CH 84

pisode Ten: The “Bromances” of Life (5)

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T/N: Please note if you are coming from chapter 58, you can read chapters 59-83 on Kagerou Scans and come back here for chapters 84+. This episode was translated by the previous translator as “The “Basics” of Love Life”. I’ve renamed it to “The “Bromances” of Life” according to my understanding of it.

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With this thought in mind, Xia Zhi felt a little worried. No matter how he thought, he felt there was something wrong. Normally he’d laugh at Ye Qia’s unfounded fears, but when it came to himself, his thoughts would always turn towards the worst scenario. The more he thought about it, the more he felt deceived. At the same time, his beast-like intuition also reminded him that Ye Qia truly did love him. That was not a lie.

As a result, love and deception clashed like little black and white figures.

Using what was left of his reasoning that had been half-washed away by anger, Xia Zhi tried his best to exercise prudence: “But director, I really love my girlfriend and I don’t want to break up with her. How do I convey this clearly to her without causing a fallout?”

“That’s easy, you just need to reveal yourself when your girlfriend is with her lover. If your girlfriend acknowledges you, that means she wants to be with you. If she…hey, where are you going? Hold on a second, it’s currently work hours! I’m going to dock your salary and split it among everyone as a bonus, Xiao Xia!”

There was no way Xia Zhi could have heard any of that as he dashed out of work and made a beeline for home. He was anxious to make his intentions towards Ye Qia clear and determined to meet with Bai Min.

So what if he’s some bigshot director! Who cares about coming out of the closet! Think you can get rid of me? As if!

Xia Zhi’s insomnia from last night played a major role. He was irritable and hostile at this very moment, ready to explode. As it happened, the weather was exceptionally good today. The sun shone brightly on him all the way home, causing him to heat up into a sweat. He ended up getting into a fight along the way when he stepped on someone’s foot. His opponents were three extremely formidable middle-aged women who scolded him until he could no longer raise his head. Because they were about the same age as his own mother, he didn’t dare talk back. He could only grit his teeth and admit his wrongdoing. By the time he reached home, he was a balloon that was ready to burst.

Xia Zhi caught his breath and tried to compose himself. Ye Qia had reminded him more than once how to control his temper, and he essentially did want to change that.

After five minutes, he felt ready and had mentally prepared what he wanted to say. He was going to walk in and speak to Ye Qia calmly and politely and face the “threat” that was Bai Min as a united front, even if it meant coming out of the closet to declare: I am Ye Qia’s lover, don’t even think about coming between us! The man is mine, don’t even think about stealing him away!

He sucked in a deep breath, raised his hand and knocked on the door when the door suddenly opened. He saw two people, one with his back turned towards him, tall and impeccably dressed, leaning over to kiss the other person. The other person was Ye Qia. Ye Qia dodged the well-dressed guy and hit him straight on!

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, Xia Zhi threw a fist at the suited man’s head without hesitation!

The man in the suit fell over without a word. Xia Zhi rushed in and roared, “Am I fucking dead to you?!”

Flash!

Countless lights filled his vision. In an instant, Xia Zhi felt as if he had gone blind. He yelped and shielded his eyes, retreating backwards until he hit the wall. A cacophony of voices suddenly rang out. He covered his eyes, at a complete loss. Soon, a familiar but strange roar quieted the scene.

He clung to the wall like a blind person, afraid to move a muscle, and yelled out with false bravado, “Who the hell is fucking with me? Wanna die? If you want to die, laozi will accompany you! Fuck, my eyes!”

Xia Zhi forced his eyes open. Obscured by a haze of tears, he could vaguely make out Ye Qia blocking him, facing the crowd of people and bellowing for them to “beat it.” The man in the suit seemingly wanted to come over. Ye Qian punched him in the face and shoved him out.

His eyes hurt too much. After a while he had to close them. A mass of blue-green butterflies fluttered about his vision. When someone brought a cold towel and pressed it to his eyes, he grabbed hold. “Ye Qia?”

A familiar voice, “It’s me.”

Xia Zhi said impatiently, “What happened? Why are there so many people at home? Did that bastard Bai Min bring people to threaten you?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Xia Zhi’s temper flared in an instant. He groped along Ye Qian’s arm to his collar and angrily shouted, “Then why were you kissing him? Don’t tell me it was fake, I saw it with my own eyes!”

“He tried to launch a sneak attack. He was unsuccessful.”

“Liar, I saw it!”

“You’ll understand when you see the news tomorrow.”

“The news?”

“Uh-huh.”

The ominous premonition that Xia Zhi felt grew stronger. Reminded of the sea of lights from just earlier, he said with hesitation, “Were those lights from just now camera flashes?”

“They were camera flashes.”

“…”

Xia Zhi released his grip on Ye Qia’s collar and held the cold towel himself. After an unnatural silence, he asked in a low voice, “Was the room full of people just now?”

“Mhm.”

“Full of reporters?”

“Mhm.”

“They caught me on camera?”

“And on video. You can probably find it online soon.”

“…”

Ye Qia felt a bit concerned seeing Xia Zhi’s haggard complexion. He looked extremely pitiful with the way he was covering his eyes. Earlier he had felt a flicker of irritation upon seeing him. He had urged him repeatedly not to come back and even gave him extra money, thinking this guy always complained that he didn’t have enough money to go out and have fun. Shouldn’t he have rushed out and gone wild upon receiving the money?

He didn’t think the guy would return.

Ye Qia wasn’t afraid of becoming famous—in fact, it could only improve his business. It was different for Xia Zhi. On the surface, he was happy-go-lucky and simple-minded, but when shit hit the fan, it was hard to know exactly how things would hurt him.

Xia Zhi kept his mouth shut. Who knew what he was thinking about. After an eternity, he reached out and blindly felt around, asking in a low voice, “Are you okay?”

Ye Qia grabbed hold of Xia Zhi’s hands which had wandered onto his lower half. “I’m fine.”

“Will it affect your business?”

“No.”

“Earlier I saw you chase him and the reporters away.”

“Earlier I thought something happened to you.”

“…Well then that’s good.”

Ye Qia paused and when there was no follow-up, he reminded him, “You’re not out of the closet yet.”

“Mhm.”

“Everyone will know that you’re gay tomorrow.”

“Mhm.”

“Will you be able to keep your job?”

“Mhm…”

Ye Qia sighed. “Is there nothing else you want to say?”

Xia Zhi slowly raised his head with his eyes tightly shut and tears streaming down his face, saying in a quivering voice, “As long as you’re okay, it’s all good!”

“…”

Ye Qia couldn’t help but smile and pull Xia Zhi into his arms, patting him on the head. “As long as you don’t let it get to you.”

Xia Zhi paused for a moment before starting to howl, “I just know I’m going to look hideous on TV, fuck…”

The next day, Xia Zhi, whose eyes were feeling better, got his wish and saw himself on TV. The news had actually been on the internet since yesterday afternoon, headlined as: Famous Director Cheated On, Angry Mistress Protects His Love. Below it was accompanied by the video of him charging in to punch Bai Min before being blinded into a spazzing idiot by camera flashes.

Xia Zhi hid at home, not even daring to turn on his cell phone.