74 5.20

When Chen Yu received yet another request for an interview, he moved to apathetically flick past it as usual until he caught an interesting detail. Evidently, his segment would directly follow the protagonist's, but Guo Ziyue wouldn't be informed of his presence before he made his statement.

Laughing faintly at this producer's cleverness, Chen Yu was nonetheless typing out a refusal since he was too lazy to speak for so long when Sun Ri woke up. Automatically tangling their limbs together, the man complained in a voice husky from sleep, "What's so interesting?" Of course, the implied demand was, "Don't be interested in anything besides me."

Having been appeased by his lover's behavior last night, however, Chen Yu didn't brush the clingy man off, he cooperatively embraced him back and briefly explained about the invitation. Hearing this information, Sun Ri unhappily tightened his clasp on his doll. While the idea of Kai being in the same space as that scum was unpleasant, he was well aware that the boy should appear in public at least once to defend himself. Even if he had been proven innocent already, in order to build up a solid fan base, he would have to gain some more exposure.

Thus, despite his reluctance, Sun Ri gloomily advised, "Kai, it's better if you accept. This show's well-established, and the host is a fair type, he'll definitely be polite and frank."

Chen Yu hesitated, then shook his head, mumbling, "Don't want to go alone, gege..."

Although the words were spoken very quietly, Sun Ri caught every one of them, so that he reflexively lifted Kai up and placed his hand on the youth's forehead. Was his doll still drunk? He'd never called him 'gege' without needing to be coaxed before! But the boy's movements were all stable, his temperature had also returned to normal, there was no trace of alcohol left on his breath. Perhaps...what he'd promised last night had subconsciously affected Kai's judgment of him? Sun Ri grinned, that must be it! So they were canon now, they must be.

With this belief, Sun Ri ecstatically slipped in a suggestion. "Why don't I go with you? Then I'll speak for you when you get shy, how about that?"

This was exactly what Chen Yu was aiming for, he pretended to consider the proposal then obediently nodded.

In this way, Xiang Kai and King Sun sat backstage watching as Guo Ziyue spouted out his new excuse, wholly oblivious to their presence. Due to the media investigations which had disproved his lie that he'd participated in numerous conversations with Xiang Kai, the protagonist couldn't absolve himself by claiming ignorance. So instead, he tried to provide a touching justification and push the blame to someone else.

According to his version of events, it was Peng Muzhi, Fanxing Entertainment Group's former CEO, who had instructed him to save himself at the expense of one of their trivial artistes. Why had Guo Ziyue targeted Xiang Kai? That was, he claimed, indeed because of his jealousy, but he wasn't envious of his senior's acting talent, he was envious of how he had attracted Sun Ri, his guardian and one-sided love. While it would have been even better for Guo Ziyue if he could have asserted that he and Sun Ri had already been a couple, making Xiang Kai a third person in their relationship, he didn't dare to go too far against the king, who clearly stood on Xiang Kai's side.

The host was, as Sun Ri had described, an impartial interviewer, he was neither sympathetic nor hostile in his examination. Due to his neutrality, once Guo Ziyue finished narrating his story, some of the audience members felt that while he'd been morally wrong in framing his senior, his motive wasn't as despicable as they'd expected. After all, who among them hadn't done silly things in the name of love?

Sensing that the viewers were softening slightly toward the 'remorseful' man on the stage, Chen Yu sneered inwardly. Truly the protagonist, ah, able to pacify such animosity with a single sentimental speech. Well, the rationalization that Guo Ziyue had produced wasn't the worst he could have come up with, since there were some traces of how ambiguous feelings had been sprouting between him and Sun Ri.

But that was as far as it could take him, because his account would now be directly contrasted with Sun Ri's testimony, which held the weight of the king of the entertainment circle. Thus, when the host introduced Xiang Kai and Sun Ri as his next guests who had been observing from the wings, the protagonist couldn't stop himself from blanching. A mere glance at his guardian showed that his complexion was dark enough to drip water, he wouldn't spare him any face. Filled with despair, Guo Ziyue struggled to plead his case despite knowing that nothing he could say would move the king, only to find that guards abruptly appeared to unceremoniously escort him backstage. The last thing he saw as he was dragged away was the man's chilly glare.

In fact, Sun Ri was furious and, worse yet, nervous. What if the scum's insinuations distressed his doll and caused a rift between them? They had just gotten together, why were there so many pests disturbing them?

Therefore, anxious to resolve any misunderstandings, he didn't wait for the host to ease into the interview and immediately opened by denouncing Guo Ziyue's pretext, pointing out every inconsistency in his statement. In particular, the king's sardonic remark that it was curious that someone who was so love with him would bed anyone who propositioned him startled awake the viewers who had begun to pity Guo Ziyue. That was right, they'd been so caught up in the latest episode of the scandal that they'd forgotten what had initiated this controversy in the first place.

Thus, Chen Yu simply had to quietly sit beside his lover, who analyzed the situation on his behalf, until finally the host managed to squeeze in a comment addressed to Xiang Kai. Beaming to mask his awkwardness at the actor's wooden face, the man leaned forward and professionally challenged, "Mr. Xiang, there's a point that has stumped many of the people following this string of dramatic events. And that is, why, at the time of these disclosures, did you never speak up? Weren't you worried that your reputation would be irreparably affected?"

While Sun Ri anxiously peered at his doll to confirm that he hadn't been frightened by the overeager man, Chen Yu calmly answered, "My standing can't be affected by something like this." With his cool expression and aloof tone, the onlookers who might have been offended by his arrogance were instead filled with approval at his next words. "Besides, the only reputation I care about is my reputation as an actor."

Although it was an undeniably naïve sentiment, the boy's pure devotion to his art was inspiring, the crowd felt as if their minds which had been dirtied by Guo Ziyue's filthy affairs were being cleansed. Moreover, Xiang Kai definitely had the skills to back up his pride, and his faith in the public's perceptiveness was also flattering.

Once Chen Yu shifted the dialogue away from Guo Ziyue, enthusiastic fanboy Sun Ri again spoke up, anxious to remove Kai's attention from that scum. Partly for this purpose and partly simply because of his infatuation, the king rambled on for the rest of their scheduled slot, praising how well his doll had acted in their last film and advertising their next movie together. As the host wrapped up their chat, Sun Ri proudly hugged the elegant youth next to him, wishing that they wouldn't even brush past Guo Ziyue in the future.

Unfortunately, life didn't work out as Sun Ri wanted it to. Having gotten through their segment, he sat the tired-looking boy down in the backstage lounge area and left to fetch him a drink, but on his way back, Sun Ri noticed Guo Ziyue walking in the direction of where Kai was waiting. The urge to step forward and prevent them from meeting rose sharply. What if his doll reacted badly to that scum? Forcefully suppressing his impulse to stop Guo Ziyue, however, Sun Ri stood still in the side passageway. Perhaps this time the youth would completely sever any feelings for the scum.

Indeed, Chen Yu was prepared to deliver the final blow to Guo Ziyue. As he'd expected, the protagonist who believed he had lost everything would at least demand a face-to-face confrontation with the villain behind his collapse.

As he approached Xiang Kai, Guo Ziyue jerked his mouth into a deformed smile. So he'd lost this round as well, and at the hands of the same man. What had he even been reborn for? Almost under his breath, he muttered, "What do you have against me? What is it that ties me to you?"

Despite knowing that Guo Ziyue didn't actually wish for an answer, Chen Yu lowered his gaze and slowly spit out the longest speech he had ever uttered as Xiang Kai. "I don't know, but since I first saw you, I often dreamt that in another life, even though you loved me dearly, you died because I didn't admit my feelings for you out of cowardice. Then I woke up, and you were alive, caring for me like you did in my dreams, so I resolved to love you openly in this lifetime, step by step."

Guo Ziyue's eyes were blood-red by this point, his trembling lips opening and closing mutely. His ears rang from what he'd just heard, each word seemed to land a blow on his heart. He was certain that what Kai was describing was their past life together, and the instant the realization crashed into his mind, his pupils shrank. Had Kai been reincarnated as well?

No, that didn't matter, what paralyzed him was that the man he had genuinely loved had also returned his feelings, not only in this life but also in the past. That must mean that 'Longing_for_the_Moon' was really Xiang Kai, who'd been enduring his shyness to express his support in the only way that he was ready to. If he had been more patient, if he had been more understanding, more perceptive, more steadfast...Would they have had a chance?

At the possibility, he wanted desperately to beg for forgiveness, but he was stopped cold by how he had revealed his ugliest side to Kai. He had despised him, toyed with him, framed him...Filled with shame and regret, his whole body quivered and his eyes overflowed with tears, which he carelessly scrubbed away in order to focus on Kai. Inside, he was tearing out his hair to find a way to atone, clinging onto the belief that if he could just consider his circumstances clearly, he would discover a solution.

Chen Yu, however, didn't give him an opportunity to compose himself. Staring straight at him, he continued, "But now I know that dreams are only dreams. And I won't be so delusional ever again."

Having finished his piece, he walked out calmly. Behind him, Guo Ziyue sluggishly absorbed the reality that Kai would never turn back for him and silently sobbed, crumpling to the ground.