Chapter 4
There were four couples total on this show: two same-s.e.x and two opposite-s.e.x. Each group contained one couple that had been married for a long time and a couple that had either just started dating or had just gotten married. Before evening fell, the other couples arrived as well. The production staff was determined to get high viewer ratings, so weren’t stingy with their money. These four duos were all very valuable. Aside from Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye, one couple was an early Hong Kong film empress and her wealthy husband, one was the “fresh meat” and “fresh flower” couple the same age as Fang Shaoyi, and the last was a pair of youths. Both youths were just past twenty, making them the youngest CP on the show. They hadn’t publicized their relationship yet, so were going for that ambiguous feeling.
These two old CPs were extremely influential. With Fang Shaoyi and film empress Chen Ru’s statuses, it had taken great effort to get them to sign the contracts. The other two young CPs were in charge of the show’s online popularity: they all had an abundance of fans, bringing with them trending topics and marketability. Their online influence was impressive, so signing them hadn’t been cheap either.
With every group’s arrival, they exchanged greetings. Fang Shaoyi and Chen Ru had worked together before on a movie many years ago, so could be considered old acquaintances. However, Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye were completely unfamiliar with the other two duos. Yuan Ye hadn’t even heard of them before. The two youngest kids were the most polite and respectful. Everyone around them were their seniors. Even though they currently had a lot of fans, the difference in status between them was still substantial.
Dinner had been arranged in the hotel. Everyone sat down to eat. They were going to film the show together, so gathered for a meal to get to know one another better. Lin Tian was the one in charge of keeping the mood alive in this group. She was a usual guest on several different types of variety shows, so knew how to maintain the flow very well. The two youngest, Chi Xing and Cheng Xun, also had some experience. Their feel for variety was pretty strong. Chen Ru and her husband were from Hong Kong, so weren’t prudish at all; they could really let themselves go. Among them, only Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye spoke little. Neither took initiative to speak. Sometimes, they couldn’t even keep up with the others’ train of thought, becoming confused as to what they were ultimately trying to express.
Yuan Ye kept his head lowered and ate. Fang Shaoyi occasionally added food and soup to his bowls.
“Teacher Yuan, don’t just focus on eating. Come chat with us. Haha, Teacher Yuan is too down to earth!” The topic of conversation had switched to him. Yuan Ye looked up at Lin Tian. The other was smiling at him. Yuan Ye grinned at everyone and said, “Okay, let’s chat.”
His extremely serious response caused everyone at the table to burst into laughter again. The emotions expressed in variety shows were always exaggerated.
“Let him eat. When Teacher Yuan gets hungry, he starts eating in a rush. He can’t stand being too hungry.” Fang Shaoyi sat next to him and added another ladle full of soup to his bowl. He chuckled and told everyone else, “He’s also not much of a talker. If you make him speak, the conversation will get awkward.”
Yuan Ye glanced at him, then nodded with a smile. “Un, my friends normally don’t include me in their conversations. They find me infuriating.”
It was hard to find news about these two normally. They each focused on their own work. In the first few years, Yuan Ye had also posted a lot of stuff on Weibo, but these years, he rarely did. To the outside world, they were somewhat mysterious. Two lowkey people had finally appeared in the public eye. The production crew had already leaked out that they would be attending the show long ago, so the audience had been waiting in antic.i.p.ation since.
Lin Tian asked with eyes curved into a smile, “So how do you guys chat at home normally? I feel like both geges don’t speak much. Don’t you feel stuffy at home?”
Yuan Ye thought to himself, who’s your gege? You’re even a year older than me. He joked, “We don’t chat. We just look at each other and communicate through our eyes. Our house is silent.”
Everyone at the table laughed once more.
Fang Shaoyi b.u.t.ted in, taking initiative to chat with everyone else. He gently pressed a hand to Yuan Ye’s lower back, telling him to keep eating, then removed it. Yuan Ye glanced at him. Since he wasn’t needed anymore, he would simply keep eating. This was nice. Yuan Ye felt that his patience was reaching its limits. He honestly disliked these situations. The ruckus gave him a headache and everyone’s smiles were probably fake. Keeping an act up was tiring. Fang Shaoyi knew him extremely well, so obviously knew that Yuan Ye had already used up almost all his patience.
Yuan Ye finished eating and set down his chopsticks. He wiped his mouth silently. Fang Shaoyi was in the middle of conversation with someone else, but turned around to ask him, “Full?”
“Un.” Yuan Ye nodded, “I noticed that you didn’t eat much.”
Fang Shaoyi answered in a low voice, “If you feel uncomfortable, go upstairs and rest. You don’t need to bother with these things.”
Yuan Ye shook his head. “I’m fine.”
After the meal, everyone returned to their own rooms. Nothing else was scheduled, but the cameras still needed to keep filming. They wanted content regarding how these couples interacted on the daily. As soon as he walked in the door, Yuan Ye fell over onto the bed. With closed eyes, he said, “Tired.”
Fang Shaoyi b.u.mped up the thermostat. He walked over and patted Yuan Ye’s leg. “Go shower first.”
Yuan Ye opened his eyes to look at him. They made eye contact. Yuan Ye didn’t speak, only staring at him silently. Then, he removed his gaze and scanned the cameras surrounding them. He reached a hand out to grab a pillow before covering his face. The voice that sounded out from under the pillow was stuffy. “They’re still filming. I’m shy.”
Fang Shaoyi smiled. When he smiled, the corners of his eyes and the angle of his brows would become softer. He stood at the edge of the bed, prodding the sprawled out Yuan Ye with his knee. Amused, he said, “Lies. They won’t go in and film you showering. What’s there to be shy about?”
“Either way, I’m just shy. You shower first. I’ll shower later,” Yuan Ye responded.
Both his arms were pressing down on the pillow. His words were barely understandable.
Fang Shaoyi pulled his pillow away. “Don’t suffocate.”
The pillow got removed. Probably because he had just been stuffed under it, causing his breathing to be restricted, Yuan Ye’s eyes were red.
Fang Shaoyi stood there, staring into his eyes. Yuan Ye didn’t meet his gaze. As if throwing a tantrum, he flung his arm out and flipped over, preventing the camera from filming his face.
After, it seemed like he had fallen asleep. He laid there, unmoving. Fang Shaoyi entered the bathroom to shower. The cameraman walked closer to get a closeup of Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye used his hand to block the lens. His eyes were still closed as he buried his face in the bed, half sprawled out. His voice sounded a bit nasally. He laughed and pleaded, “Bro, stop filming. You’ve already filmed me all of today, let me catch a breath.”
Thus, the camera could only catch the back of his head and one ear.
The first day of filming ended here. Fang Shaoyi walked out after drying his hair. The cameramen packed up and left. Yuan Ye maintained his position, flopped over on the bed. He appeared to be asleep.
Fang Shaoyi’s footsteps were very light. He walked over to the window and stood there, looking outside. The room had fallen into absolute silence. They couldn’t even hear each other’s breathing. Outside, the ocean breeze was a bit gusty. Just looking at it made one feel cold.
When the sound of a phone vibrating suddenly appeared in this room, it seemed out of place. Yuan Ye reached over and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He answered and glued it to his ear. Still lying down, he said, “h.e.l.lo?”
“Un, I made it. We’ve already filmed for a whole day.”
“……He’s here too.”
“No worries. Rest a.s.sured.”
Yuan Ye laid there, laughing. The sound got m.u.f.fled by the bed. At least his laughter sounded a bit more relaxed. With slight amus.e.m.e.nt, he said, “I didn’t even see you guys worrying about me this much when I was twenty three. Now I’m thirty three, old lady. I’m an independent, grown male. Hurry and start worrying about yourself and Professor Yuan, okay?”
He only held a brief conversation over the phone before hanging up.
He had even answered a call, so couldn’t keep faking being asleep. Yuan Ye heaved out a long sigh and jerked upright. Fang Shaoyi didn’t turn around. Yuan Ye didn’t call out to him either.
It had been too long since the two of them had stayed in a room together. However pleasant and comfortable it had been before was how awkward and solemn it felt now. Yuan Ye hadn’t fallen asleep at all. How could he? This wasn’t even his room. Only, the image just now of Fang Shaoyi telling him to go shower had suddenly overlapped with scenes from the past. Yuan Ye didn’t know what nerve had snapped in his brain either. His emotions had suddenly welled up and he hadn’t been able to hide the twinge in his nose.
Fang Shaoyi looked over. His voice was completely calm and emotionless. He asked, “Everything’s good at home?”
“Un, pretty good.” Yuan Ye replied with the same tone.
Fang Shaoyi turned around and stood there. Yuan Ye sat off to the side, arms around his knees, casually crossed in front of his body. Neither spoke. A while later, Yuan Ye asked, “Can I smoke in here?”
Fang Shaoyi c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and looked at him. “Smoke?”
Yuan Ye patted his pocket. He wasn’t carrying around any cigarettes because of filming today. He shook his head, chuckled, and said, “Nevermind.”
He knew Fang Shaoyi’s gaze was locked on him. When those eyes landed on a person, they felt tangible and also carried warmth. Yuan Ye could tell when Fang Shaoyi was staring at him even without looking up; he could feel it.
This s.p.a.ce was too stuffy. The tension could be cut with a knife. Yuan Ye sighed. He stood up and rubbed his head out of habit. The small scar by his eye happened to catch the light, so seemed a bit obvious. He told Fang Shaoyi, “It’s late. Rest early. I need to head back, shower, and sleep too.”
The production crew had prepared a suite for them, but there was only one bed. It was impossible for Yuan Ye to stay here. Earlier, he had told Ji Xiaotao to reserve another room for him. His stuff had already been moved over. When he was almost at the door, Fang Shaoyi called out, “Yuan Ye.”
Yuan Ye turned around and made a noise of acknowledgment.
Fang Shaoyi lowered his voice and said, “If you find this show too annoying, we can stop filming. I’ll have Geng Jinwei discuss with them when I get back.”
Yuan Ye c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and looked over. “You’re annoyed? Whatever you want. If you want to stop filming, then stop. I’m fine with whatever.”
Fang Shaoyi furrowed his brows. He stared straight at Yuan Ye. “Quit bringing me up. I’m asking about you.”
Yuan Ye was wearing a casual jacket and black jeans. Right now, he had both hands in his pockets and was half turned around. With a smile that wasn’t really a smile, he stared at Fang Shaoyi. After showering, Fang Shaoyi had changed into a t-shirt and joggers. He looked clean and fresh, very homey. Yuan Ye had a set of these clothes too. Coincidentally, he had also brought them along as pajamas this time.
Yuan Ye suddenly laughed. He turned around to face Fang Shaoyi straight on. He closely observed Fang Shaoyi’s face, then nodded. Cold amus.e.m.e.nt resounded in his voice. “I’m so f.u.c.king annoyed.”
The depths of Fang Shaoyi’s eyes were still and dark. Without waiting for the other to answer, Yuan Ye continued, “……But I still want to keep filming.”
Yuan Ye took two steps forward. His face was in front of Fang Shaoyi’s. He grabbed the other’s t-shirt and asked, “Don’t you think I’m bats.h.i.t crazy?”
Fang Shaoyi focused on the tiny scar at the corner of his eye. This scar had been there for many years. Back then, it had been pretty obvious, but now, it was almost imperceptible unless Yuan Ye was under a direct light source. Fang Shaoyi said, “Just say the word when you want to stop filming. No need to force yourself.”
Yuan Ye agreed softly. At the same time, he rubbed his fingers together. It was a tiny, reflexive action; he actually just wanted to smoke a cigarette. Yuan Ye turned around and left, lifting an arm in farewell.