Chapter 29
"Just thinking?" Yan Huai laughed.
Shang Zhier: "I want to kiss you more."
"Just a kiss?" Yan Huai blinked.
Shang Zhier: "I want to hug you more."
"Then come here and give me a hug." Yan Huai leaned back and stretched out his hand towards the phone screen.
Shang Zhier lay in front of the camera and said in a low voice, "I hate long-distance relationships."
Yan Huai said, "I'll come find you after I finish filming an endorsement event tomorrow."
"Really?" Shang Zhier was suspicious.
"How could I lie to you?" Yan Huai said, "After this endorsement, my current job is over and I'm semi-unemployed."
Shang Zhier raised his head and asked, "Did Yuan Meng give you the two scripts I picked out today?"
"I gave it to them," Yan Huai thought for a moment, "I think both are good. If the schedules don't conflict, I'll audition for both."
After a long phone call, Shang Zhier was already so sleepy that his eyelids were fighting, but he still wanted to fall asleep listening to Yan Huai's breathing. Yan Huai closed his eyes, thinking that Shang Zhier had been treated so unfairly recently.
Two or three months have passed since Yan Huai's explosive Weibo post. It's now the end of August, a scorching summer. The storm has gradually subsided, and new trending searches are constantly appearing.
After the official endorsement photos were taken, Yuan Meng packed up her bag and walked out of the company building with Yan Huai.
"I'll give you a short vacation." Yan Huai took out a mask from his bag and put it on.
Yuan Meng nodded in agreement.
It was already 11 o'clock in the evening when he arrived at the hotel. He knocked on the door and was pulled in.
"Have you eaten yet?" Shang Zhi'er reached under his T-shirt, felt his flat stomach, and muttered, "Definitely not, it's so flat."
Yan Huai bit his neck and panted as he said, "I haven't seen you for two or three months. Don't you miss me?"
"I miss you so much." Shang Zhier said with a smile, "But you didn't eat anything this afternoon, did you? I ordered takeout: fried chicken, fried tofu, and spicy hot pot."
Yan Huai kissed him hard again before sitting on the sofa to unpack.
Shang Zhier sat down on the sofa, picked up Yan Huai and let him sit on his lap.
"Don't you want to eat something?" Yan Huai picked up a piece of fried chicken with a bamboo skewer.
Shang Zhier rested his cheek against his neck and shook his head slightly: "I had a box lunch on the set, I'm not hungry."
After hearing what he said, Yan Huai stopped feeding him and lowered his head to eat.
Holding a piece of beef between his chopsticks, Yan Huai was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is there beef in the spicy hot pot?"
"I ordered it a la carte," Shang Zhier said. "What's wrong?"
"No." Yan Huai said, "After this group is over, let's go back to that village and take a look, okay?"
Although the filming has been completed, more than half a year has passed.
But he still couldn't deny thinking of Xiang Shui, the child of destiny who should have had a bright and sunny future but died under a train.
This role means so much to him.
It also reminded him of the bitterly cold winter when Shang Zhier had a high fever and hugged him, asking him not to leave.
At that time, Shang Zhier was like a pitiful dog, biting his trouser legs and wagging his tail for mercy. He was satisfied with just a touch and a hug.
The two of them lay on the soft big bed and made love again and again.
Shang Zhi'er stroked the water drop tattoo on his body with his fingers and said softly, "Good night."
Normally, Shang Zhier would leave with the director later, but lately, he'd often vanish right after work. Curious, some of the young women on the crew boldly asked the director, "Teacher Shang, why are you leaving so early lately?"
"Yes, Mr. Shang is very handsome, even more handsome than some celebrities."
"And he has this aura about him, the kind of broken, seemingly incompetent aura."
"I think he must be very good in that area, he's so tall and has such a good figure."
"Oh, I told you it's that kind of temperament."
The director listened to their chatter and laughed so hard that he said quickly, "Don't think about it, they are all married."
"Ah?" Several people looked at each other, unable to believe that Shang Zhi got married at the age of 20.
In early October, the crew that Shang Zhier was working on finished filming, and he finally had time to go back to the small village with Yan Huai.
The car was bumpy and the autumn heat, which was even more terrible than the summer heat, had arrived. It was extremely hot.
Fortunately, the air conditioning in the car was powerful enough, and only the sun was shining a little. Shang Zhier was shaken so hard that he couldn't sleep. He was so angry that he buried his head in Yan Huai's T-shirt to avoid the glare of the sun.
Yan Huai was quite helpless. He touched his hair and fell into a deep sleep.
It was already afternoon when they arrived at the village. They followed the path they remembered and found the bushes and abandoned railway tracks.
Walking through the tall and long grass, Yan Huai's tears burst out and he cried towards the water.
Shang Zhier searched his pockets but couldn't find the paper, so he dropped it in the car.
He leaned over and kissed Yan Huai's hot and wet eyelids, "Don't cry."
Yan Huai sniffed and said, "Let's run."
"good."
The two of them ran quickly. Yan Huai used his palm to cushion the back of Shang Zhier's head and threw him to the ground, making him lie on the railroad tracks. In a trance, the two of them clearly heard the roar of a speeding train passing by their ears.
"Did you hear that?" Yan Huai said, "There's the sound of a train."
"Yeah, I heard it."
When I returned to Shang Zhier's house from the village, the sky was already pitch dark.
After Yan Huai entered the room, he opened the refrigerator and said, "We're having fried rice cakes with crab tonight."
"Okay," Shang Zhier changed his clothes, put on an apron, and started cutting rice cakes.
Yan Huai was processing the crabs. Shang Zhier took a bite of the Qiuyue Pear and then let him take another bite.
"Have you finished cutting?" Yan Huai asked.
Shang Zhier nodded confidently.
Yan Huai stared at the rice cake slices on the chopping board and said after a while, "It's too thick. Let's make it into strips."
"Okay." Shang Zhier finished eating the pear and took a knife to cut the rice cake into small pieces.
After dinner, Yan Huai hugged the two little cats and kissed them. Shang Zhier said sourly, "Only the cats?"
Yan Huai lay on the sofa and chuckled. He hooked his finger at him and teased him, "Then come here and let me kiss you."
Shang Zhier pressed him down and kissed him for four or five minutes, then said, "It's all cat hair."
Yan Huai snorted.
After a short break of one week, Yan Huai and Shang Zhier joined a new crew. Yan Huai's role this time was a fool, the stupid son of a landlord, who bought him a wife. The woman disliked him for being a fool, often crying, hitting and pinching him. Later, she cheated on him and was found pregnant. The landlord wanted to drown her in a pond. The fool said that the child was his. The woman survived and gave birth to a son. The war was raging, and the landlord's family was not as good as before. Many people died. The fool let the woman and the child go, and stayed alone in the empty ancestral hall. With a loud bang, the ancestral hall collapsed.
Time flies, and two years later Moss received good news, being shortlisted for Cannes and Venice.
The scene was filled with noise and flashes of light.
Before getting in the car, Yan Huai grabbed Shang Zhier's tie and gave him a deep kiss on the lips.
"It's a huge honor to be shortlisted," Yan Huai looked up at him, "I'll be happy whether I win or not."
Shang Zhier smiled: "I know."
"My mind is in a mess right now." Yan Huai was a little incoherent.
Shang Zhier squeezed his shoulders and said, "Relax and take a deep breath."
"I love you." Yan Huai said.
"I know."
Shang Zhier and Lu Zheng were in a car. Lu Zheng stared at the constant stream of reporters and flashes of light outside the car door and suddenly said, "You're right."
"What?" Shang Zhier glanced at him.
Lu Zheng said, "If Yan Huai hadn't chosen to play Xiang Shui, I'm afraid we wouldn't be standing here today. It's not that I don't have confidence in the film I made, but one look at him and you'll know he's Xiang Shui. Without him, Moss would be like losing half its soul."
"Thank you for the compliment." Shang Zhier said.
"Tsk," Lu Zheng said, "Your heart must have been blooming with joy for a long time. Now you are being humble. He has been waiting for this recognition for a long time, right? When I scolded him so badly on the set, he probably cried in his bed late at night, wondering if he really was a bad actor. Now, you tell him that he is a natural actor."
Walk down the red carpet and into the backstage.
Shang Zhier sat next to Yan Huai and held his hand tightly. "Don't be nervous, relax."
"Okay," Yan Huai turned around and said, "but I'm too excited. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking."
There were too many cameras and people coming and going, so Shang Zhier had no choice but to hold her hand under the seat to give her comfort and affirmation.
The internet is bustling with activity at the moment, with everyone looking forward to who will win the Best Actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Yan Xuxing wanted to talk to Shang Zhier, but they were too far away and he couldn't get through, so he had to lean back in his chair depressed. He knew in his heart that he was just forced in this time and the award had nothing to do with him.
At the end of the premiere, the audience applauded for five minutes.
When the selection began, Yan Huai put his hands together and bit his teeth nervously.
"The Best Actor at the XXth Cannes Film Festival is..."
Yan Huai held his breath, his heart hanging in the air.
"Moss..."
"Yan Huai and He Xuan!"
The whole audience was boiling with excitement. Thanks to the moss, they won a double yolk egg. The last time they won a double yolk egg was in the 1990s.
Yan Huai hugged the director and assistant director one by one, and almost cried when he hugged Shang Zhier.
He quickly adjusted himself and went on stage with He Xuan.
Holding the Cannes Palme d'Or trophy, Yan Huai's eyes were filled with tears. He took the microphone and thanked the Cannes Film Festival, the jury, the staff behind the film, the director, the screenwriter, and his co-actor He Xuan one by one.
"I am very grateful to the character Xiang Shui, and thank him for allowing me to interpret his life and experience his life for a short time."
After waiting for He Xuan to finish his acceptance speech, the two walked off the stage side by side.
After that, Yan Huai was in a daze, and he was still in a daze until he returned to the hotel.
"You won the award. Aren't you happy?" Shang Zhier touched his head.
Yan Huai exhaled and said, "This is all so unreal. Do you know when was the last time I felt this way?"
"when?"
"When I married you," Yan Huai said, "I feel the same way now. Everything is so unreal. Oh my god, it's a double yolk! Two Best Actor winners from one movie!"
"Are you happy?" Shang Zhier hugged his waist to prevent him from falling off the sofa, "My big star."
The information spread rapidly and became a hot topic on the domestic Internet. The rare double actor selection caused a frenzy of discussion in the country.
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