CH 11

Xiao Luo arrived exactly at noon the next day. Xu Jingzhe had gone to the gym that morning. When he got back, the two of them happened to meet in the villa’s courtyard.

“Mr. Xu,” Xiao Luo greeted him. Then, she asked rather enthusiastically, “Are you tired?” 

Xu Jingzhe felt that her ability to chum it up with anyone without making things awkward was actually quite remarkable in its own way. He had a very ordinary view of things, and he didn’t look at things through rose-colored glasses. Thus, this “consideration” was very flattering.

“I didn’t do any heavy exercises,” Xu Jingzhe said gently. “Have you eaten? The housekeeper’s going to make lunch. Why don’t you join us?”

Xiao Luo stared at him. The girl was actually very beautiful. If she dressed up a bit, she could probably make a debut. Xu Jingzhe had a slight inclination to do just that. He even wanted to ask her whether she had an agent already or not.

“Mr. Xu, you’re really good-looking,” Xiao Luo suddenly said. “I’ve been staring at Liang Yu’s face for so many years. I thought that no one could possibly look better than him, but you’re different. You’re a different kind of good-looking.” 

Xu Jingzhe was amused by her description. Xiao Luo’s gaze was very clean. This part of her was, strangely enough, very similar to Liang Yu. However, her gaze wasn’t entirely devoid of any emotion. Rather, there was an almost parental sort of affection hidden in her gaze. It was kind of strange.

The housekeeper cooked up the food and called everyone over for lunch. Xiao Luo went upstairs to wake Liang Yu up. Xu Jingzhe sat down at the dining table first.

Liang Yu didn’t lie around for too long. After washing his face and changing his clothes, he came downstairs. Liang Yu glanced at Xu Jingzhe, and his eyes paused. His morning grumpiness probably hadn’t worn off yet because the tone of his voice wasn’t too good. “Why aren’t you wearing the clothes I bought for you?”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t mind his poor attitude and said, “I went to the gym this morning. There was no need to wear such nice clothes.”

Liang Yu reluctantly accepted this explanation. After a while, he ordered, “Make sure to wear it when we go out.”

Xu Jingzhe regarded this as his “dedication” to the act and agreed without much thought. One was eating vegetarian while the other was bulking up on protein. The dinner table was surprisingly harmonious.

Xiao Luo, on the other hand, was rather quiet. She had this one habit. It seemed that, as long as Liang Yu and Xu Jingzhe were together, she would pretty much never interrupt. Instead, she’d wait for them to finish speaking before jumping in.

Liang Yu had work in the afternoon, so he ate quickly. After eating, he went upstairs to change his clothes. When he came back down, he had a new outfit in his hands. The clothes clearly weren’t his size. 

“You wear this,” Liang Yu said.

Xu Jingzhe was a little surprised. “Did you pick this out for me?”

Liang Yu: “Who else could it have been?” Xu Jingzhe didn’t know what he was so anxious about. “Go and change.”

Although Xu Jingzhe found this rather inexplicable, he didn’t want to argue about something so trivial. When he finished changing, he found that Liang Yu still hadn’t left. Xiao Luo didn’t dare to rush him, so she had no choice but to keep staring at her phone. 

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Xu Jingzhe: “?!”

Liang Yu put on one of the socks for him. Then, he went to lift up his other foot. Xu Jingzhe was a little frightened and pulled back. 

“I’ll do it myself,” he said. “Aren’t you in a hurry?”

Liang Yu put the socks on for him. His attitude was very natural. He didn’t seem to understand what Xu Jingzhe was being shy about. He calmly replied, “Didn’t I help you put your pants on yesterday?”

Xu Jingzhe recalled that pair of overalls. At that time, Xu Jingzhe hadn’t really thought anything of it, but, now, he was starting to find it rather inappropriate. He remembered that Liang Yu had been shirtless at the time. His chest had been pressed right up against his back. The man’s hair was damp, and some of the water dropped onto Xu Jingzhe’s cheeks…

His mind was a mess. He didn’t understand why he remembered everything in such vivid detail. Now that he was recalling everything, his entire back felt numb and tingly. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. 

Liang Yu stood up. It was only then that Xu Jingzhe noticed how similar their outfits were. It might be because he had first debuted through the fashion industry, but Liang Yu truly had excellent taste. They were matching, but the outfits weren’t exactly identical. It wasn’t like those cringy couple outfits, but, no matter how anyone looked at them, they would definitely come off as a couple.

Xiao Luo seemed to be treating herself like air throughout the entire process. She waited until Liang Yu was done with Xu Jingzhe before finally reminding him of the time.

For the past couple of days, all of the promotional events for the holiday film had been held in Beijing. There would be a new venue everyday. Yang Jierui’s team had already given Zhang Man a heads up. If they needed Xu Jingzhe’s cooperation, all they’d need to do was say the word.

“Mr. Xu doesn’t need to come today.” Xiao Luo explained things to Xu Jingzhe in front of Liang Yu. She said, “You do what you have to do.” 

Xu Jingzhe did, in fact, have an appointment for a table read with Director Liu that afternoon, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t ask for leave. However, since Liang Yu’s side didn’t say anything, there was no need to force it.

“However, once we’re finished, we’ll still have to trouble you to pick us up,” Xiao Luo said. “After all, the media’s going to be there. We should at least give them what they want.”

Xu Jingzhe replied, “I know.”

Liang Yu didn’t seem to have anything to say. He urged Xiao Luo, “Hurry up and get in the car. Let’s go.” 

Xiao Luo really wanted to roll her eyes. She sighed. Then, she waved at Xu Jingzhe before getting in the car. “We’re heading off.”

After the door was closed, Xu Jingzhe seemed to have heard Liang Yu complain, “Why do you have so much to say to him?”

Xiao Luo: “…I only said a couple words.”

Xu Jingzhe: “…” 

A table read was one of the things Director Liu insisted on doing before the start of every project. If you wanted to participate in his works, you would have to follow his rules. There were very few people who could get into his cast through the back door. Xu Jingzhe was one of them. Thus, Director Liu was quite moved when Xu Jingzhe actually came to the table read.

“Xiao Liang’s holiday film is still being promoted,” Director Liu said. “Aren’t you going to support him? I actually expected you to ask for leave.”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s not like we can just cling to each other all day, everyday. We still have jobs to do.”

Director Liu: “Aren’t the two of you in love? I think the official announcement said that you guys were secretly dating for three years. You sure did hide it well.” 

Xu Jingzhe smiled. He was as steady as a rock. In fact, he knew very well that there were those who believed his relationship was real and those who didn’t. He might be able to trick his fans, but it wasn’t so easy to trick others in the industry.

These crafty old foxes all kept trying to test whether the relationship was real or not. Xu Jingzhe actually found it quite annoying at times. If he encountered a difficult situation, he would simply cut them off by saying, “We’re getting engaged soon.” He just needed to shoot them down. It didn’t matter if they believed him or not.

The script of Green Water had been sent to the actors in advance. The female lead of Green Water was Luo Yaoye, who had debuted in Hong Kong. She even managed to star in a popular commercial film within the last two years. She accepted the role for Green Water because of her personal friendship with Director Liu. She also accepted because Xu Jingzhe was starring.

Xu Jingzhe wasn’t actually very familiar with her, but, in terms of achievements, Luo Yaoye had also won two very prestigious television awards. She had an established reputation among actresses. 

“Mr. Xu.” Luo Yaoye sat next to Xu Jingzhe. She spoke excellent Mandarin. Her speaking skills were solid, and her voice was gentle. “We met at the awards ceremony. I didn’t have the chance to congratulate you.”

Xu Jingzhe suddenly remembered the Golden Rooster Awards. He’d won the title of Drama Emperor for the third time. There had been too many people at the time, and Luo Yaoye had been a little far away. There really hadn’t been any contact.

Xu Jingzhe was a little embarrassed. “You’re too polite.”

Luo Yaoye was only one year younger than him. She was generally considered to be in between the older and younger generations. Although the two of them had never worked together before, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward. Luo Yaoye looked somewhat like an 80’s Hong Kong celebrity. She knew what suited her, so she dressed in a very vintage style. 

In fact, actresses also cared about the clothing choices of their co-stars, especially for someone as famous as Xu Jingzhe. Luo Yaoye couldn’t help but secretly compare their outfits.

The two of them read halfway through their lines. During their break, Luo Yaoye started mindlessly browsing through live broadcasts online. She was a little surprised when she saw a certain broadcast. She couldn’t help but look up at Xu Jingzhe. After looking at him for bit, she looked back down at the person on her screen.

“Mr. Xu.” Luo Yaoye held back her gossip-loving heart. She handed her cell phone over to him and asked, “Mr. Liang’s promoting his new film, right?”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t know where this was coming from, so he looked down at her phone and found that it was a live interview with Liang Yu. 

Luo Yaoye turned up the volume. The reporter’s voice rang out from the live broadcast. “I heard that you and Mr. Xu have had a stable relationship. Do you have any good news to share?”

Liang Yu seemed to give the reporter a smile and asked, “What kind of good news do you want to hear? Isn’t it good news that the film is about to be released?”

The reporter quickly said, “Of course it’s good news. Since it’s good news, did Mr. Xu have any surprises for you?”

“Surprises…” Liang Yu deliberately dragged out the last syllable. He didn’t care whether people were happy about the suspense or not. After having his fun, he slowly said, “Yes, he wrote me a love letter.” 

The reporter had probably been confused by this as well. He subconsciously said, “Why don’t you read it out loud?”

Liang Yu smiled and said nothing.

Luo Yaoye almost started swearing because of this suffocating push and pull. She was named as one of the last actresses representing the Golden Age of Hong Kong Cinema! How could she be jerked around like this!?

Xu Jingzhe suddenly reached out a hand and propped up her phone. He said with a smile, “Ms. Luo, don’t shake the screen too much. I can’t see clearly.” 

Luo Yaoye: “…”

In the live broadcast, Liang Yu was still smiling. He looked at the people around him. One of his co-stars next to him seemed to be encouraging him. The man lowered his head once more. Xu Jingzhe couldn’t tell whether the shyness was real or faked.

“It was just a poem,” Liang Yu said.

Whenever he lowered his voice, it became mellower, more moving. He wasn’t looking at his cell phone or notes. He simply recited a poem for everyone to hear. 

“I’ll pick a flower for you and hide it in the clouds.”

“You’ll only ever see me when it rains on a sunny day.”

Liang Yu stopped for a while. Then, he said softly, “May my sky full of flowers shower upon you.”