Shen Qi’s sleep habits weren’t exactly respectful. He had never felt bad about it, so unless a special circumstance were to come up, he wouldn’t force himself to change this little bad habit. He was a human being, so it was normal that he wasn’t flawless.

Why, it could even be helpful to his mission!

Such as now.

A noise outside the window made him open his eyes. In front of him was a wall. No, he was wrong. It wasn’t a wall; it was a man’s chest.

Shen Qi was curled up in the man’s arms. His legs were restrained, as if to prevent him from moving.

Shen Qi’s breath hitched. His senses were surrounded by this man’s presence, be it smell, hearing or sight.

Someone was breathing on his head.

The moment he realized it, his scalp felt as if it had been electrified, and an indescribable itch quickly ran through his body.

Th-thi-this…

He couldn’t believe he… He couldn’t believe he was being held in the arms of his idol!

His face instantly became flushed.

Should he move or not?

Shen Qi hesitated for a few seconds, tilting his head back gently to see if Jiang Changshen was awake or asleep, but the movement betrayed him.

The long arm around the waist pulled him closer.

“Be good, stop it.” The voice was husky from sleep.

Shen Qi was rigid. Only the sound of a rattling fan could be heard.

He opened his mouth: “Bro-Brother Jiang…” His stutter caused the heat of his face to rise by another two degrees.

“Hm…?”

Jiang Changshen had woken up and was still half-dreaming. His hum trailed over, going from a flat response to an upbeat question.

He opened his eyes and took two seconds to figure out the situation at hand. He released Shen Qi, rubbing his brow wearily.

“Sorry about that.”

“No-no, I’m the one who’s sorry. I tend to grab when I sleep.” Shen Qi backpedalled and tried to sit up. “I forgot to… Ow!” His lower body got stuck.

His legs were completely numb and because he had moved, he was now feeling a painful cramp.

That hurt like a bi—

Shen Qi hissed repeatedly, too stiff to move and his body in an awkward pose.

Jiang Changshen had been rubbing his temples. At the sight of Shen Qi’s ruffled appearance, he giggled. He hooked his legs around Shen Qi’s and moved them back into a more comfortable position.

“You’re young, why are you getting cramps? Don’t move, I’ll give you a massage to help.”

Shen Qi was flattered. “No, don’t bother, I’ll do it myself…”

“Don’t move.”

Jiang Changshen was gentle, his movements undeniable. He was skilful, as if he’d studied this. He was very good and quickly made the pain ease up.

Shen Qi retracted his legs hurriedly, “I can, can…”

He was afraid of something happening if Jiang Changshen kept touching him. It wasn’t not him who risked being in trouble, it was Jiang Changshen. Shen Qi was afraid that he might not have the self-control to avoid doing something to Jiang Changshen.

Why was it that this close to his idol, he couldn’t help feeling even more excited?!

“Don’t move.” Jiang Changshen liked to finish what he started. He grabbed Shen Qi by the ankle and yanked him back. “It’s just for a little bit. If you move again, you might get another cramp.”

Shen Qi couldn’t resist, so he had to take deep breaths to restrain himself. He could not make a fool of himself.

As Jiang Changshen pressed on a knot, the curtain serving as a door was lifted and Xie Jun walked in. The man was stunned at the sight of the situation on the bed, but he quickly came back to his senses and smiled.

“Yo, what’s the deal with you guys? Did I come at a bad time?”

His expression was normal. There was no malice in the tone of his voice, just harmless teasing.

Jiang Changshen was very frank. “Xiao Qi has leg cramps. I’m pressing on tension knots.”

Xie Jun and Jiang Changshen had known each other for years.

Although they were not close friends, they understood each other. When Xie Jun saw Jiang Changshen like this, he nodded his head and stretched his back towards the bathroom.

“It’s getting late. You guys get up and wash up. The director said the new guest is almost an hour away.”

“Hmm.” Jiang Changshen gave Shen Qi’s leg two more squeezes before letting go. “Do you know who’s coming?”

He was asking Shen Qi, not Xie Jun who had already gone into the bathroom and closed the door.

Jiang Changshen’s tone was not curious. He obviously knew who it was and was just curious to see if Shen Qi knew.

Of course Shen Qi knew. He nodded.

“It’s Ning Yuntian. We’re from the same company. My agent and his explained it to me before I came.”

Two pieces of fresh meat from the same company on the same show. He didn’t know who came up with the idea, but it had received a unanimous approval.

Shen Qi thought he could interrupt Ning Yuntian and Jiang Changshen’s first encounter with his own involvement, but what was supposed to happen would still happen.

In his past missions involving backstabbing, important plot twists would happen in some way no matter how they had been modified. Even if the process leading up to them had been changed beyond recognition, those plot points would still happen.

That was why he had given up on the idea of trying to use his human identity to get rid of Ning Yuntian directly.

“Is Brother Jiang familiar with Ning Yuntian?”

He had done a probe. Right now, Ning Yuntian was as popular as he was. They were both newcomers who had only just emerged. Jiang Changshen had no reason to know about Ning Yuntian, since he had no impression of Shen Qi.

But who could have guessed that Jiang Changshen would say:

“I’ve seen him in a TV show, and he’s a good actor.”

He actually knew him!

Had Jiang Changshen had a crush on Ning Yuntian from the start? Was Ning Yuntian’s appearance just the right type for him?

Was he so impressed with the boy in just three days that he recommended him for a big production featuring a male pairing? And then they’d settle down after in a three-month shoot?

After filtering through the outline of what she knew, Shen Qi had made quite a few guesses. His expression did not look so good.

Shen Qi had always been a proud man. He had the willingness to restrain himself in front of Jiang Changshen. But why had Brother Jiang seen Ning Yuntian first, when he had made his debut at the same time?

“What about me? Has Brother Jiang seen the TV show I’m in?”

Jiang Changshen got out of bed and looked back at him, surprised. “Doesn’t your TV show air in half a month?”

Shen Qi was stuck. He did not regret making a movie before a TV series, but he was still indignant.

“What about the movie? Have you seen the movie I debuted in?”

He briskly trampled over to the edge of the bed and almost jumped on Jiang Changshen. He pulled at Jiang Changshen’s arm as if afraid the man would run away.

Perhaps because of the previous conversation or because the two had just slept in the same bed, he felt much closer to Jiang Changshen. If it hadn’t been for that, he wouldn’t have dared show such intimacy.

To make it easier for him to talk, he set his legs down on either side of Jiang Changshen. He was holding Jiang Changshen. The man was standing right between his legs, creating an extremely ambiguous stance.

Jiang Changshen’s unmoving gaze zeroed on the teenager. He didn’t move.

Shen Qi tilted his head up, his eyes carefully expectant. “The movie is called <The Distant Hills of the Past>, directed by Yu Hongyu. The main supporting actors are all new, and I played the second male lead.”

Helpless, Jiang Changshen could only say, “Sorry.” Actually, he could have just said something perfunctory. But faced with the teenager’s eyes, somehow, the truth came out.

Seeing those eyes dim, he reached out and brushed his fingers against the young man’s cheekbones.

“I didn’t know before, but now I know. So I’ll watch it when I get back, okay?” He laughed. “Do you want me to give you a review after I watched it?”

Shen Qi’s mood, which had been low, instantly soared.

“Really? I’m taking Brother Jiang’s word for it. No backtracking! No, I have to find something to write this down on—what if you deny it?”

As he was speaking, he left the bed. But he’d forgotten that he was still holding Jiang Changshen’s arm. Jiang Changshen was standing right in front of him. They crashed into each other.

Shen Qi recoiled in shock, twisting out of the way. But he forgot the bed at his back. He backed up too fast and fell backwards. Luckily the bed was there, so he didn’t need to be scared. However, he hadn’t let go of Jiang Changshen’s arm and with this fell…

Jiang Changshen fell down with him.

This series of actions happened so quickly that by the time he realized what was going on, Shen Qi was already lying on the bed with Jiang Changshen is on top of him.

This was the kind of dramatic scene that only happened in TV dramas. He couldn’t believe it had happened to him. Instead of being happy, Shen Qi cried a little.

Did Brother Jiang think he was doing it on purpose? Did he think Shen Qi was going too far? It was hard enough getting close to Brother Jiang. Shen Qi would be annoyed if he made a bad impression because of this!

Jiang Changshen did have a moment of doubt. In only two days, Shen Qi had given him one surprise after another. He could tell that Shen Qi liked him, not just a fans’ fondness for their idol. It was a man’s love for a man, and he showed it so clearly that if he couldn’t avoid noticing it.

Young, beautiful, cheerful… whether the passion for him was real or not, whether it was as simple as it appeared or there were ulterior motives, Shen Qi had caught his attention.

Mostly it was because he wasn’t annoying.

Maybe it was worth giving it a try.

Love affairs within the entertainment circle came and went, dividing and conquering. Besides, they wouldn’t even be able to expose this kind of relationship. It wouldn’t be taken seriously.

Having seen so much of the comings and goings around him, he had only one requirement for a relationship: That both sides had to be faithful while together. Before the relationship he could care less, once broken up even less, but while together, the focus had to be just him.

With a sudden sigh, he looked at the green-eyed teenager beneath him. ‘Little fresh meat’—that was a good word for the media to use. It was indeed fresh and fleshy, and tickled the heart.

Shen Qi took in the distracted air and knew what to expect.

With the sound of flushing water, the bathroom door opened. Xie Jun was startled. “What are you guys up to again?”

Shen Qi was shocked and pushed Jiang Changshen away. “I was the one who didn’t stand still and caused Brother Jiang to fall.”

Jiang Changshen rose and pulled him up.

Xie Jun was not as easy to fool this time as before. He stroked his chin and aimed banter at the two.

“Why does this lord think there must be something wrong with this? What do you think, Director Liang?”

He looked towards the door and there was Liang Yu, who had come over at some point.

He had been sticking a head in, staying by the bamboo curtain as if he were a thief. Seeing that he has been discovered, he lifted the curtain and came in with a smile.

“Reporting back to your lordship, this little one just came in and didn’t see anything. What did you see?”

Liang Yu had been best friends with Jiang Changshen for years, and was much closer to him than Xie Jun. So the man looked natural, not caring about what he’d seen.

“Okay. I think the new guests were coming, so let’s all hurry up and pack up so we can start shooting.”

Shen Qi knew he was at a disadvantage, so he did not dare say much.

Xie Jun and Liang Yu exchanged a glance. A few quick quips were enough to reveal the incident.

Everyone took a shower and changed their clothes. Once they’d wrapped up, the crew got ready to continue shooting.

Soon enough, stepping into the evening light…

Ning Yuntian appeared, pulling his suitcase along.

PREVIOUS // Table of Contents // NEXT