IOLYF Chapter 19

The final scene was in the afternoon, but Mo Ming arrived on set early in the morning. Near noon, he strolled around with his script and eventually found his way to Xia Qing’s trailer. He claimed to be there to discuss the scene, but as soon as he got inside, he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed. Xia Qing’s assistant tried to shoo him away, but Mo Ming stayed put, looking pitiful.

Mo Ming lay on the bed playing with his phone. When Xia Qing entered the trailer, the first thing he saw was the scene before him: Mo Ming’s slender shoulders and back, graceful like a mountain range, with a delicate curve at his lower back, making the subtle rise of his body all the more prominent.

When Mo Ming noticed Xia Qing, he propped himself up on one arm, lying on his side as he looked over. “Xia Ge, are you done filming?”

As Mo Ming raised his upper body, a sliver of his slim, toned waist peeked out from under his shirt, like a small patch of warm, silky white fabric—just seeing it made Xia Qing itch to touch it.

Xia Qing tore his gaze away and glanced outside the trailer. It was lunchtime, and most of the crew were scattered around, eating boxed lunches in groups. Everyone was eager to wrap up the last two scenes that afternoon, and the set was bustling with activity.

To be safe, Xia Qing resisted the urge to close the door. He instructed his assistant to call him when needed, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You’ve made yourself right at home,” Xia Qing chuckled. “If it were anyone else lying in my bed, I wouldn’t be this generous.”

Mo Ming smiled, his eyes crinkling, and then rolled over to rest his head on Xia Qing’s lap.

“Xia Ge dotes on me. I know that…” Mo Ming reached out with one finger, poking Xia Qing’s Adam’s apple like a kitten pawing at something. “I only dare act like this in front of you…”

Xia Qing’s breathing grew heavier as he glanced at the open trailer door. Ultimately, reason won out, and he gently lifted Mo Ming’s head off his lap and placed it back on the bed. His voice was rougher than usual. “Be good. We’re on set, and there are too many people outside.”

After all, Xia Qing had been a popular star for years—he knew better than to take risks like this.

Mo Ming looked disappointed. He sat up, leaning against the headboard, and in a small fit of frustration, he threw one leg over Xia Qing’s lap. Sullenly, he said, “Xia Ge, are you disgusted with me? Because I’ve been with Han Shao Zhou?”

Xia Qing glanced at the leg draped over him, noting the slender, pale ankle—just the right size for his hand to wrap around.

“How could I be disgusted? You don’t realize how irresistible you are,” Xia Qing murmured, his hand creeping up Mo Ming’s leg.

“I broke up with Han Shao Zhou,” Mo Ming said softly. “He said the person he really loves is coming back and that he doesn’t want to see me anymore…”

Xia Qing wasn’t surprised; he had seen this coming.

“So now you’re just a poor little thing nobody wants…” Xia Qing teased with a soft laugh.

Mo Ming pressed his lips together stubbornly. “I’m not pitiful. Xia Ge still wants me.”

Xia Qing couldn’t help himself any longer. He bent down and kissed Mo Ming’s smooth ankle. Without the concern of Han Shao Zhou looming over him, the sight of this pretty, vulnerable boy made him burn with impatience.

“At the crew’s wrap party tonight, drink a little more,” Xia Qing said with a knowing smile.

Mo Ming’s cheeks flushed. “But I can’t handle much alcohol. What if I get drunk?”

“If you get drunk, Xia Ge will take you home.”

Mo Ming shyly smiled, and with a playful push of his toes against Xia Qing’s abdomen, he murmured, “Okay…”

Xia Qing nearly lost control right then. He steadied Mo Ming’s foot. “If you stay with me, acting might not be convenient anymore. Here’s what we’ll do—I’ll give you ten thousand a month, and you…”

“If I have Xia Ge with me, I won’t act anymore. I’m planning to announce my retirement tomorrow, along with the news of my breakup with Han Shao Zhou,” Mo Ming said obediently. “From now on, I’ll stay by your side. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do.”

“Good boy.”

Satisfied, Xia Qing leaned in to kiss Mo Ming, but Mo Ming rolled over and continued playing with his phone.

“My phone’s dead. Xia Ge, can I borrow yours for a bit?” Mo Ming asked.

Still caught up in the moment, Xia Qing didn’t refuse. However, he quickly deleted some compromising messages with his casual partners before handing over his phone.

Mo Ming stayed sprawled on the bed, casually scrolling through entertainment news on Xia Qing’s phone. Xia Qing, sitting at a nearby vanity, ate his assistant-prepared lunch, glancing over at Mo Ming from time to time and thinking about the night ahead, a smile playing on his lips.

At 5 p.m., after Liu Hekun announced the wrap, the set was filled with cheers and laughter.

Mo Ming sent his driver and Xiao Song off for the night, saying he’d take a cab home after the wrap party. His next job would be recording that variety show.

The wrap party was held in a grand, golden hall in the hotel where the actors were staying. The room was lively with conversation and laughter, with over twenty tables set up.

Toward the end of the night, Xia Qing left first in full view of everyone, getting into his assistant’s car at the hotel’s back entrance. After waiting about ten minutes, Mo Ming stumbled out through the same entrance, looking a bit tipsy. Xia Qing instructed his assistant to help Mo Ming into the car.

“You drank too much,” Xia Qing said, wrapping an arm around Mo Ming’s waist with a low chuckle. “If you’re this drunk, how are we going to have any fun tonight?”

Mo Ming just mumbled, “Xia Ge, stop moving… the car makes me feel sick…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll wait until we get to the hotel,” Xia Qing said with a grin.

To avoid being followed by paparazzi, Xia Qing had his assistant drive around half of Chuanhai before finally stopping near a hotel.

After a bit of a struggle, Xia Qing managed to get the half-awake Mo Ming into a room.

As he laid Mo Ming down on the bed, Xia Qing’s breathing grew heavy. He looked at the vulnerable figure sprawled out before him, completely defenseless and drunk, and his heart pounded with excitement.

Pure yet seductive—a combination that begged to be ravished. Xia Qing had been aching for this moment for days.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Xia Qing threw off his clothes and headed for the bathroom to shower.

With the sound of running water in the background, Mo Ming opened his eyes. He rolled over, grabbed his phone from his pocket, and quickly made a call.

When Xia Qing came out of the bathroom, he saw Mo Ming leaning against the headboard, his clothes tossed aside. The blanket was pulled up to his neck, and his cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. He stared at Xia Qing with wide, dark eyes, nervous yet expectant.

Xia Qing swallowed hard, tossing aside his towel as he climbed into bed.

“I thought you were passed out, but you’re awake just in time for the fun,” Xia Qing said, grabbing Mo Ming’s chin and leaning in for a kiss. “You’re driving me crazy, you know that?”

Mo Ming turned his head away, pressing his lips together. In a low voice, he asked, “Xia Ge said you’d give me ten thousand a month. Were you serious?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t believe you,” Mo Ming whispered. “Unless you transfer the money to me now. That way, even if you don’t want me after tonight, I won’t be at a loss.”

To Xia Qing, this amount of money was nothing. Without a second thought, he grabbed his phone and quickly transferred the ten thousand.

“Happy now, baby?”

Xia Qing tossed his phone aside, eager to press down on Mo Ming. But just then, there was a sudden, loud knock at the door.

Xia Qing froze, a flash of unease crossing his face. He quickly pulled on his pants and threw on a shirt, then hurried to the door. Peering through the peephole, his heart skipped a beat.

Xia Qing rushed back to the bed, panic setting in. He was just about to say something to Mo Ming when he noticed Mo Ming leaning against the headboard, smiling at him.

Like a snake flicking its tongue…

…

Xia Qing felt like he was in a dream. Even after sitting down at the police station, his mind was still blank. He glanced over at Mo Ming, who was sitting a short distance away, still sobbing despite the police officers trying to comfort him. It wasn’t until his head started spinning that Xia Qing finally snapped back to reality.

He had been set up.

Set up by Mo Ming.

Xia Qing’s manager, along with lawyers and PR reps from his company, rushed to the scene. Xia Qing was one of Hongyi Media’s most valuable stars, and the higher-ups were desperate to protect him.

They scrambled to keep the news from leaking while doing everything they could to get Xia Qing out of trouble. The company’s top executives even pulled strings to contact people within the police department, but they could only buy some time—they couldn’t solve the problem entirely.

Xia Qing was practically screaming in frustration, wishing he could strangle Mo Ming.

“He’s lying! He wasn’t blackout drunk at all! He came to the hotel with me willingly!”

“He’s faking it, faking it!”

“He’s been seducing me from the start! It was him!”

Mo Ming didn’t argue—he just cried even harder.

No one listened to Xia Qing’s shouting. Everyone knew that Mo Ming was Han Shao Zhou’s man. How could someone like that ever look at Xia Qing?

In a fit of rage, Xia Qing tried to lunge at Mo Ming, only to be slapped across the face by his manager, forcing him to calm down.

Xia Qing’s manager, a stern-looking man in his thirties with a smoldering fire in his eyes, personally negotiated with Mo Ming. He offered compensation, knowing that while the evidence against Xia Qing wasn’t strong enough to convict him, Xia Qing’s career as a trending star wouldn’t survive the scandal.

To protect his star power, the only solution was to handle this matter quickly, downplaying it as a misunderstanding. If Mo Ming didn’t agree, they’d have no choice but to issue a statement claiming that Xia Qing had been framed. But even if they managed to clear his name, Xia Qing’s reputation would still take a huge hit.

“Okay.”

To everyone’s surprise, Mo Ming didn’t argue. He accepted the manager’s proposal without any conditions. He even took the initiative to tell the officers that the whole situation was a misunderstanding.

It was all a big misunderstanding—Xia Qing hadn’t tried to assault him. They were just friends, brothers, staying at the hotel together. He had simply drunk too much and misunderstood Xia Qing’s intentions… With those words, the whole ordeal suddenly seemed like nothing more than a bizarre, farcical mix-up.

With just a few sentences, Mo Ming had completely cleared Xia Qing of suspicion. Xia Qing himself was stunned. He couldn’t understand why Mo Ming, after going to such lengths to frame him, would suddenly back down at the last moment.

After the drama at the police station, Mo Ming hadn’t called anyone. He handled everything on his own, like a one-man show with a rollercoaster of emotions that finally came to a quiet end at midnight.

Xia Qing’s manager breathed a sigh of relief. With Mo Ming’s statement on record, even if he tried to change his story later, the police could use these recordings to control the narrative.

The manager wanted to discuss compensation with Mo Ming, but Mo Ming said he’d reach out to them and then got into a taxi.

Xia Qing recounted the entire incident to his manager, who went through Xia Qing and Mo Ming’s chat history and confirmed there were no incriminating messages. Only then did he breathe a little easier.

“You knew he was Han Shao Zhou’s man, and you still went after him?”

“He said he broke up with Han Shao Zhou and wanted to be with me, so I…”

“Break up? Did he tell you that?”

“…Even if they didn’t break up, Han Shao Zhou only sees him as a stand-in anyway. Who knows? Maybe after finding out about tonight, Han Shao Zhou will take this chance to kick him out.”

“That’s just your assumption. There’s too much about tonight that doesn’t add up. I have a feeling this Mo Ming… isn’t so simple.”

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