Volume 1 - CH 7

In which there is a turning point.

Content warning (somewhere between minor and major, I guess — medium-rare? — also a minor spoiler for the chapter, so be aware of that before clicking):

A car accident occurs near the end of this chapter.

Volume 1, Chapter 7

A City was famous for its bamboo.

The scenic district on the city outskirts had an entire sea of bamboo, the sight beautiful, the view incomparable. In autumn, the bamboo leaves were turning yellow, and although it looked somewhat desolate, a sort of tranquil beauty still remained. Especially at night, when the hazy moonlight shone through the stalks, one could hear the faint rustling of the bamboo amidst the sounds of the wind.

Thus, this place was chosen for Gu Yan and the cast’s on-location shots.

Although the scenery was good, the lodgings were more of an issue. Gu Yan had been given the best treatment and was assigned to a room by himself, while his assistant Xiao-Gu had been assigned a room with the makeup artist right next door to him. Every day, they ran back and forth around him, both quite diligent.

Gu Yan wasn’t very good at shooting literary films and would always be scolded for his stiff expression, like a wooden beauty. But because his physique was fairly good, he was at least decent at shooting martial arts films, able to make all of the many movements required. Along with the elegant bamboo scenery, the scene that resulted could be considered quite beautiful. Even the director had, in an unprecedented move, praised him a few times, and Xiao-Chen was even more noisy, continuously saying ‘how handsome, how handsome’. In the future, it’d definitely attract all the female fans once it aired.

Gu Yan still displayed the same attitude as before. When he was scolded, he didn’t protest, and when he was praised, he simply smiled. At night, when the cast and crew made plans to go to this or that place to play, he also rarely attended. After eating, he would return directly to his lodgings to rest.

Qin Zhiyuan would call him every night.

They didn’t talk about anything in particular, simply recounting what they had done during the day. Sometimes, they’d talk about so many things under the sun that they’d talk for half an hour, and sometimes even though it was already the middle of the night when Gu Yan finished work, he’d still insistently call, mostly just to say a short word or two before simply bidding the other a good night.

Gu Yan really liked hearing the sounds of breathing that came over the phone after they said their good nights.

Qin Zhiyuan always waited for him to hang up first.

Within those quiet nights, they couldn’t see the masks that the other wore, and while they were separated by distance, they conversely seemed to have become even closer.

Today, Gu Yan suffered a small injury while filming.

It was during a fight scene. The prop sword had bounced back after hitting the bamboo and coincidentally hit Gu Yan in the arm. It wasn’t very serious, and there wasn’t even any blood, just a bit of swelling. Gu Yan also didn’t take it to heart, rubbing his arm for a moment before continuing to shoot his next scenes. It was only when night fell and he returned to the lodgings that the injury began to hurt.

He went by himself to buy a bottle of medicine and alcohol wipes, and later, when talking to Qin Zhiyuan on the phone, he mentioned this matter without much thought.

Qin Zhiyuan immediately cautioned him, “No matter how hard you’re working, you still need to pay attention to your well-being.”

Gu Yan felt that he was making a big deal out of nothing and said, “This kind of small wound is nothing new for me.”

Qin Zhiyuan was quiet over the line for a while before saying, with a low voice that was even more gentle than usual, “That was before.”

“Hm?”

“But you have me now.[1]”

Gu Yan turned blank, the ear he had against the phone felt somewhat hot.

Qin Zhiyuan took the lead to say good night and, as per usual, waited for him to hang up. But Gu Yan suddenly felt reluctant to do so, taking that cell phone with him as he crawled into the blankets, listening to that shallow breathing over the line, unconsciously falling asleep just like that.

When he woke up the next day, his phone had already long run out of batteries. Gu Yan didn’t know when Qin Zhiyuan went to sleep, and he felt very apologetic. He changed out his phone battery and hurriedly sent the other a message.

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t rely to his text, but he still called that night as usual.

Gu Yan had just finished taking a shower, and he was wiping his hair as he talked on the phone. After saying a few words, some noise transmitted over from Qin Zhiyuan’s side, and he heard the other say, “I sent you something via express delivery. Right now, it should be just about there, so why don’t you go out and get it?”

“What is it? If it’s too weird, I won’t accept it.” He had once heard a funny story about someone sending some liquid cough medicine via express delivery, but Qin Zhiyuan better not have sent him some liniment medical paste[2] from so far away.

Qin Zhiyuan simply laughed on the other end.

Thus, Gu Yan had to put on a jacket and walk outside, but the moment he opened the door, he was completely dumbfounded.

Qin Zhiyuan was standing outside — his suit neat, his demeanor elegant, his hand still holding that in-use cell phone. He blinked, his head tilted, as he looked at Gu Yan and smiled.

What a cliché plot device.

Gu Yan remembered that a TV drama he had filmed not long ago had this exact same scene. But it was a whole different story when it really happened to him. He looked at the Qin Zhiyuan before his eyes and felt as if his heart was about to beat right out of his chest.

Qin Zhiyuan also didn’t speak and simply walked inside with large strides. Slamming the door closed with a bang, he directly pulled Gu Yan into an embrace, pressing him against the door for a kiss.

How long had they been separated?

Five days? Or was it ten days?

Why had it seemed as long as a lifetime?

This familiar breath pressed down, taking all his attention, and the kiss was both passionate and lingering. Gu Yan’s mind blanked for a moment, and even his legs had begun to go soft as the kiss ended.

Qin Zhiyuan encircled Gu Yan with his arms, knocked their foreheads gently together, and asked in a gasping voice, “How is it? Did this gift satisfy the famous celebrity?”

Gu Yan still hadn’t regained his senses, and only a while later was he certain that this wasn’t a dream, reaching out a hand to touch Qin Zhiyuan’s eyes. “Why did you come?”

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t answer him, instead returning with a question, “Didn’t you get hurt yesterday? Where were you hurt? Let me see.”

Only then did Gu Yan understand. He pulled aside his left sleeve and showed him the faint bruise on his arm. This injury had looked a bit more serious yesterday, but today the swelling had already reduced considerably. If Qin Zhiyuan had rushed over here for this reason, wouldn’t this person be supremely disappointed?

Surprisingly, Qin Zhiyuan still treated it as if it was a big deal and pulled him over to sit on the bed, using the lamplight to look over his injury carefully while asking, “Did you put medicine on it?”

Gu Yan nodded and also asked him, “Did you drive over here yourself?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll go back early tomorrow morning?” Although A City wasn’t too far, it was still a three to four hour journey by car. It wasn’t easy to go back and forth.

“No need.” Qin Zhiyuan loosened his necktie and leisurely laid back on the bed, saying, “I took leave, so I’ll be staying here for a few more days.”

Ah?

The work-loving Qin Zhiyuan would even take consecutive days off work?

Gu Yan started and then immediately came to an understanding, “Did you come here because of work? What kind of big client is making President Qin go to the effort of showing his face personally?”

Qin Zhiyuan smiled. The strands of hair on his forehead covered up his eyes. Perhaps it was the work of the lighting in the room, but that expression suddenly changed to a very moving one. “It has nothing to do with work. I came because I wanted to see you.”

In an instant, Gu Yan collapsed on the bed.

Qin Zhiyuan was too lazy to move and simply poked him, asking, “What is it?”

Gu Yan buried his head in the blankets, refusing to come out, only slowly easing up after a long while. He let out a long sigh and said, half-seriously and half-jokingly, “Oh no, oh no, my heart has suffered a direct hit.”

Qin Zhiyuan thought he was simply joking, but the moment he reached out a hand, he discovered that the other was trembling slightly.

“What happened? Are you cold?”

Gu Yan hurried to say, ‘not cold, not cold’. His lips rose as he flipped over to press Qin Zhiyuan beneath him, using a finger to brush lightly across the other’s chest, saying in a low voice, “I’ve just now decided to give my heart away.”

He had always been energetic in bed, and sometimes, it was truly difficult to tell who exactly was the one being kept by whom.

But Qin Zhiyuan had also been missing his body and naturally wouldn’t refuse this kind of enthusiasm.

They went to battle on that small guesthouse single bed.

After they finished, they stickily entangled, burrowing into the blankets, neither wishing to move.

Gu Yan’s heart still hadn’t fallen back in place, and with a single press, one could hear how wildly it was still beating. The only thing he could do was ignore it, pulling on Qin Zhiyuan’s arm and pushing their teeth together, asking, “Which room are you staying in?”

“I didn’t ask for a room.”

“Huh? Then where are you going to sleep tonight?”

Qin Zhiyuan was about to fall asleep and hazily replied, “Aren’t I lying in your bed right now?”

“Everyone entering and exiting this lodge are from the cast and crew. Aren’t you afraid of people finding out?” There had always been numerous hearsay and rumors, but it’d be terrible if a sex scandal really came out.

Qin Zhiyuan gave him a kiss and said, “Then you should carefully hide me away and not let anyone else see me.”

Qin Zhiyuan had driven over in a rush only after he had finished his work, and he was truly dead tired. Not long later, he fell asleep holding Gu Yan in his arms.

In contrast, Gu Yan couldn’t sleep at all.

It wouldn’t be easy to hide a full-grown man in such a small room. For the sake of keeping anyone from finding out, he woke up especially early the next morning and hurried out the door before Xiao-Chen could come find him. He was also absentminded during that day’s filming, constantly thinking about the Qin Zhiyuan hiding in his room, NG’ing over and over in scenes.

Even Xiao-Chen discovered that something wasn’t right with him and took the opportunity during lunch to come over to speak to him, saying with a grin, “Yan-ge, you look like you’re in an especially good mood today.”

Gu Yan had been drinking water right then, and he was so surprised he almost choked.

In the afternoon, he received Qin Zhiyuan’s message listing the things that the other wanted to eat that night. This place didn’t have the right conditions for cooking, and so after work, Gu Yan went out and bought some takeout back. When he opened the room door, he found Qin Zhiyuan leisurely lying on the bed watching television. The other had said that he was here for Gu Yan, and he truly didn’t go anywhere else, staying in the room the whole day, not even venturing a peek at the beautiful view of the bamboo sea.

It was like this in the following days as well.

Gu Yan felt as if he had returned to his childhood, as if he was hiding a small animal from his parents, acting so carefully for fear of anyone finding out, but still unable to suppress the sweetness in his heart. If this was only a dream, then he really couldn’t bear to wake up from it.

Two days later, because filming had proceeded so smoothly, Gu Yan was able to return home earlier than usual. From afar, he saw Qin Zhiyuan standing outside the guesthouse, and with him was another familiar face — the famous director Zhao Xin.

Although Gu Yan found this strange, he still went up to say hello.

Zhao Xin had always been slightly afraid of him and so exchanged only a few words of small talk before hurriedly taking leave.

Gu Yan’s eyes were sharp, and with one look, he could see a ring on the other’s left ring finger. When they got back into the room, he asked Qin Zhiyuan, “Why is Director Zhao in A City?”

“He’s here to shoot a propaganda film. I just happened to see him so we chatted for a bit.”

“Did he already decide on a wedding date?” He remembered that last time at the celebratory banquet, Zhao Xin’s left hand was still completely empty.

“Yes.” Recently, Qin Zhiyuan had really liked being intimate with Gu Yan, and as he spoke, he pulled the other into his arms. “You can ask him yourself for the details of what happened tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?”

“I made plans to eat dinner together with him.”

“Why are you pulling me into your old schoolmate meetup?”

Qin Zhiyuan brushed aside Gu Yan’s bangs and looked at Gu Yan from all sides, as if he couldn’t get enough. Smiling, he said, “How could I leave out the best male lead?”

Gu Yan startled and finally understood what he meant. So it turned out that Qin Zhiyuan had never stopped thinking about getting a leading role in Zhao Xin’s film for him.

“It’s not as if I have to be in Director Zhao’s film.”

“I said it before. The film this time could win an award.” Qin Zhiyuan’s tone was very confident.

But it was true. Zhao Xin’s talent spoke for itself, and he had already won an award from overseas not long ago. If this script was good enough, then the film would definitely have huge potential. Gu Yan had acted as the male lead so many times that he wasn’t missing any popularity; the only thing he was missing was an award trophy.

The most important thing was that Qin Zhiyuan was saying that he would be able to get an award, so he had no need to worry.

But…

“Zhao Xin’s standards are so high. Would he agree to let me be the lead?” Last time, he almost ruined Zhao Xin’s film entirely, to the point that Zhao Xin now hid whenever he arrived.

“Don’t worry, I told him that if he didn’t let you be the lead, then I won’t invest.” Qin Zhiyuan raised a brow, feigning the appearance of a ruler whose head has been muddled by sex.

Gu Yan was teased to laughter.

He knew that Qin Zhiyuan had his own plans and so didn’t ask further. After he finished laughing, he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed in order to look over the script. Tomorrow, he had a very important part to act out — the climax of the entire drama — so while it was still early, he wanted to take some more time to understand the character’s feelings.

Qin Zhiyuan also leaned over to look. After he finished, he coughed twice and said, deadly earnest, “Famous celebrity Gu, you have a kiss scene tomorrow.”

“What?” Upon hearing this, Gu Yan laughed. “Does President Qin want to come to set to supervise?”

Qin Zhiyuan really seemed to consider it for a moment before saying, “We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

And then he reached out a hand to point at the script, continuing with, “Read a line for me.”

Gu Yan simply thought the other was doing so on a whim and so didn’t think much of it, woodenly reading out those lines. He not only acted without any expression but also read his lines the same way, completely without any cadences. It was only when he saw those piercing three words that he suddenly froze.

I love you.

Those were the words that the male lead said when he confessed to the female lead.

Gu Yan wasn’t sure if Qin Zhiyuan was doing this on purpose. When he raised his head to look, Qin Zhiyuan was also looking back at him, with a smile that was not quite a smile, and saying, “What is it? Famous celebrities also have moments when they stumble over their words?”

The other really wasn’t revealing his intentions in the least.

Did he really want to hear Gu Yan say this line, or was he just making a little joke without much thought?

Gu Yan couldn’t guess Qin Zhiyuan’s thoughts, and he also didn’t know how he should reply. In the end, he simply threw aside the script and said, “Let’s go eat first.”

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t object.

The two people acted very peaceful. After finishing dinner, they watched TV for a while, and then they tugged up the blankets, going to sleep in one another’s arms.

But Gu Yan was unable to fall asleep, and he knew that Qin Zhiyuan was also definitely not asleep. He thought and thought and then turned around in the darkness, closing his eyes as he asked, “Do you really want to hear me say my lines?”

Qin Zhiyuan’s answer was very clever. “Anytime is fine. It doesn’t have to be now.”

The meaning was, whether early or late, in the end, he’d hear Gu Yan say those words.

Gu Yan didn’t know how to describe what his heart was feeling. It was like a certain something was restlessly trying to crawl out. Just like when he would eat those multicolored pieces of candy as a child, even though they were so, so sweet, sweet to the point that his mouth filled with bitterness, he still wasn’t able to stop eating, unable to help himself from continuing to stuff them into his mouth one-by-one.

He sucked in a deep breath and finally said, “Come watch me film tomorrow then.”

Qin Zhiyuan said a ‘yes’, his warm palms brushing past his hair, gently tucking him back into the blankets.

The next day, the two people left in succession.

Gu Yan first left with the cast and crew to the filming site. Only after half an hour had passed did Qin Zhiyuan drive over to observe. Who knew if anyone had discovered that he had been hiding in Gu Yan’s room for the past several days. Regardless, everyone had a tacit understanding, and none of them expressed any particular surprise at seeing him. Those familiar with him said a few words in greeting, while those who weren’t continued to work.

Unexpectedly, even Zhang Ji walked over from afar, blinking those eyes and timidly calling out, “President Qin.” He recently had matured quite a bit. A certain melancholy air had been added to his previous disposition of naïve sweetness, making him look even more charming in people’s eyes.

Qin Zhiyuan frowned slightly. But he really was completely composed, neither purposefully snubbing Zhang Ji nor acting overly familiar, simply saying a few careless, perfunctory words, as if all those previous moments of will-they-won’t-they ambiguity had all just been in the bystanders’ imaginations.

So clean and efficient that even Gu Yan wanted to give him a big round of applause.

But before he could bring his hands together, he was called over by the director.

Today’s scene was extremely important. Because of the male and female leads’ identities as being on opposing sides, an intense argument between them erupted, and the female lead made to leave in a fit of anger. When the male lead chased after her, he could no longer suppress his own feelings and finally expressed the love hidden in his heart; it could be said that it was an explosive outpouring of emotion.

The director was afraid that Gu Yan wouldn’t be able to act out this emotional scene and took care to give him a few more sentences of caution.

Luckily, the day’s weather was quite good, with the bamboo waving slightly in the wind and the scenery appearing incomparably beautiful. Once the two leads had dressed and were standing there, with the male lead looking cold and handsome and the female lead looking gentle and beautiful, it really did give off that appealing historical flavor. According to the script, after the female lead and Gu Yan had argued, the female lead would turn around and run away while crying, and Gu Yan should chase after her. When he grabbed tight hold of her, the first thing to follow would be a kiss scene, and then he should say those pivotal words — I love you.

Preparing for the scene went very smoothly, but when they truly shot it, Gu Yan didn’t actually follow the script. While he did give chase, he simply hugged the female lead from behind, using his hands to cover her eyes, not letting her turn back.

Everyone was shocked.

Only Gu Yan was composed and continued acting out his scene. The place he had chosen to stand was very special, chosen with the utmost care; he was able to see the faraway Qin Zhiyuan face-to-face. Just as if he was acting as usual, he lovingly bestowed a kiss on the female lead’s head while also slowly raising his eyes to look straight at Qin Zhiyuan — his gaze was full of profound emotion, as if he was currently looking right at his true love.

And then he opened his mouth to speak.

His voice was low and hoarse, his infatuated eyes revealing a hint of ruthlessness, just like a cold-hearted person cutting open his own heart and exposing it in this very moment, saying, one word at a time, “I. Love. You.”

Qin Zhiyuan was completely frozen in place.

It felt as if his chest had been fiercely struck by someone, and other than Gu Yan’s voice, he wasn’t able to hear anything else. It was only when Gu Yan’s figure disappeared that he regained his senses and realized that the scene had already finished filming.

The director nearby was currently watching the replay, hesitating over whether to re-take it or not. Although Gu Yan completely didn’t follow the script, the male lead he played was a cold-hearted assassin, his disposition overbearing and awkward, so refusing to look at the female lead while confessing was actually very in-line with his character. The most rare was the expression that Gu Yan had just now. Even if they told him to act it out once again, he might not be able to replicate this kind of feeling.

Right as he was thinking, he suddenly heard Qin Zhiyuan quietly say, “Re-take it.”

“Huh? What?”

Qin Zhiyuan was still staring at the place that Gu Yan had just been standing, a small smile on his lips. In a soft voice that still brooked no arguments, he repeated, “Cut that last take out and re-take it according to the script.”

He was the big boss of the investors, and so they had to do their best not to offend him. What’s more, the director had originally been hesitating anyway, so this moment allowed him to make a firm decision, and he called over the staff members to prepare for a re-take.

At this time, Gu Yan was sitting and resting on the side, so Qin Zhiyuan walked over there with a smile and told him the director’s decision.

“Yes.” Gu Yan wasn’t surprised. He simply looked at Qin Zhiyuan and asked, “Did I not act well enough just now?”

“It was incomparably exquisite.” Qin Zhiyuan stared straight at Gu Yan, his eyes lit up with a burning-hot gaze, doing his utmost to control his impulse to kiss. He said, “I’ve decided to keep that part for my own private viewing, so I can’t let it play on TV.”

Gu Yan immediately laughed. “My licensing fees are quite high.”

“It’s all right, just listen to my offer first.” Qin Zhiyuan pressed on Gu Yan’s shoulders, acting as if he was brushing dust off before moving slightly closer to the other’s ear, lowering his voice to say, “When we get back tonight, I’ll also read some lines to you. I’ll read it as many times as you want to hear it.”

Gu Yan froze, abruptly sitting up.

Qin Zhiyuan smiled at him and, with careful movements, smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes before turning around and leaving as if nothing had happened.

Only after a long while did Gu Yan once again return to leaning against his chair. He tried to calm his rapidly pulsing heart as he raised his head to look at the azure sky. Slowly, he used his script to cover up his face.

At this moment, he didn’t want to share the expression on his face with anyone.

When night fell, there were still so many hours left.

Gu Yan felt as if the rest of the day was just like being in the trenches. First, he had to re-take that climatic scene, and this time, he didn’t play any tricks, obediently acting out the script. Although it wasn’t super outstanding, he also didn’t make any big errors, so the director waved his hand and gave it a pass. After that was a fight scene. While Gu Yan looked very handsome flying back and forth in the bamboo forest, it still wasn’t an easy scene to shoot, and the nearby Qin Zhiyuan had his brows furrowed into a knot as he watched.

After finally making it to the end of work with much difficulty, there was still a dinner appointment to attend that night.

Qin Zhiyuan was the one spending money and entertaining, so he also chose the dining location. It was a famous restaurant in a prime location in the city center, and even putting aside how the food tasted, the interior decoration was undoubtably the height of luxury.

Zhao Xin had some other business he was busy handling, so he arrived slightly late. Perhaps he was afraid of being attacked by Gu Yan, as he also brought a couple of assistants with him. All of them were quite young men and women, and they were quite good at livening things up during dinner parties, quickly energizing the atmosphere before long.

Gu Yan remembered his chat with Qin Zhiyuan a few nights ago and so asked about Zhao Xin’s wedding ring. Zhao Xin, as laid-back as he was, actually turned red upon being asked, hemming and hawing, too embarrassed to talk about it.

In the end, it was the young woman sitting next to him who shared the details, “It was that night, during the celebratory banquet, that Director Zhao proposed!”

“That’s right, that’s right. So many people were waiting for him to make his award speech, but he actually secretly slipped away to the roof and quietly settled on his marriage.”

“Before it happened, he didn’t let the matter leak, and even afterwards, he still didn’t say a word. Director Zhao is really crafty.”

“Punishment drink!”

A few of the young people simultaneously started making a fuss, persistently wanting Zhao Xin to drink.

Zhao Xin scratched his head. In this, he wasn’t embarrassed at all, and he drank three cups in one go, causing a chorus of cheers.

Only Qin Zhiyuan didn’t make a sound, completely focused on giving Gu Yan food from beginning to end, never even raising his head for a moment. It was only when Zhao Xin continued drinking afterwards that he hurried to help block a few drinks.

Only when Gu Yan heard them talk about the celebratory banquet did he remember that Zhao Xin had seemed to disappear for a while that night. So it turned out that the person had run to his girlfriend to propose. And when he thought even further, wasn’t this also the night when he and Qin Zhiyuan went to the seawall to get some air? It was from that night forward that their relationship had gradually started to change.

Said like this, that day truly was a rare day of good tidings.

His mood was good, so he thought that every small thing was fun.

Qin Zhiyuan was just pouring Gu Yan some tea when he saw that smile and couldn’t help asking, “What are you thinking about?”

Gu Yan waved his hand and said, “Just trying to guess how exactly Zhao Xin proposed.”

“How unique could a proposal possibly be? Isn’t it just getting down on one knee and taking out a ring? Oh, but Zhao Xin is even clumsier than other people, almost tripping when he got down to kneel.”

Gu Yan didn’t think that he was this capable of mockery and laughed upon hearing this. “The way you said it makes it sound like you saw it with your own eyes.”

Qin Zhiyuan’s eyes darkened, and he didn’t continue on this topic, instead saying with a smile, “In a while, when Old Zhao is drunk enough, we can start talking to him about filming that movie.”

In his heart, Gu Yan felt somewhat uncomfortable, feeling as if the other’s smile was a bit strange, but he also couldn’t pinpoint exactly how it was strange. And then later a small episode occurred, and so he didn’t take this matter to heart.

When Zhao Xin returned from a trip to the bathroom, he ended up bringing an unexpected person along — Zhang Ji, who was soaking wet from the rain.

According to what Zhang Ji said, he had planned to eat dinner here with some of his friends from the cast and crew, but when he got here, he couldn’t find them, and his phone had also coincidentally ran out of power. While he was hesitating in the hallway, he just happened to meet Zhao Xin. Because of Zhao Xin’s relationship with Qin Zhiyuan, Zhao Xin had met him a few times, and so they could be considered somewhat familiar. Unable to take his pitifully wet appearance, Zhao Xin had taken him to the room.

Most likely no one else other than famous director Zhao would believe this kind of excuse.

Gu Yan guessed that his and Qin Zhiyuan’s conversation on set had been overheard by this little fox, and so this person had chased them all the way here. But the fact that Zhang Ji was able to find this place, and also patiently waited outside the door for that long, meant that the other had put in a lot of thought and effort. He thereupon raised his hand and called Zhang Ji over to sit by him, even taking off his jacket and handing it over. Anyway, even if he didn’t take it off, Qin Zhiyuan would definitely do so, happy to be the better person.

After Zhang Ji sat down, he changed his methods in order to strike up a conversation with Qin Zhiyuan.

While Qin Zhiyuan did reply, the other held Gu Yan’s hand under the table, purposely tickling the palm of his hand.

Gu Yan could only do his best to endure with a smile.

On the other side, Zhao Xin was poured even more cups of alcohol. Once the alcohol hit, Zhao Xin truly did turn far more talkative, and with just a bit of provocation from Qin Zhiyuan, he patted his chest and promised to let Gu Yan be the male lead. He even came over and patted Gu Yan’s shoulders, quietly saying, “Ah, Xiao-Gu, of course there’s nothing bad to say about your personality, but your acting is just too, too…”

“Too awful?”

“Hehe, originally I was dead set on not letting you be the male lead. But it can’t be helped since this little rascal Qin Zhiyuan kept begging me, so I softened up and agreed.”

“How did President Qin beg you?”

“He said that if I didn’t let you win an award, then he wouldn’t let me sleep.”

Gu Yan laughed upon hearing this.

Zhao Xin lowered his voice and continued with, “Don’t worry about how fickle Qin Zhiyuan usually seems about love. He’s actually very pure and innocent, and he’s very good at writing love letters. In the past, whenever I was pursuing a girl, he was always the one helping me write those love letters. Let him write you one someday.”

When Qin Zhiyuan heard this, he hurried to snatch Gu Yan back and said, “Don’t listen to Old Zhao’s nonsense.”

Gu Yan drank some alcohol and, feeling somewhat drunk, pulled at his necktie, asking, “Are you going to write one for me or not?”

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he assured repeatedly, “I will, I will, I will.”

His face the picture of docile obedience.

Gu Yan felt as if there had never been a sweeter time than now, and even looking at Zhang Ji’s face, he felt like smiling.

This dinner was very lively, and when it finished, it was already deep into the night, though the rain was still drizzling down. Because he was too drunk to drive, Qin Zhiyuan called two taxis. In the meantime, Zhang Ji had played a little trick and managed to squeeze into their car, so Zhao Xin had no choice but to sit in the front seat.

Conversely, Gu Yan was sitting in the back middle seat, with Qin Zhiyuan on one side and Zhang Ji on the other. It was quite the enjoyable place to be, but his temples were throbbing, and his heart felt anxious.

Was it that everything had been progressing far too smoothly?

That it actually made everything feel unreal.

Qin Zhiyuan saw Gu Yan continuously pressing on his head and reached out a hand to help him massage it, asking, “What is it? Do you feel unwell?”

Gu Yan leaned into Qin Zhiyuan’s embrace, wanting to sleep but unable to, and answered in a daze, “I really want to hurry and get back.”

“You’re that impatient?” Qin Zhiyuan lowered his head and, under the cover of the night, kissed his hair. “But let’s save those words for when we get back to bed.”

Gu Yan forced himself to close his eyes.

The faster the car drove, the faster his heart started beating as well. He had to wait only a little bit more, he had to reach out his hand only just a bit farther, and he’d be able to touch that thing for which he yearned.

This kind of longing was truly too beautiful, so when the car accident happened, Gu Yan thought that he was still dreaming.

Because of the rain, when the car turned a corner, it slipped on the wet pavement and violently crashed into a big tree by the roadside. The tree trunk was broken by the force of the crash, and with a loud rumble, the branches fell, smashing right into the car roof.

The driver had hurriedly turned the steering wheel, and so the front passenger’s seat ended up suffering the heaviest damage. Qin Zhiyuan was sitting directly behind that seat, and he hurriedly pushed Gu Yan aside. Gu Yan fell into a heap against Zhang Ji, the two getting the wind knocked out of them.

And then they heard Qin Zhiyuan’s loud shout.

“Zhao Xin!”

Gu Yan had never heard such a heartrending sound before in his life.

In an instant, he woke up.

All of the things that he felt weren’t quite right in the past, all of the little details that he had neglected previously, finally connected into the full picture in this moment. The pale face that Qin Zhiyuan had at the celebratory banquet, the neatly packed away photo albums in the study, and even his excuse for suddenly appearing in A City… all of these things had to do with the same person.

And that person wasn’t Gu Yan.

Gu Yan saw the surprise in Zhang Ji’s eyes, and he knew that his own expression looked exactly the same. The car had been crushed out of shape, and Qin Zhiyuan still rushed forward, heedless of the danger, to throw himself over Zhao Xin.

Even a thousand ‘I love you’s had no meaning.

Only during a life or death situation could one’s true love be revealed.

[1] So the original actually says, 你現在是我的人。Literally translated, “Right now, you’re my person.” I considered translating it as, “But you’re mine now,” but I felt the connotations were different in English for that phrase compared to the Chinese, so I took some liberties to translate it in a way that felt more similar in meaning to the Chinese, rather than something that was a 1v1 translation. I generally take liberties when translating, but since this was a fairly big departure (especially since the other translation did make sense), I thought I’d make a note of it. 

[2] Like… lotion you rub on injuries. Wikipedia has a page on it. Gu Yan’s talking about how this would be overkill for what’s basically a small bruise. 

So, as of the time I’m editing this (a day before January 30th, when I have to go back to work after the new year holiday :P), I’ve finished translating the entire novel as planned, and all that’s left is editing. As such, I’ll be speeding up upload speed again, since editing (hopefully) won’t take me as long, to 2 chapters a day. If I end up swamped with work and behind, though, I might change this back at some point, but we’ll see.