At the edge of the pool where they’d been doing push-ups, Ye Shanshan, eager for more comfort, slipped off his pants and leaned up to kiss Gong Yue’s chin. The more impatient he felt, the slower Gong Yue seemed to move, so he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around him, even brushing his toes along Gong Yue’s calf.
But just as he started, Gong Yue gently but firmly subdued him, whispering, “Behave.”
Ye Shanshan huffed, “I don’t want to behave.” They’d reached the door—why weren’t they stepping through it yet? He nipped lightly at Gong Yue’s collarbone, his voice sincere and resolute.
“I’m warning you, I’m about to throw a fit. You need to take this seriously.”
“Mm, I’m very serious.”
Gong Yue didn’t let him start a tantrum, and as soon as the lock gave way a little, he slowly turned the key further. Inside, the lock felt moist and snug, not loose, but soft.
Exhaling, Ye Shanshan felt Gong Yue’s movements were still too slow, so he leaned in, teasing Gong Yue’s ear with his tongue. “I want to get in faster,” he said, thinking back, “just like last time.”
“You sure?”
Ye Shanshan nodded eagerly, his eyes filled with expectation. He’d meant to speak, but with Gong Yue’s steady movement, his voice became incoherent. He clung tightly to Gong Yue, melting under his touch.
“You like that?”
Ye Shanshan shivered, finding the unsteady sound of Gong Yue’s breathing irresistible, his own voice catching. “Mm, a lot!” A moment later, he was murmuring again, complaining that the ground was too hard, making it uncomfortable for push-ups.
Worried he might get cold, Gong Yue lifted him up, steadying him carefully. The key was still embedded in the lock, not yet turned all the way.
Something about the way Gong Yue held him made Ye Shanshan instinctively cling tighter, and as they moved, he couldn’t help but bite down on Gong Yue’s shoulder, accidentally using more force than intended.
Gong Yue chuckled, giving him a light pat. “Little puppy.”
Ye Shanshan wanted to protest, but words were out of reach, so he just kept biting, his mouth tingling, and the warmth trailing down Gong Yue’s chest and back.
When they finally slowed down a bit, Ye Shanshan caught his breath, his eyes tinged red as he looked up at Gong Yue. “That’s not how you unlock a door…”
“Oh, isn’t it?” Gong Yue replied, his voice low as he held Ye Shanshan securely. Then he stepped into the warm water of the pool, setting down an exhilarated Ye Shanshan to stand in front of him, back facing him. His shirt was already soaked, clinging tightly to his skin, which made Gong Yue lean down, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
Ye Shanshan steadied himself against the pool’s edge, still adjusting to his footing, when he felt Gong Yue starting push-ups again, moving deeply and powerfully, gently kissing the back of his neck and shoulders as he did.
Finally, the door to the new world was fully opened, and Ye Shanshan felt like he could try doing sit-ups next time.
Soon it was the 23rd.
When the alarm clock rang, Ye Shanshan felt as if he were living a nightmare. He kept his eyes tightly shut, refusing to open them, and accurately rolled into Gong Yue’s arms, his face determined. “I absolutely won’t get up.” He held onto Gong Yue’s waist tightly.
Gong Yue was already awake, but he stayed just a little longer to let Ye Shanshan sleep, gently rubbing the head nestled against his chest. “Shanshan, it’s time to get up.” He even reached out to touch his chin.
“Brother, you can’t just touch a man’s chin; it’ll get squared.”
“Okay.” Without debating the merits of that claim, Gong Yue simply stopped and continued to encourage him to rise. “The alarm is ringing.”
After a while, Ye Shanshan finally managed to open one eye with great difficulty, then he tried to reason with his brother.
“Brother, look, I’m a vampire.” He flashed his two pearly canines, then continued, “Vampires have different sleep schedules than humans, and our brains work differently too. I’m really trying to adapt to human hours, but clearly, it’s not going well. I’m super troubled! But please don’t dislike me; I don’t want to go back to the castle, and you definitely wouldn’t want that either.”
Not willing to challenge Ye Shanshan’s “authority,” Gong Yue nodded in agreement. “It’s still dark outside; vampires can get up too.”
“…”
What could he say? Ye Shanshan felt like he was often led astray by Gong Yue.
But he still had to assert his rights, mumbling, “Then I need a kiss before I get up.” Instantly, he closed the eye he had opened.
Gong Yue leaned down and kissed him.
Discovering this new tactic for inviting a kiss made Ye Shanshan very happy. “Do it again, do it again! I’ll get up after another one!”
So he received a long kiss lasting five minutes.
Revitalized by the power of love, Ye Shanshan quickly rolled off the bed and looked at Gong Yue sitting there, shaking his fist—working hard was all for the beauty waiting on the bed, and earning money was necessary to clear Gong Yue’s shopping cart!
All his sleepiness vanished, and all he could think about, besides Gong Yue, was making money and working hard.
Once they got in the car, Zheng Dong was surprised to see Ye Shanshan looking so spirited. “Why are you so… excited?”
Every time Ye Shanshan had to wake up early, he always looked like he was at the end of his rope; Zheng Dong was used to that by now.
Ye Shanshan sighed. “I need to support a family; you wouldn’t understand.”
“…”
Early in the morning, Zheng Dong felt he could smell the rotten scent of love in the air.
He quickly changed the topic to something he could control. “Today’s *Dialogue* is a very serious program; it’s basically just sitting down and chatting with the host. They’ll mainly discuss themes and motivations behind film shooting, or the actors’ reflections, and then touch on some philosophical insights. Anyway, it’s a highbrow and profound approach. Cheng Shaoran, who’s going on the show with you, is always good at these types of programs. If you—”
Zheng Dong sighed. “Just make sure you pose next to him and don’t fall asleep.”
Whenever he faced Ye Shanshan, Zheng Dong felt that his expectations were as low as they could get. If it were Xu Luoyang, the standards would have to include clever conversation and expressive acting!
Ye Shanshan earnestly promised, “Okay, I definitely won’t fall asleep!”
Zheng Dong looked at Ye Shanshan’s face when he wasn’t smiling. “You can be pretty intimidating when you have a poker face.”
Ye Shanshan, unable to handle the flattery, gave him a cold smile. “This master has been cultivated.”
High coldness lasted no more than three seconds.
The female host of *Dialogue*, Zhao Yi, took a knowledgeable approach. After Cheng Shaoran and Ye Shanshan came on stage, she stood up to shake hands with them.
After Ye Shanshan and Cheng Shaoran greeted the audience, they settled onto the sofa. After the three of them chatted about two standard opening topics, Zhao Yi said,
“I once chatted with a colleague about which celebrities don’t photograph well. After I listed a few famous people, my colleague told me there’s one person who really doesn’t photograph well, and I would definitely not guess who it was.” She turned to the audience, “You all probably know who it is now, right?”
“Ye Shanshan!” “The host!” The audience’s light boards were very eye-catching. Ye Shanshan noticed ones that read “Shanshan,” “The host,” and a couple that said “Hu Yan.”
But what caught his attention the most was a dazzling light board that said “blingbling” in a colorful and dazzling mode, which really matched Ye Shanshan’s aesthetic.
When he heard cheers from the audience, Zhao Yi nodded. “Yes, my colleague said at that time that Ye Shanshan really doesn’t photograph well. I found that puzzling because, clearly, every time I saw Ye Shanshan on TV, whether at a program or in a movie, he looked stunning. How could he not photograph well? How much more handsome could he be in real life? Then I saw him today and realized, he really, really does not photograph well!”
The atmosphere at the venue was lively, and once the audience quieted down, Zhao Yi continued,
“My colleague told me that if one day I could invite Ye Shanshan onto my show, I would definitely feel the same way: ‘Strikingly beautiful at first glance, has a divine aura up close, just shoot him casually; if the picture turns out bad, it’s his loss.’ And now I truly feel that way!”
As Ye Shanshan listened to the host praise him, he quietly asked Cheng Shaoran amidst the audience’s laughter, “Sister Shaoran, did she receive money from Director Zhang?” Otherwise, why was she praising him so highly?
But the microphone was on; even though he lowered his voice, it still got picked up, and the audience erupted in laughter.
Realizing that everyone could hear his whisper, Ye Shanshan felt extremely embarrassed, his expression froze—he sensed the malice from the production team.
Cheng Shaoran also laughed for quite a while before managing to compose herself.
“Actually, speaking of this topic, I have some insights too. Everyone knows that in the film *The Examiner*, the character ‘Hu Yan’ wasn’t originally set. One rainy day, when they couldn’t shoot, a fan of Xu Luoyang was watching a variety show that Ye Shanshan happened to be on. Director Zhang was bored and started watching along, and he just happened to see Ye Shanshan holding a gun and shooting at that wooden sign. Just from that one shot, Director Zhang slapped his thigh and said Hu Yan had to be him.”
Cheng Shaoran recalled it with amusement. “I was there eating sunflower seeds and talking to Yan Ke, asking if Director Zhang just thought the other person was good-looking. Yan Ke replied to me, ‘You’ll know when you see him in person.’”
She looked at the screenshot of Ye Shanshan from the variety show on the big screen. “Yes, it’s this one. At that time, I didn’t understand what that meant, but later when Shanshan joined the crew, I really thought, ‘How could someone be this good-looking!’ You wouldn’t believe it; my assistant nearly screamed when he got out of the car. He looked like he walked straight out of a comic book, not like a real person!”
“Actually, I’m a ghost!” Ye Shanshan silently chimed in, rolling his eyes and acting like a ghost. He had a flair for the dramatic.
“See, even rolling your eyes looks good!” Cheng Shaoran said with a hint of resentment. “It’s really jealousy that’s twisting me! The key is that he’s not only good-looking but also has great acting skills. You guys have no idea, during the last scene, there was a moment when Hu Yan killed us all, and the script said Hu Yan had to laugh. I remember thinking, how will Ye Shanshan play that, given there are so many ways to laugh.”
“What kind of laugh did he have?” Zhao Yi asked, curious.
“I can’t really describe the specific expression; my language skills aren’t that great. But he used a prop, which was the gun he was holding. He pressed the barrel against the corner of his mouth and lifted it up, forcing himself to laugh. When I saw that moment, I really thought Ye Shanshan was an acting talent who was just wasted on his looks!”
“Hearing you say that makes me want to go see *The Examiner* in theaters even more,” Zhao Yi slightly turned toward the camera. “We’ve reached a conclusion: Ye Shanshan is just too good-looking, making everyone overlook his acting skills. So on February 27th, *The Examiner* is hitting theaters with a bang. What reason do you have not to go?”
Ye Shanshan, sitting nearby and listening to them praise him in various ways, finally had a chance to speak up and smoothly took the conversation. “There’s absolutely no reason not to go; this movie is a must-see!”
As he said this, he raised his chin toward the audience, “Right?”
This little gesture was captured on the big screen, and the audience reacted as if they had been electrified, shouting, “Yes—!” The excitement was palpable.
Feeling like the fans were all there to support him, Ye Shanshan clasped his hands together and made a “please” gesture, smiling with his eyes squinted in delight. “I knew you all had great taste!”
After nearly four hours of filming, as they left the studio, it was just past twelve. Ye Shanshan had just taken off his light makeup when he received a call from Gong Yue.
“Hey, bro?”
“I’m downstairs. I’m flying to New York at three this afternoon.”
Upon hearing this devastating news, Ye Shanshan felt as if he had just been extinguished.
—Without love, how could he generate any energy?
1You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad
