T/N: Thank you Who, biki, and Miaunian for sponsoring an additional chapter of ABV right before the holidays~
After having lunch, the two returned to the hotel to pack their luggage.
Jiang Dao had just sorted out his luggage when he saw Chu Yinlong walking over with a small box.
“What is it?” Jiang Dao took it curiously.
“A gift,” Chu Yinlong replied. “Open it and take a look?”
Jiang Dao got up with a smile: “You bought something for me too? Why didn’t you give it to me earlier?”
He opened the lid of the box to see two small black pearl stud earrings gleaming bluish purple in the light.
“Thank you, I like it too.” Jiang Dao took out one of them, hesitated for a while, then touched his earlobe, feeling a little tangled. He finally handed the earring in his hand to Chu Yinlong, “Help me put it on.”
He really doesn’t know how to wear it.
Breathing in a little, Chu Yinlong exhaled a short breath, and moved closer to Jiang Dao with the earring in hand.
His fingers trembled a little for no reason, and it took a long time before he pushed the tip of ear stud into Jiang Dao’s tiny ear hole… he didn’t want to encounter resistance.
Seeing Jiang Dao frowning, Chu Yinlong suddenly became nervous: “It hurts?”
“No,” Jiang Dao replied. “It’s not going in?”
Swallowing, Chu Yinlong cleared his throat and said in a low voice, “Let me try again.”
Scorching fingers lightly pinched Jiang Dao’s earlobe, and with the slight movement, there was a fine tremor as Jiang Dao’s brows furrowed even deeper.
“…It really doesn’t hurt?” Chu Yinlong didn’t dare to move.
“It really doesn’t hurt,” Jiang Dao snorted. “Don’t stop.”
Chu Yinlong held his breath, added a little strength to his fingers, and pushed the tip through. Seeing the end on the other side of Jiang Dao’s earlobe without any signs of bleeding, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and fastened the clip.
Jiang Dao raised his hand and touched the stud, secretly massaging out the numbness at his ear.
He tilted his head and turned the other ear to Chu Yinlong.
Unexpectedly, Chu Yinlong was silent for a long time, and finally said helplessly: “You only have one ear hole.”
Jiang Dao blinked his eyes and pretended to be surprised: “Oh, yes, I forgot.”
He took the remaining stud from Chu Yinlong’s hand. After putting it back in the box and closing it, he put it in his suitcase.
Chu Yinlong lowered his eyelashes and murmured wordlessly: “That’s why he only made one for you…”
Jiang Dao didn’t hear clearly: “Huh? What did you say?”
Chu Yinlong exhaled slowly. “…It’s nothing.” He just suddenly felt he couldn’t compare to the other party.
…
Jiang Dao participated in the closing banquet of “Operation Red Owl” on his second day back in Yan City.
As it doubled as a promotion marketing the film, the banquet wasn’t as simple as a meal amongst the cast and crew. Many entertainment bosses and big names were also invited.
Fortunately, the specially invited guests are different from journalists chasing after gossip. They were there with good intentions and will not ask too cunning questions.
This was Jiang Dao’s first time wearing a formal suit, and he wasn’t used to it. He felt strangled a little and didn’t want to go, but because everyone was dressed up, he could only follow them helplessly.
After some toasting, Chu Yinlong, as the director and starring actor of the film, got up to give a speech.
Jiang Dao looked at the extremely dazzling Chu Yinlong under the light, and a trace of envy suddenly rose in his heart.
This man is confident and strong, with the qualities of a leader. No one would consider him ordinary even if he just stands there.
People admire strength.
Jiang Dao is no exception.
When he was young, he also spent countless nights fantasizing that one day he would be a hero, sought after and praised by countless others.
But… reality told him that in such a cruel world, he’s already lucky to be alive.
So, when he came to this world, he didn’t want to fight anymore. He wanted to find a place with beautiful scenery and spend the rest of his days in peace and quiet.
However, now, at this moment, there was a sudden surge in his heart, and the heroic dream of his youth seemed to stir again.
He wants to be someone like Chu Yinlong.
He wants to stand in the same position as him.
He also wants to… leave some traces in this world to prove that he was there.
Chu Yinlong’s eyes swept across the audience, paused slightly on Jiang Dao’s face, and then slowly moved away. With a smile on the corner of his mouth, he ended his brief speech.
The order of the seats in this kind of banquet is very particular. Jiang Dao watched Chu Yinlong walk to the round table in the middle of the hall and sit next to Yao Yuhua, feeling a little disappointed.
He isn’t even qualified to sit at the center table now.
“Hey, calm down!” Next to him, Jing Yu tugged Jiang Dao’s arm and lowered his voice in his ear, “Your eyes are basically glued onto Teacher Chu!”
Seeing Jiang Dao waking up, he tilted his head and smiled teasingly. “Be careful so the media doesn’t find out you two have a problem.”
Jiang Dao gave him a look: “What problem?”
On an occasion such as this banquet, eating is secondary, and socializing is the main thing.
After eating for a while, Jing Yu’s agent came to remind him of something. He struggled for a while, then put down his chopsticks, and insisted on bringing Jiang Dao to toast some bigwigs sitting at the main table together.
“Hey, why don’t you accompany me! Otherwise I’ll be afraid!” Jing Yu persuaded him.
Jiang Dao reluctantly followed Jing Yu, and caught a glimpse of the other party’s manager holding his forehead with a look of hating iron for not being steel.
At the main table, Chu Yinlong frowned when he saw Jiang Dao following behind Jing Yu with a wine glass.
He had promised Jiang Dao that he would not take him to any publicity activities, but this kind of thing is indispensable when filming, and carries a certain meaning… Although it’s a little superstitious, Jiang Dao did play a role that died in the movie, and such a farewell banquet is more important for him.1they normally do a farewell banquet or red envelopes for characters who die in a movie to ward off bad luck/death
Chu Yinlong originally thought that with Jiang Dao’s personality, he wouldn’t participate in social activities today. So he didn’t expect him to be pulled over by Jing Yu to make a toast.
There are twelve people on the main table, all of them are well-known names or investment giants, and have no need to be polite to two young people. Chu Yinlong watched Jiang Dao drink ten glasses of wine non-stop, unable to stop him. Even when Jiang Dao walked in front of him, he could only laugh, praise, accept Jiang Dao’s toast, and watch him drink another cup.
Refusing to drink will only lead others to maliciously speculate on the relationship between them, which he was more unwilling to see.
After toasting twelve glasses of wine, Jiang Dao secretly dragged Jing Yu back to his seat. Jing Yu’s manager immediately stepped forward, thanked Jiang Dao, and then helped his artist to the bathroom.
Assistant Xiao Yang also ran over at this time and asked with concern, “Xiao Dao, how are you feeling? The boss is a little worried about you.”
After returning from the location, Yang Yue2Yang Yue = his full name. Xiao Yang = nickname officially became his personal assistant and manager.
Jiang Dao’s eyes were clear, as he smiled and waved his hand. “It’s okay, don’t worry.”
His body seems to be extremely tolerant of alcohol, or rather, even if his body is drunk, his soul can maintain sobriety and not be affected by alcohol.
After his assistant left, Jiang Dao sat at the table, staring at the table full of delicious food for a while. But he didn’t feel like eating anything. His eyes unknowingly found Chu Yinlong’s figure again, and followed him around the banquet hall.
After an unknown period of time, there were still people who came up to chat with and take pictures with Chu Yinlong. Chu Yinlong wore a gentle smile full of aura, as he dealt with it with ease.
Over such a long period of time, his eyes would turn to Jiang Dao very briefly, often leaving immediately and then looking at others with a smile.
Jing Yu finally came back from the bathroom, looking less drunk. But before he could get to the table, a senior actor playing a police officer in the crew called him away to meet some people. He was obviously taking care of the younger generation and helping to pave the way and build bridges.
Jiang Dao glanced at Chu Yinlong again, and found that the other party was standing side by side with the actress who played Wei Jie’s wife in the play, taking photos with reporters.
There was a sudden stuffiness in his chest, so he got up and walked out of the banquet hall silently.
“Sorry, excuse me.” Chu Yinlong greeted politely and turned to leave.
Walking in the direction Jiang Dao disappeared, he entered the lounge, to see the other party standing by the window, his forehead against the wall of the window frame.
Hearing footsteps, Jiang Dao turned around.
Chu Yinlong stepped forward and asked in a low voice, “Tired? Or drunk?”
Jiang Dao leaned against the window without saying a word, raised his face, and stared at Chu Yinlong.
Feeling his gaze, the mind that was slightly drunk blanked. Chu Yinlong’s throat rolled, and his body leaned forward uncontrollably, as if there was a demon in his heart urging him to get closer and…
However, Jiang Dao suddenly opened his mouth and asked something strange: “Why don’t you look at me?”
The question dragged him back to reality, and Chu Yinlong was shocked by the distance between him and Jiang Dao. He stepped back suddenly, suppressing the panic in his heart: “What?”
After asking that sentence, Jiang Dao immediately felt that he was being ridiculous, so he smiled and shook his head. “…Nothing. It’s just a little boring. I came out for a breather.”
Chu Yinlong thought for a while, but his alcohol-affected brain was a little dull, and he finally arrived at a conclusion. “Yes, you don’t like such occasions, and you don’t want to participate in the publicity activities… I told Yao Yuhua and the others so they won’t disturb you… If, if you still don’t want to stay, I’ll ask Xiao Yang to take you home.”
Hearing this, Jiang Dao was slightly startled, and then chuckled.
“You still remember I said that I didn’t want to participate in such things.”
The inexplicable loss in his heart suddenly drained out, and his heart felt full again.
He followed up with a question: “You didn’t look at me or ask me to follow you, because you don’t want to cause me trouble?”
Chu Yinlong gave a sound of agreement, and said: “If you don’t want to be spied on, then I’ll hide you.”
Jiang Dao’s lips twitched, suddenly not knowing what to say.
Chu Yinlong stretched out his hand and rubbed Jiang Dao’s head lightly. Before his fingers left, he inadvertently stroked the earlobe with the small black pearl.
So many layers of innuendos. *dies*
Don’t forget to rate and leave a review on novelupdates. Want to support ABV? Buy me a ko-fi for faster releases (add’l release status is tracked on my ko-fi page).
