this eventually petered out. Su Pei did not begrudge him; he had been tied up with the script for Secrets of Rongcheng alone, and it made sense that someone as successful as He Yiming would have been busier than him.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle that comprised their everyday lives, they had been able to deliberately ignore the unpleasantness of their last meeting. As long as neither of them mentioned it, they could pretend that it had never happened and that they had simply fallen out of touch due to their busy schedules, and through no actual fault of their own.

As a result, Su Pei was entirely caught off-guard by He Yiming’s sudden appearance.

Su Pei stayed silent for a long moment. Both he and He Yiming had made mistakes last time, and had equally acted out of line. Su Pei had always wanted to contact He Yiming to reconcile, but he had not been able to do so. But now, He Yiming had taken the initiative to come to him…

He Yiming spoke first. “You’ve grown your hair out.”

Despite himself, Su Pei smiled. He worked in an environment where everyone took meticulous care of their looks, but he had never paid much attention to such conventions. For him, his personal time and availability determined whether he could do mundane things like getting a haircut. Seeing as he had been severely overworked for the past few months, the thought of doing so had not even crossed his mind.

“What, does it make you nostalgic?” Su Pei teased, tone deliberately light. As of late, longer men’s hairstyles had become popular again. It made Su Pei feel as though they were back in college.

Neither of them brought up their quarrel from the year before. It was as if they had forgiven each other without saying a word. It was a tacit understanding that allowed them to carefully navigate each other’s minefields.

“I’ll show you around.” Su Pei proposed. He Yiming agreed, then Su Pei proceeded to walk him around the set, explaining different things as they moved from one area to another.

As a result of Bai Wenchen’s visit, the day’s filming ended earlier than the previous two days. The crew began to pack up their equipment. Meanwhile, the extras sat at one side, resting and hydrating themselves. Without the lighting engineers and lens filters to work their magic, the previously vibrant actors all looked weary and worn-out.

“Lao1The prefix 老 (pinyin lao, meaning old) is being used before Yao Zhicheng’s surname to indicate affection and/or familiarity. Su Pei and He Yiming use 老 rather than 小 (pinyin xiao, meaning little) because Yao Zhicheng is their senior Yao texted me last night to say that you were coming to the city, but I didn’t expect you to accompany Mr. Bai to the set.” Su Pei said. Though he was still a little shaken by He Yiming’s unexpected appearance, his voice remained steady.

He Yiming glanced around the set. After a moment, he said, “I’m in the same mountaineering club as Bai Wenchen. We’re planning to climb Mount Lhotse2The fourth highest mountain in the world, located in the Himalayas next year. He’s been trying to get me to invest in movies lately.”

Su Pei had heard of the mountaineering club He Yiming was referring to. Its members all consisted of billionaires. He Yiming had become the most popular upstart in the IT industry since gaining momentum in the last couple of years. This provided him with the qualifications to join such a select group.

In fact, in Su Pei’s opinion, He Yiming’s personality made it seem as though he had always belonged in the upper strata of society. His words and deeds always oozed a sort of self-confidence that seemed almost to be second nature. Even his indifference came across as a sort of enviable idleness born of arrogance. He was like a young and beautiful male lion; one whose fierceness could only be appreciated from afar by humans.

He Yiming continued, “Since Bai Wenchen was so enthusiastic about it, I agreed to come with him to meet the crew and look around.”

Su Pei laughed and said, “Is that so? I thought that Lao Yao would’ve told you I was in the crew. It looks like I was just thinking too much.”

He Yiming looked at him, his expression unreadable. “Lao Yao didn’t mention which crew you were in.”

He Yiming slid his hand in his coat’s pocket and slowly clenched it into a fist. Of course, this had been no mere coincidence. He had heard Yao Zhicheng say, Su Pei is under a lot of pressure from the crew, and also from the director and actors. That was the real reason why He Yiming had come.

Naturally, he had no intention of revealing that to Su Pei.

Later that day, everyone gathered at the hotel for dinner. Fang Ziling came out of her trailer after changing her clothes. She was now wearing a sapphire-blue off-the-shoulder jumpsuit, which made her skin look more delicate. By this point, everyone already understood that Bai Wenchen was involved with Fang Ziling. This implicit knowledge was enough to allow Fang Ziling to hold all the cards, and everyone at the dinner table unanimously sang her praises. Bai Wenchen himself merely sat quietly beside Fang Ziling, watching her as she peeled shrimp for herself with slender fingers. Meanwhile, everyone fawned endlessly over her, an act which she found very gratifying.

Among the group of people, Su Pei seemed exceptionally silent.

He did not have any complaints about Fang Ziling. She had a cute face and her acting skills were relatively decent when compared to the male lead’s. Su Pei just had no interest in exaggerating and saying things he did not mean. He was too tired for these sorts of games. He had begun his day exhausted, and after a full day of filming, he was more than ready to turn in for the night. Just as the thought flitted across his mind, his eyes fell on He Yiming, who was sitting across from him.

Su Pei was so lost in his ruminations about the past that he almost missed it when someone addressed him. “Am I right, Mr. Su?”

Su Pei came back to his senses only to see Fang Ziling giving him an amused look.

He said apologetically, “Pardon?”

Fang Ziling smiled and said, “Why, Mr. Su seems rather distracted tonight. I said that we depend on you for the script, but it’s been so difficult, especially for our poor male lead. His lines were so convoluted, it nearly broke him. How many times have we had to change the script so far?”

There was laughter in her voice, and her tone was breezy even as she mocked him. Bai Wenchen was quick to pat the back of her hand, making a token display of trying to keep her from antagonizing the drama’s screenwriter further.

All eyes fell on Su Pei. He Yiming turned to him as well, frowning silently at the sudden tension. It was clear that everyone was assessing Su Pei’s ability to handle such a situation.

On his part, Su Pei was not bothered in the least. He had just had a few drinks, and he was the kind of person who found it hard to take things to heart whenever he was pleasantly buzzed. Hence, it was easy for him to shrug off the pressure suddenly mounted on him.

With a smile, he raised his glass. “I’m just a third-rate writer, shamed by a first-rate beauty.” He thought it suitable to punish himself for such a crime, and thus did so with a drink. He knocked it back quite happily.

However, it seemed that Fang Ziling was not satisfied with his answer. She was about to press further when He Yiming spoke up.

“Su Pei, if you’re a third-rate writer, then there aren’t many good writers in our generation.”

No one said anything, well aware that He Yiming was giving support to his upperclassman. However, Fang Ziling was Bai Wenchen’s latest plaything, and their love was still new and passionate. One was a big shot, while the other was a big shot’s paramour. No one dared to intervene since it would be unwise to openly stand on either side. It was better to keep smiling and watch the gods fight.

He Yiming smiled at Fang Ziling and said, “Don’t believe me? My senior was a man of influence in our alma mater back when we were students. When he published his first novel, critics called him a golden boy.”

Fang Ziling said, “I’m not questioning Mr. Su’s talent. I just didn’t expect him to have published any novels.”

A hint of disapproval remained in her tone. She believed He Yiming to be exaggerating without anything to back up his claims. After all, she had met many men in this circle, and all of them were known for blowing things out of proportion to appear more impressive.

He Yiming said, “The Other Side of Time was Mr Su’s first novel.”

Everyone around them fell quiet. Su Pei himself elected to remain silent as well. He had the feeling that half the table had come to a sudden realization, whereas the other half was still trying to recall what the novel was.

The Other Side of Time was the novel he had written the year he had graduated. As a newcomer publishing for the first time, he had thought that it would be sufficient to print 10,000 copies. However, The Other Side of Time was so popular that it was soon reprinted two months after its launch. In one year, it was reprinted three times and sold a total 200,000 copies.

It was then that the publishing house had printed various slogans on the back cover of his novel: ‘Recommended by fifteen famous writers’, ‘Shining supernova’, and ‘Please join us in witnessing the birth of a golden boy’.

For a while, he had shone brightly under the limelight, infinitely beautiful. Then, that was when he had made a very fatal mistake—he had believed that he would always bask in the glow of success.

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It had been ten years since. By now, The Other Side of Time was just another chapter in the book of memories. It had nothing to do with his current life.

“I’ve read that novel before! I really liked it.” Someone piped up. “I didn’t expect you to be the author, Mr. Su.”

Many of the people seated at the table voiced their support. A few others, though not capable of saying they had read it, were quick to add that their own children had recommended the book to them.

Su Pei rather felt that they were praising his novel in the same way people talked about unfortunate animals that were about to become extinct.

Still, it seemed that Fang Ziling could not help herself. “Have you published any more novels, Mr. Su?”

He Yiming quipped, “Mr. Su has probably published more books than you have read.”

Fang Ziling’s face turned red, but she stubbornly continued, “Is that true, Mr. Su? Have you published a lot of novels?”

Su Pei just sat there smiling as he watched them bicker. At Fang Ziling’s question, he replied in a soft drawl made even milder by his tipsiness, “I have published… three novels.“

At this point, several people could no longer hold themselves back and burst out laughing.

Fang Ziling could not afford to get angry with He Yiming, and she knew this. Thus, she could only turn to Bai Wenchen. There were tears welling in her eyes, but they didn’t fall. Seeing her looking so pitiful, Bai Wenchen finally intervened and said, “Okay, okay. Come on, you know He Yiming. He’s a mean devil3Literally a “mean ghost” in the original text. The character 鬼 (pinyin gui, meaning ghost/evil spirit) in Chinese slang is used to denote that someone is doing something excessively. source. Anyone who meets him will get a smack-down. He’s smacked me down, too!”

He Yiming smiled indifferently. “What can I say, I’m a bad friend.”

The director smoothed things over after that, before someone else suggested singing. Just like that, the confrontation between the big shot and the big shot’s paramour came to a close. Su Pei still sat there quietly, not caring much about the gaze of others. He had been steadily drinking, and the intoxication made him feel calm and drowsy. He had gradually lost sight of He Yiming and his piercing stare, not to mention that he could make neither heads nor tails of what the people around him were saying. He simply hummed and nodded whenever it seemed appropriate.

Even when the dinner ended, he made no move to get up from his seat.

After a while, a man came up to him. “Su Pei, are you all right?”

Su Pei looked up, feeling light-headed. “Ah, Xiao He4The prefix 小 (pinyin xiao, meaning little) is being used before He Yiming’s surname to indicate affection and/or familiarity. Su Pei uses 小 rather than 老 (pinyin lao, meaning old) because he is He Yiming’s senior.”

He Yiming was standing beside him.

Su Pei stood up slowly. He wobbled slightly, and He Yiming quickly reached out to support him so he could stay upright. Su Pei grabbed He Yiming’s arm and murmured, “You were too much with Fang Ziling just now. She’s… the heroine… if things don’t go well for her, it’ll be even worse for the crew. You’re handsome… but still so cruel. Mr. Bai’s right, you’re a mean devil… I didn’t dare say this to your face before. Your heart’s so cold and your mind’s so closed-off… you would’ve definitely been angry if you’d heard me say that before, right?”

He Yiming sighed. After a moment, he asked, “Su Pei, how much have you had to drink?”

Su Pei mumbled, “Not much.”

He was not like other people, who turned red as a tomato after drinking too much. Even when drunk, he looked as pale and delicate as ever. Moreover, his expression became gentle and unfathomable, similar to that of people depicted in old paintings. His expressive eyebrows, his slender nose, his delicate lips. His expression melted into one of someone whose hopes had been unjustly dashed by many.

To make matters worse, he lifted his gaze and locked eyes with He Yiming. Quietly, he murmured, “… We really haven’t talked in a long time.”

Had He Yiming not been aware of Su Pei’s preferences, he would have thought the man was trying to seduce him. Unfortunately, he knew Su Pei’s tastes too well, and had been burdened with this knowledge since the beginning.

He Yiming grabbed his arm and tugged him forward. “Where are you staying? I’ll take you back.”

Su Pei was pliant under his grip. He staggered forward, letting He Yiming steer him away. It was not easy, but on his part, He Yiming was doing his level best to keep them from sprawling out on the floor while also desperately trying to keep some distance between them. He did not think he could handle having Su Pei’s head rest on his shoulder.

As they both stumbled along, Xiao Yan soon found them.

“Mr. Su!” Xiao Yan hurried to steady Su Pei, who was swaying like a tree.

As soon as Su Pei saw the familiar face of his assistant, he smiled. “Xiao Yan, you… were also here?”

Since Xiao Yan was just an assistant, she had not had the privilege of eating at the same table as the big bosses. Instead, she had eaten dinner next door with the other assistants, drivers, and crew staff. She had noticed that the meal in the other room had ended, and seen the director leave with Fang Ziling. However, when Su Pei had not emerged, she had gone looking for him.

Xiao Yan grabbed Su Pei’s arm, looking at the tall man beside him. “Thank you, sir. Please, allow me, I’ll take Mr. Su—”

She stammered to a halt in the middle of her words.

The man standing in front of her was none other than He Yiming. He was young, tall, handsome, and a billionaire to boot. Needless to say, he met all her standards for a boyfriend perfectly. However, right at that moment, He Yiming’s aura seemed to be exerting an invisible pressure on her, like a brewing storm. Though she could not quite put a finger on why, her instincts were all screaming at her to be careful with her wording.

“The driver and I will escort Mr. Su back.” She said politely.

He Yiming’s eyes swept over the hand she was using to hold Su Pei’s arm. “Su Pei and I are going to catch up tonight. We’ll be staying up late. Go back first.”

Xiao Yan knew that Su Pei had been rushing to finish the script until the early hours, then woken up before dawn to deliver the new version to the set. Afterwards, he had worked all day, and had even drunk so much wine during dinner that he looked just about ready to fall asleep on the spot. Stay up late? What was the big idea?

Hesitant, Xiao Yan asked Su Pei, “Mr Su, are you sure about this? We have to be on set tomorrow morning.”

Su Pei did not seem to hear her words. He smiled dopily at He Yiming. “Xiao He, everyone’s already left. Let’s go get a drink…”

He Yiming whisked Su Pei away without another word. Bewildered, Xiao Yan could only watch their vanishing backs.

Su Pei felt that he was being dragged away. He was not too sure. He was in a relaxed mood at the moment, and did not feel the need to find out what exactly was going on. However, soon enough, he found that they seemed to have entered an elevator. The smooth mirrors in the elevator threw him for a loop for a moment—there seemed to be several He Yimings around him in the quiet space.

Su Pei pressed himself against the wall. Before long, he began slipping down slowly. He Yiming, alarmed by the motion, quickly grabbed hold of him with his strong hands, lifting him back up so that he would not collapse on the ground.

Once they exited the elevator, He Yiming took Su Pei to his hotel room. Almost immediately, Su Pei headed straight for the sofa and flopped onto it. Shaking his head, He Yiming turned away to take off his coat. Though it took a mere few seconds, by the time he turned back around, Su Pei was already asleep.

He Yiming shook Su Pei by the collar. “Su Pei!”

Su Pei’s eyebrows furrowed, but he said nothing. He Yiming let go with a sigh, and Su Pei melted back onto the sofa.

✻✻✻

The author has something to say: Su Pei is a soft straight man.

He Yiming is a tough GAY5The word “GAY” was written like this in the original text (in English and all caps).

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