At five o'clock in the afternoon, at the company, Lu Zhou looked extremely haggard.

"Where has he been?" Lu Zhou asked.

"I don't know," Du Mei replied. "I was in a meeting just now. He said he wanted to resign. Lin Yao took the call and suggested to wait and see. Did you drive him away? Lin Yao asked him to come to the company, but he didn’t come. Lin Yao proposed him to take a break for a while, and we'll talk about it later."

Lu Zhou: "..."

Du Mei continued, "His phone is off. After the meeting, I called back, but it was a public phone. Lu Zhou? Wait! Hey!"

"It's not for me to lecture you." Du Mei went outside and stood in the corridor, underlining, "Why did you explode at him like that today? That matter could have been discussed. Xiao Yi kneeled on the road for you. If it wasn't for Ning Yaqing pulling him away, paparazzi would have followed you..."

Lu Zhou entered the elevator.

*

Six o'clock in the evening, Beijing Airport.

Xiao Yi bought a ticket at the airport and then proceeded to check in.

During the security check, the staff looked at him curiously.

"Xiao Yi," the staff member said.

"Yes," Xiao Yi replied nervously.

The staff member nodded, and Xiao Yi passed through security.

Xiao Yi felt like the whole world was off today. The flight was delayed, and it wouldn't depart until 11:30 at night. Xiao Yi had to settle for instant noodles at the waiting area. While getting hot water, he noticed several passengers staring and whispering about him.

Xiao Yi: "???"

Xiao Yi scratched his head, but he wasn't in the mood to pay attention to what was going on around him. When he arrived in Wuhan at two in the morning, there were no more buses. His phone was lost, so he couldn't ask Xiao Qiang to pick him up. He could only find a cheap place near the airport to stay for the night and take a train back the next day.

And then? Xiao Yi felt like the world was bleak.

You're just a waste. Why can't you continue working? If you go home now, you'll have nothing. I'm just a waste. Whatever.

Xiao Yi ate instant noodles in the waiting area, feeling a bit resentful towards himself. But staying would definitely be difficult to handle emotionally. He would disappoint Du Mei and Li Changzheng, and anger Lu Zhou. Everything would be over. It's better to hide... Hide back home, where nothing matters anymore.

Two girls sitting opposite Xiao Yi stared at him and whispered.

After finishing the noodles, when Xiao Yi looked up, he saw everyone around staring at him.

Xiao Yi: "???"

"Sorry..." Xiao Yi said, "I was too hungry... Sorry."

Xiao Yi threw away the noodle bowl and sat back down. The people around continued chatting quietly, acting as if nothing happened. Xiao Yi sighed and sat there. After a while, a woman came over and said, "Hey, young man, hello."

Xiao Yi immediately looked up. "Can I help you?"

The woman smiled, "Nothing, the plane is delayed, so I thought we could chat. Are you also on this flight to Sanya?"

"No, I'm on the next one, going to Wuhan," Xiao Yi smiled and said, "I just quit my job and I'm going home to be with my parents."

"It's hard in Beijing," the woman smiled.

Xiao Yi found himself being eavesdropped on by everyone around as they listened to their conversation.

Xiao Yi: "..."

The woman opened her phone, checked Weibo, and suddenly asked, "Are you married?"

"No," Xiao Yi thought, ‘She's not trying to introduce me to someone, right?’ Xiao Yi felt a bit amused and helpless. The woman started chatting again, talking about her husband and business in Sanya. Xiao Yi nodded and said, "Is your child studying in Sanya?"

The woman nodded and said, "We plan to bring him back to Beijing for school in a few years. He'll take the college entrance exam in Sanya and then come back. Are you from Hubei? The textbooks from Huanggang are good."

Xiao Yi smiled and chatted with her for a while. The woman then asked, "What do you do?"

Xiao Yi didn't dare to say he was Lu Zhou's assistant, so he replied, "I write original music, songs."

"Ah," the woman smiled, "Do you sing yourself? You must be a big star."

"No chance," Xiao Yi chuckled, "The music industry is in a downturn. Otherwise, I wouldn't be going back to my hometown."

"Not bad," the woman said, "Don't give up on your dreams."

Xiao Yi sighed inwardly again and asked, "Is your dream related to clothing?"

"My dream is just to make money," the woman replied, "A lot of money!"

Xiao Yi: "..."

The woman smiled, "As long as you stick to your dreams, you'll definitely succeed!"

Xiao Yi thought to himself, alright, although this sounds a bit cheesy and not exactly the most positive message that fans generally love to give, there seems to be some truth to it.

The boarding announcement prompted everyone to stand up, and everyone around took out their phones, snapping photos of Xiao Yi from various angles.

Some pretended to take selfies while tossing their hair, some looked like spies, surreptitiously snapping photos from their waist, and there was a couple going to Sanya for vacation. The man said to his wife, "Look, this button doesn't seem to be working."

"Why isn't it working?" the man's wife muttered, "Try lifting the lens?"

"Click," the flash went off as they took a picture of Xiao Yi, and the man's wife said, "Isn't it working now?"

"Okay, let's go," the couple got up and joined the line.

Xiao Yi: "..."

The woman said, "We're fated to meet. Come on, let's take a picture together."

Xiao Yi: "..."

The woman raised her phone, smiled, and Xiao Yi's expression stiffened as they took the photo. He couldn't help but wonder, what's all this for?!

Everyone boarded, and they all left in a moment, leaving Xiao Yi sitting alone. For a while, he couldn't make sense of what just happened.

There was no one near the boarding gate, the staff had left, and it was pouring rain outside. Xiao Yi sat quietly in the rainy night, waiting for the 11:30 flight. The pale lights blinked in the rain, piercing through the long night and reflecting the torrential rain, like the closing scene of a movie.

The only audience was Xiao Yi himself. He sat in the front row, looking up at the glass wall that was like a giant screen, the only lens capturing the endless rainy night.

"Wanting to ask the heavens, where are you..." Xiao Yi stared blankly at the rainy night.

"I want to ask myself—"

"At first, I was smart, and in the end, I was still smart, and being too smart almost ruined me, myself—"

"Wishing to ask the heavens, asking the earth—" Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling as he sang, "It's just superstition, asking about fate, giving up everything, letting go of everything, let me drift in the quiet night, in the air—"

Lu Zhou, soaked, walked along the aisle and stood behind Xiao Yi.

"You don't need to force yourself to say you love me anymore. Anyway, my soul has already fallen apart, slowly piecing together, slowly piecing together, piecing together into something that doesn't truly belong to me—oh, heh—"

Xiao Yi's voice stopped, and from the reflection on the huge glass wall, he saw Lu Zhou behind him.

In the world of thoughts, the piano keys seemed to tremble at that moment. Even though the lyrics didn't continue, the nocturne continued to play like flowing clouds and running water.

The whole world suddenly felt infinitely vast.

Under the soaring rainy night, the giant screen, within the glass wall.

Under the dim lights, there was only the tiny Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou standing behind the seat.

Xiao Yi immediately stood up, looking at Lu Zhou in astonishment. Lu Zhou's eyes showed blame, anger, and gradually softened.

"Why isn't your phone on?" Lu Zhou said.

"My phone was... stolen," Xiao Yi explained uneasily, "I'm sorry, you..."

Lu Zhou continued, "I won't say anything else. Are you giving up everything, even your job? You don't want to be my assistant anymore, and you want to give up your career in Beijing and escape back home?"

Xiao Yi stammered, "Yes... I feel... I offended you, and I can't stay anymore..."

Lu Zhou stood in front of Xiao Yi like a drenched chicken, took a deep breath, but in the end, didn't explode in anger, and pursued with a wry smile, "Am I someone who holds grudges like that?"

Xiao Yi immediately corrected, "No, you... Don't be angry."

Lu Zhou said, "How could I not be angry! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

Xiao Yi hurriedly patted Lu Zhou's back as Lu Zhou was almost unable to speak.

In the pouring rain and thunder, Xiao Yi went to refund his ticket and followed Lu Zhou home.

The rain outside was heavy. Both Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou were drenched and ran into the parking lot. There were no spaces available in the garage and Lu Zhou had had to park the car outside. Once inside the car, both were soaked. Lu Zhou took off his shirt, turned on the heater, while Xiao Yi, dripping wet, drove the car.

Xiao Yi wondered if Lu Zhou had forgiven him. Lu Zhou, unusually quiet, sat in the back seat and didn't speak much. After a while, he answered a call and said, "The person has been found."

"It's been deleted!" Lu Zhou said, sounding displeased.

Deleted? Xiao Yi was puzzled.

"Let's talk later," Lu Zhou hung up.

" Zhou ge, how did you know I was at the airport?" Xiao Yi asked.

"Do I need to explain?" Lu Zhou uttered, "There was only one flight back to Wuhan tonight."

Really? Xiao Yi thought.

There were clearly many flights, and there were three airports in Beijing. How did Lu Zhou know which airport he was at? Xiao Yi cautiously got onto the highway and didn't dare to ask further.

After they got home, Lu Zhou didn't add anything, and Xiao Yi didn't dare to ask much. That night, he logged onto QQ and received a message from Du Ma's phone.

Du Ma: [Why isn't your phone on?]

Xiao Yi: [Lost it.]

Du Ma: [Are you and Lu Zhou in love? You're acting like you're dying for each other.]

Xiao Yi: "…"

Xiao Yi thought, if they were really in love, they wouldn't be in this situation. He replied helplessly.

Xiao Yi: [Maybe, I love him, but he doesn't love me!]

Du Ma: [You need to distance yourself from him. Don't stay by his side anymore. Do you know how harmful gossip can be? This will ruin him and yourself.]

Xiao Yi: [That's ridiculous!]

Du Ma: [The whole world knows. You two will definitely make headlines tomorrow. Lu Zhou has offended many people, and some are trying to find ways to get back at him.]

Xiao Yi: [What… What?]

Du Ma: [Li Changzheng wants you to come to his company. Take a break first, and don't get involved with Lu Zhou anymore.]

Xiao Yi: [What are you guys talking about?]

"Hey!" Lu Zhou's irritable voice came from the next room.

Xiao Yi hurried to attend to Lu Zhou, closed QQ, and just then, the phone downstairs rang. Xiao Yi went down to answer it; it was Du Mei.

"What's going on with you two?" Du Mei said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Xiao Yi replied.

Du Mei continued, "Come to the company tomorrow morning, Xiao Yi. Are you still resigning?"

Xiao Yi said, "I'm not resigning anymore... I'm sorry, Director Du, it's all my fault."

Du Mei seemed a bit angry, but she managed to control it and added, "It's not your fault. At first, I thought you were planning to take a break and come back to work, so we could get along better. Stop quarrelling. Now, call Li Ye and apologize. Do you have her number?"

"My phone was lost," Xiao Yi admitted.

"No wonder we couldn't find you," Du Mei acknowledged from the other end of the line. "Apologize to her and say you've caused her trouble this time. She asked a friend to help you both out."

Xiao Yi thought, Asked a friend for help? Was it to find him? He immediately agreed, "Okay, okay."

Lu Zhou had been calling for Xiao Yi for a while. When he finally came downstairs, he slipped on the stairs barefoot, startling Xiao Yi.

"What are you doing?" Lu Zhou asked.

"Director Du called, asking me to come to the company tomorrow," Xiao Yi explained.

Lu Zhou didn't scold him, just made a sound of acknowledgment. Xiao Yi was afraid he might fall, but Lu Zhou didn't say anything. He sat on the sofa, turned on the TV, and Xiao Yi gestured for him to keep the volume down while he called Li Ye.

"Hey," Li Ye's voice came through, sounding cheerful.

Xiao Yi hurriedly said, "Hi, Li Jie, I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"It's okay," Li Ye replied readily. "No trouble at all. I'm just supervising my son doing his homework. How have you been? Are you back? It's good to be back."

"Yeah, I'm back," Xiao Yi replied.

Li Ye then said, "I have a question for you, hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Xiao Yi answered.

Li Ye asked, "Who's the gong and who's the shou between you and Lu Zhou?"

Xiao Yi was taken aback.

Li Ye burst into laughter on the other end of the line. "You're the shou, right? Just don't mess with my CP. I might turn your fans into anti-fans."

Xiao Yi blushed furiously, glanced at Lu Zhou beside him, who was still watching TV, oblivious. Xiao Yi waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.

Li Ye continued, "It's okay if you two like each other. It's common in the entertainment industry. Some people support each other, and that's happiness, right? Whether it's same-sex or heterosexual love, love is love, very beautiful. I understand."

Xiao Yi felt embarrassed and said, "Li Jie…"

Li Ye added, "But in this industry, there's a lot of depth. Being together, you have to accept a lot of criticisms. I believe that as long as two people love each other, you don't need to seek others' opinions or care about what others think. In the future, try to keep a low profile. It's beneficial for both you and Lu Zhou's careers."

Xiao Yi looked at Lu Zhou, who hadn't heard what Li Ye said, still watching TV. Suddenly, at this moment, shaken by Li Ye's words, Xiao Yi couldn't discern if it was true. Did he really like Lu Zhou?

Have I fallen for him? Xiao Yi wondered.

Lu Zhou: "?"

Lu Zhou looked at Xiao Yi, and Xiao Yi almost hung up the phone to rush over and hug him.

Li Ye continued, "If you come out, it will affect both your careers. I know you don't care, in the music industry, it's not a big deal. However, in the entertainment circle, some of the roles Lu Zhou takes might be limited."

"Okay… understood," Xiao Yi replied. "I get it."

Xiao Yi thought that, no matter what, he couldn't let others think he and Lu Zhou were a couple. Even if he liked Lu Zhou, he had to endure it.

After Xiao Yi finished talking to Li Ye, he was about to go upstairs. Lu Zhou looked at Xiao Yi strangely and asked, "What did she say?"

"Director Du asked me to thank her…" Xiao Yi's mind was in a mess. "I don't know why I called her…"

Lu Zhou noted, "It's not strange. Isn't she on good terms with Li Changzheng?"

"Really?" Xiao Yi was a bit incoherent, and Lu Zhou added, "Didn't we follow her team last time to the Qin Wang Palace?"

"Ah, right," Xiao Yi hastened to agree.

Lu Zhou continued, "She wants to cooperate with Du Mei, so she's helping you… Where are you going?!"

"I need to send some documents to Director Du," Xiao Yi replied.

Xiao Yi rushed upstairs as if escaping for his life and sat down in the room, sighing heavily.

Was it true? Xiao Yi had never expected that he would turn out to be gay… bisexual. It didn't matter much; many of his classmates in the music department were gay. But… the person he liked turned out to be Lu Zhou.

Xiao Yi opened his laptop and watched the videos he had recorded with his ex-girlfriend. He no longer felt sad about their breakup. At first, he thought it was because he had become indifferent, but could it be because he was with Lu Zhou that he no longer dwelled on past sorrows?

He then opened the folder with Lu Zhou's videos.

Lu Zhou often acted bored in front of the camera, but even when he did nothing, Xiao Yi wanted to film him. He felt that Lu Zhou looked handsome whether he was walking, drinking water, sitting, or just standing casually, making it irresistible to pounce on him.

"What are you always filming?" Lu Zhou's impatient voice came from the video.

They were walking in the flower market in Jing Shan, and Lu Zhou mentioned, "Keep filming, there's so much to shoot."

Xiao Yi's voice said, "Turn your face this way?"

Lu Zhou flipped the middle finger toward the camera.

When Xiao Yi saw this part, he laughed.

The camera had a language, emotions. Guo Dao once told him that when watching TV or movies, every person behind the camera had their emotions to convey. Filming was just a medium, and the real person behind the camera was the director.

A good director knew what they liked and disliked, whether it was warmth or intensity. Through the lens, the audience could feel it. A director with emotions was a good director.

Xiao Yi clicked on another video, a quiet ten-second clip where only Lu Zhou walked on the road, and Xiao Yi held the phone, filming his back. Nothing happened, just walking.

At this moment, Xiao Yi could clearly feel that the person behind the camera, who was filming his lover, wanted to quietly watch him, capturing every move of his. And that person was him, Xiao Yi, filming Lu Zhou, the lens carrying almost tangible love.

Even if he didn't notice himself, everything was still so beautiful.

In the video, Lu Zhou turned around and saw Xiao Yi filming him. He just pointed to the roadside and asked, "What are they selling?"

Then the camera shook as they looked at things on the roadside stall together. Xiao Yi filmed the stall for a while and then focused on Lu Zhou's face. Lu Zhou picked up a small toy and waved it in front of the camera.

Xiao Yi smiled as he finished watching this video, closed his laptop, sat at the desk, and zoned out for a while.

The heavy rain outside gradually subsided in the endless deep night, as spring passed and everything thrived, and summer was about to arrive.

*

The next morning, when Xiao Yi arrived at the company, he learned what had happened yesterday.

Xiao Yi's worldview completely collapsed. He couldn't utter a word for a while, only to find out that Lu Zhou couldn't find him yesterday. Lu Zhou first looked for Du Ma, then called Li Changzheng's company to ask for help. The other company was naturally puzzled. Finally, Lu Zhou, unable to bear it, posted on Weibo.

Find this person and contact me, big reward.

Below that sentence was a picture of Xiao Yi.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Weibo exploded. Within less than two hours, it had been reposted 300,000 times. Xiao Yi had just arrived at the airport, and passengers immediately contacted Lu Zhou, who asked them not to startle Xiao Yi and to keep him stable for the time being.

Since Xiao Yi's phone was lost, he couldn't access WeChat, QQ, or browse the internet. His mood was low, and he had almost no interest in the outside world. At that moment, the entire WeChat Moments was in an uproar, with various crews and film companies discussing the matter.

Everyone unanimously believed that Lu Zhou was dating Xiao Yi. Du Mei kept calling Lu Zhou, asking him to delete that Weibo post. Many people were enjoying the drama, and celebrities congratulated them after retweeting.

Zhang Xinran was the first to come out and congratulate, saying after reposting: Congratulations, you finally found true love. When I saw you met him, I knew I could only step back and had no choice.

Then the forum exploded even more. Some said Lu Zhou was playing with men, some said he was seducing others. Then they began to dig into Xiao Yi's identity, revealing that he was the author of the theme song, from Hubei, that he had gone to Jing Shan to visit his parents with Lu Zhou last Chinese New Year, that they had gone to the hot springs together, and so on. They dug into every detail, and even Xiao Yi's ex-girlfriend's husband's Weibo gained thousands of followers. Then they began to analyse the lyrics, unanimously agreeing that their relationship was abnormal.

Then people began to expose that they had seen Xiao Yi kneeling on the roadside in the morning.

It wasn't until Lu Zhou found Xiao Yi that he deleted the Weibo post. However, too many people had already taken screenshots. Now, in order to find his lover, Lu Zhou had basically come out publicly.

Xiao Yi: "..."

Du Mei said, "Li Ye said she would cover. She will contact the media today to publish headlines and see how the situation goes. Hopefully, it won't cause too much trouble."

Xiao Yi's mood was indescribable, while Lu Zhou reprimanded him on the side, saying, "Look at you, what mess have you gotten into?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Xiao Yi said.

Du Mei: "..."

Lin Yao: "..."

Clearly, Lu Zhou had caused all this trouble, but it ended up with Xiao Yi apologizing. Du Mei spoke again, "Let's wait until the headlines come out. Li Ye told me yesterday and informed me that the new drama will start filming in August. She helped you two so much. By then, you and Li Changzheng must cooperate, and you must look at her face."

Lu Zhou's expression changed, and he said, "Let's wait and see."

Du Mei insisted, "If we can handle this matter, it's perfect for your joint publicity. By then, the topic will be much stronger."

Xiao Yi scrolled through his phone, wishing he could find a hole to hide in. Now, even his parents might have seen it. Many people on Tianya were still cheering and sending blessings, but most were just enjoying the drama, mocking Lu Zhou, saying he was a scumbag who deceived Zhang Xinran before.

Sigh...

As Xiao Yi scrolled, the headlines for today's media came out.

【Lu Zhou snatches idol-level singer-songwriter, Jin Mao Shu and Fei Tian Mao about to start shooting, expected to gather the Drama and Actor Emperors】

Xiao Yi: "………………"

【A song triggers Li Changzheng and Lu Zhou to chase and intercept, Lu Zhou successfully digs out a talented songwriter.】

【Big production Jin Mao Shu and Fei Tian Mao about to start shooting, a battle between the century's cat and rat】

The news was about Li Changzheng preparing to invest in a record company and also expecting to cooperate with Lu Zhou's economic company, intending to recruit musical talents for his own use. Lu Zhou left his songwriter to pull him into his own company, resorting to mobilizing fans and asking for help on Weibo.

In just a few sentences, after causing a battle for two major Emperor and Actor figures, they began to expose a large-scale costume drama scheduled to start filming in August. Lu Zhou would play Bai Yutang (Sleek rat), and Li Changzheng would play Zhan Zhao (flying cat). The newly-rising music creator Xiao Yi would tailor the theme song for the two male gods.

At the end of the news was a survey: Who do you support for CP? Below were the options that had been hyped up: Lu Zhou x Wu Henggu, Lu Zhou x Li Changzheng, Li Changzheng x Xiao Yi... and the option of Lu Zhou x Xiao Yi, which hadn't even reached two thousand votes, while the option of Lu Zhou and Li Changzheng had exploded.

Xiao Yi never dreamed that his name would one day be pulled up with two major male gods... and even forming a CP!!!!

Du Mei immediately started preparing the press release, and Lu Zhou said, "Did I agree to act?"

Du Mei looked at Lu Zhou, and Lu Zhou had to remain silent.

 

Translator : DarNan