Chapter 23
Shang Zhier hung up the phone. He looked down and saw the snake plant on the balcony. Its leaves were drooping, withered and rotten. The snake plant was dead.
He stretched out his fingertips, grabbed the withered leaves, and wanted to pull them out by the roots and throw them into the trash can.
"Um..." Yan Huai hugged him from behind, "I want to drink water, I want to drink water."
Shang Zhier turned around and closed the balcony door, letting Yan Huai hold him. He walked out of the room, took out a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, unscrewed it and fed it to Yan Huai.
The water flowed slowly from the narrow mouth of the bottle. Yan Huai was very thirsty. He snatched the bottle from Shang Zhier's hand and drank it quickly and chokingly.
"Drink slowly." Shang Zhier stretched out his arm and wanted to take the water bottle.
Yan Huai held the bottle tightly. He blinked and said, "You want to bully me too?"
"Don't you want it? Okay, I'll give it to you then." Yan Huai hurled the water bottle at Shang Zhier, sending it flying onto the frame of his glasses. The glasses shattered, and water spilt from the bottle onto the floor. He roared, "Take it away! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you all!"
Shang Zhier stretched out his hand to block it, but failed.
Yan Huai buried his head in the pillow and burst into tears, his shoulders trembling with sobs.
He didn't understand. He just wanted to be an actor and act well.
How did it become like this today?
Shang Zhier's eyelashes trembled, and tears fell without warning. Over the past four years, how much had his Yan Huai endured? He wanted to imprison Yan Huai at home, to stop him from acting and fawning over those people, but he had no right to do so. To Yan Huai, he was nothing.
What's more, he still remembered the smile on Yan Huai's face when he successfully auditioned in high school.
Yan Huai curled up on the ground like a river shrimp.
He had drunk too much, his whole body flushed red, and his crying gradually turned from loud sobs to soft whimpers. Yan Huai gradually grew tired of crying, so Shang Zhier picked up a thin blanket from the ground and covered him with it.
When Yan Huai woke up, the mess in the room had already been cleaned up and tidy. He just thought that the company had hired a cleaning service and didn't take it seriously.
He sat cross-legged on the cold tile floor when the cell phone on the coffee table suddenly rang.
"Hello." Yan Huai opened his mouth, but his voice was so hoarse that it was impossible to hear.
"You don't have to film Cao Wei's drama," Ye Xiaoming said. "The company will help you. You're not in great shape right now, so take a break. When you want to film, contact me and I'll give you the script."
Yan Huai sneered: "Soft ban?"
Ye Xiaoming was helpless: "I swear, the company is not going to ban you."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter." Yan Huai said to the phone, "You can do whatever you want."
He hung up the phone and fell onto the sofa.
This condition lasted for half a year before Yan Huai got better and started filming. It was at this time that Yuan Meng became his assistant.
Yan Huai stared at Gu Shu's face, trying to find any signs of lies. Unfortunately, Gu Shu's expression proved that what she said was true.
"Explain yourself clearly." Yan Huai stopped her.
Gu Shu turned around and said, "What? Are you scared? Are you afraid of knowing the truth?"
He Xuan grabbed Yan Huai's arm, and Gu Shu stood up and left the corridor.
Unable to use the restroom, Yan Huai paid the bill, walked through the long corridor, and got straight into the car.
The car was a bit stuffy, so He Xuan hurried to catch up.
He accidentally witnessed all this and felt complicated at the moment.
The small spark of love that had sparked during the filming of Moss was extinguished at this moment. He Xuan knew that he and Yan Huai could never become lovers because someone had already taken him there, and that was when Yan Huai was most isolated and helpless.
The car stopped at the back door of the hotel and the driver handed the car keys to Yan Huai.
For a moment, they were the only two people in the car.
That stuffy feeling surged into Yan Huai's heart again. He pressed the car window, leaving a one-centimeter gap.
"Yan Huai," He Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Why were you so resistant to Cao Wei's explicit scenes? Moss has had many similar scenes, so why didn't you refuse? Or was it because of Shang Zhier again? But what's the difference between him and Cao Wei?"
Yan Huai sighed softly: "He is different from Cao Wei."
"I've known him since high school and I know him well. This time, the director was Lu Zheng, not him. Lu Zheng wouldn't have pointed the camera at our private parts. You and I were wearing underwear, and many of the intimate scenes were shot with a camera. It's very different from Cao Wei's sexual harassment."
He Xuan was speechless for a moment.
At four in the morning, He Xuan had already left. Yan Huai sat alone in the back seat, his mind a storm, all his memories and recollections being dug up.
He once didn't believe that Shang Zhier had feelings for him for ten years, but now Yan Huai's heart began to waver. If he didn't really love him, how could she help him deal with Cao Wei and how could she give him the best resources.
But he had completely forgotten Shang Zhier at that time. On that decadent and desperate night, he was closest to the truth, but he was drunk from excessive alcohol.
This drunkenness silenced Shang Zhier's emotions once again.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Yan Huai turned his head and saw Shang Zhier standing outside the car door through the black glass.
He quickly stood up, opened the car door, and asked, "Why did you get out? Did you wait too long?"
Shang Zhier closed the car door, took the car keys and locked it. He held his hand and said, "Didn't you check your phone? It's already four in the morning. Can you get up for the crew tomorrow morning?"
"I don't have any scenes tomorrow, so I can rest." Yan Huai stuck close to Shang Zhier, followed him into the hotel, crossed the lobby and took the elevator.
Shang Zhier noticed that he was being particularly clingy today and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay," Yan Huai sniffed, "I just feel like I'm really lucky."
Shang Zhier pinched his fingertips all the way up to his wrists, and said with a smile, "Lucky baby."
"Why are you calling me baby?" Yan Huai took out the room card. "That's so corny."
Shang Zhier closed the door and said, "Baby, let me kiss you."
Yan Huai was breathless from his kiss, breathing rapidly: "Shang Zhier, will you keep persisting silently if there is no reward?"
Shang Zhier was puzzled as to why he suddenly asked this, but he still answered honestly: "Yes."
"Don't you think it's not worth it?" Yan Huai stretched out his index finger and gently pressed his Adam's apple.
Shang Zhier said: "Since you have made a choice, you must stick to it."
He grabbed Yan Huai's restless fingers with his right hand, brought them to his lips and kissed them.
This night seemed particularly long. Yan Huai bent his waist to cater to Shang Zhier. Out of guilt, he wanted to make amends in this matter, but he knew clearly in his heart that ten years was too long.
"You don't have to be like this." Shang Zhier stopped him, "Tell me what happened."
Although Yan Huai cooperated with him a few times before, it was not like now, as if he was trying to please him.
Yan Huai shook his head and was unwilling to say.
The next day, both of them woke up very late. Yan Huai was lying on the bed flipping through his phone when he saw a post complaining about him.
Yan Huai is now so obscure he's practically a 38-tier celebrity. After all these years, what are some impressive productions? Without winning any awards, he'll be 30 soon, and won't even make it to Cannes!
Yan Huai slid the screen, and fans below spoke up for him, and soon the whole building became noisy.
Yan Huai thought about it carefully. He had good works, but he just lacked luck. He was nominated many times but never won an award. At every critical moment, he would run into a big shot who was older, more experienced, and had better acting skills than him.
The total trophy just missed out.
At the age of 30, he failed to win the Best Actor award, nor was he able to marry the person he loved.
Yan Huai suddenly had an idea. Yes, at least one of these two must be completed, right? He woke Shang Zhier up and said excitedly, "Let's get married."
"Ah?" Shang Zhier was still half asleep and thought he had misheard.
"I say," Yan Huai sat astride Shang Zhi'er's legs, "let's get married and go abroad."
Shang Zhier rubbed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "You're not an actor anymore?"
"Of course," Yan Huai said with increasing enthusiasm, "Getting married doesn't conflict with continuing to act."
Shang Zhier chuckled and rubbed his head against Yan Huai, "We've only been together for a month, are you getting married in a flash?"
He was extremely eager to become Yan Huai's partner, but he also knew that it was too hasty. Moreover, Yan Huai's series of reactions after returning last night seemed very abnormal.
"What's wrong with a flash marriage?" Yan Huai hugged his neck, "Hurry up and agree to it."
Shang Zhier touched his waist and said, "Wait a little longer."
Although Shang Zhier declined this hasty proposal, Yan Huai was not discouraged and began to enthusiastically inquire about what was required to register a marriage abroad.
He wondered if Yan Huai knew about it, but he hesitated and didn't dare to ask.
Even if she chose to be with him out of pity for him, Shang Zhier was willing to do so and didn't want to let this hard-earned warmth disappear.
"We've finished our hotel snacks," Shang Zhier walked out of the bathroom. "Let's go buy some at the supermarket?"
Yan Huai nodded, "That's right, I want to eat the crepes next to the supermarket."
The crepes next to the supermarket are selling very well and there is a long queue.
During the queue, Yan Huai grabbed Shang Zhier's long sleeves, pulling his sleeves and adjusting his hat from time to time, to pass the time in the long queue.
Ten minutes later, the two of them hid in an empty corner and ate crepes.
Shang Zhier tilted his head and stared at Yan Huai's lips opening and closing. He stretched out his finger and poked the back of Yan Huai's hand.
"Huh?" Yan Huai was a little confused.
"Give me a bite." Shang Zhier said.
Yan Huai handed the matcha crepe to his mouth, watched him take a bite, and asked, "Is it delicious?"
"Matcha is a bit bitter." Shang Zhier answered sincerely.
Yan Huai stuck out his tongue and commented, "Squeamish."
"Try mine, the chocolate banana one, it's very sweet."
Yan Huai tilted his head and took a small sip. "Sweet."
After finishing the biscuits, the two of them finished their shopping in the supermarket quickly and came out with two large bags of things in less than ten minutes.
Yan Huai was holding the bag in one hand and staring at the traffic light.
"My hand hurts." Shang Zhier said aggrievedly.
Yan Huai glanced at him and opened his palm. "Give me the bag."
Two seconds later, what was in his palm was not the handbag, but Shang Zhier's left hand.
Shang Zhier blinked at him. The pain in his hand was fake, but the desire to hold his hand was real.
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