Chapter 37
The time for the variety show’s recording passed in the blink of an eye.
As the day of the recording’s end and their return to their home country approached, Chi Jing’s sleep time grew longer and longer.
Lou Yiwen and the others didn’t know about his succubus identity and only noticed that he was visibly more fatigued.
Before boarding the plane, Lou Yiwen was still worried about him, but he remained sound asleep throughout the journey.
An Boqing and Shen Yixing exchanged looks of disbelief as they watched Jiang Yucheng bend down to gather Chi Jing’s coat, eye mask, and other items.
Meanwhile, Chi Jing, drowsy, clutched a show-branded pillow, with a neck pillow around his neck for comfort.
As Ou’er Bai passed by, she slipped a mint candy into Chi Jing’s hand.
“Have some; it might help you stay awake.”
Chi Jing lifted his eyelids and looked at Jiang Yucheng.
Jiang Yucheng took the mint candy, unwrapped it, and placed it at his lips. “Have some.”
The others’ eyes widened, and they all turned their heads in unison, pretending not to see.
Chi Jing let the mint dissolve in his mouth, the spicy and cool taste jolting him awake a little.
But this moment of clarity was quickly overshadowed by the fever within his body.
“Let’s go home first.” he felt that even the air he breathed was hot.
His reaction worried everyone. Jiang Yucheng said firmly, “Let’s go. The doctor is already waiting at home.”
Under the anxious gazes of the crowd, Chi Jing, with Jiang Yucheng’s assistance, exited the airport.
After contacting their manager, Shen Yixing was about to head to the parking spot for their van when he noticed An Boqing holding up his phone, secretly taking a picture of Jiang Yucheng half-supporting Chi Jing.
He frowned but didn’t say anything to stop him.
His manager found him and, noticing his constant glances toward An Boqing, nervously reminded him, “Don’t forget, you’re in a break period from the CP pairing. Even if your relationship is good, try to hold back.”
Shen Yixing furrowed his brows even deeper. “My relationship with him is ordinary.”
He had worked his way up from minor roles to his current status as an actor, while An Boqing was a popular idol promoted by his company from the start. They weren’t on the same path. The recent drama about their CP pairing had caused some buzz, but their interactions were merely fleeting intersections in their lives.
After this intersection, their paths would remain separate.
Their personalities were also very different, and neither had any intention of becoming friends.
The manager nodded. “So why are you still looking at him?”
“He took a photo.” Shen Yixing said, then suddenly lowered his gaze. “Forget it. Let’s head back.”
Manager: ???
Though the manager was curious about what he had been about to say, after years in the entertainment industry, he knew that sometimes not knowing certain things was better. So he didn’t press further.
Back at the villa, Chi Jing went straight to the bathroom.
As the cold water drenched his hair, it also helped lower his body temperature.
He lifted his hair, his eyes red and his whole body feeling weak and unable to muster strength, signs of approaching maturity.
The bat wings and tail on his back had completely disappeared the night before.
After a quick cold shower to lower his temperature, he glanced at the pajamas on the bathroom rack, then wrapped himself in a summer bathrobe, dried his hair, and walked barefoot out of the bathroom.
Jiang Yucheng was sitting on the edge of his bed, still damp, apparently having taken a quick shower himself while Chi Jing was in the bathroom.
“Come here.”
Chi Jing’s eyes were tinged with redness, his expression full of spring color.
He walked over to him.
Because of the angle, Jiang Yucheng had to look up to see his face.
The light above them cast shadows between the two of them.
Chi Jing lifted his foot and placed it on Jiang Yucheng’s shoulder, his porcelain-white skin smooth and delicate.
“You don’t need me to teach you, do you?” Chi Jing’s voice was drawn out more than usual, perhaps due to his exhaustion.
As he spoke, he heard a light chuckle from him.
The laughter was tinged with a teasing edge.
Chi Jing: “What are you laughing at?”
In the next moment, his view suddenly flipped—
Jiang Yucheng pulled him down onto the bed.
The electric curtains had slowly closed, shutting out the dim light from the street outside.
The phone on the pillow vibrated incessantly, but Chi Jing had no energy to pay it any attention.
He felt like a small boat in the middle of a stormy sea, tossed about in the wind and rain.
When the phone rang, he kicked Jiang Yucheng away and tried to escape. “My father’s calling, I need to—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Yucheng grabbed his ankle and pressed his calloused fingers onto his pale, sensitive lower back.
Mu Jingshan stared at his phone, which had been continuously out of reach, pacing frantically in his office.
Opposite him, Xu Meng and the PR manager from Extreme Entertainment were also in the office.
Seeing him pick up his phone only to put it down again, Xu Meng remained calm. “Can’t get through?”
He shook his head.
She also couldn’t reach Jiang Yucheng; his calls were unanswered.
Beside them, the PR manager was furiously typing on her laptop, looking as if she was about to go to battle.
After a while, she slammed her fist on the keyboard in frustration.
Xu Meng and Mu Jingshan both jumped at the noise.
Xu Meng: “Can you keep it down…”
“They’re not deleting the Weibo posts!” The PR manager pounded the keyboard again, then snapped at her. “Xu Jie, did you ask Brother Jiang what he wants? Should we just flood his account or send out a bunch of posts to bury it?”
“…” Xu Meng rubbed her forehead. “Don’t be so rough.”
PR Manager: “So what did Brother Jiang say?”
Xu Meng: “He didn’t say.”
PR Manager: ???
Xu Meng: “Can’t reach him, no one’s answering.”
The PR manager, fuming, stood up. “What is he doing at this time? If he doesn’t come out to clarify soon, the netizens will start spreading rumors about him and Chi Jing being secretly married!”
Xu Meng: “……It’s not that bad. Calm down.”
PR Manager: “I’ve been working overtime and burning the midnight oil for days, and he’s ignoring me—”
Halfway through her rant, she was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.
Seeing the incoming call information, Xu Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello, you’ve finally answered. There’s a marketing account spreading intimate photos of you and Chi Jing, and now everyone’s gossiping about you two. It’s causing a lot of trouble for Chi Jing, who just started his career and is still clearing up false rumors. Now he’s being attacked by your fans.”
In the villa’s bedroom, Jiang Yucheng, having carefully gotten up from the bed, spoke softly into the phone. “Hold on.”
As he left the room, he glanced back at Chi Jing with concern.
In the dimly lit bedroom, the large bed was a mess, as if a world war had just occurred.
Chi Jing lay in the center of the bed, exposed shoulder covered in countless love bites, his face illuminated by the soft light from the bedside lamp, enhancing his already beautiful features.
Hearing the door close, he stirred but didn’t open his eyes.
He turned over, but the pain from his bones made it hard to maintain his expression.
His tightly closed eyes trembled, and his tear-soaked lashes cast small shadows underneath.
Half an hour ago, this face, praised by fans as a masterpiece of Nuwa, had been covered in tears. His already alluring eyes were now filled with springtime color, and the tear mole at the corner of his eye had been deliberately rubbed red by Jiang Yucheng.