Editor: Whitebunny
Chapter 9
As soon as Xu Luoyang uncrossed his thumb, he swiped the latest update on Qi Chang’an’s Weibo account, then clicked the like button and was a little surprised. He couldn’t help but ask, “Did you also go to the fan group to lurk – no, to study?”
Shaking his head, Qi Chang’an asked rhetorically, without moving, “You’ve been there?”
“I – ” Crap, I almost fell for it! Xu Luoyang thought he had changed his tone without a hitch as he answered, “Of course not, I’m just curious, how do you know the term ‘sugar’?”
“I learnt it from my fans.” Qi Chang’an didn’t want to expose him, so he clicked on the comment section of his last few Weibo posts and showed it to Xu Luoyang. “They are always begging for sugar, asking for a picture, asking for ‘Gu Cheng CP’ to be together – after reading more, you will understand.”
“All right!” Xu Luoyang couldn’t help but reach out and rub his ears. He didn’t know if it was just his illusion, but the words ‘Gu Cheng CP’ were pronounced by Qi Chang’an with a hint of indefinable charm., Hhe quietly took a glance at his serious expression, asking himself ifthinking that maybe it really was justreally his illusion.?
When Qi Chang’an went to pack his luggage for the next day, Xu Luoyang secretly clicked on the Weibo comment section and saw the two top comments at the top of the list.
“Am I the only one who noticed Chang’an’s satiated expression as if he had just eaten something delicious? Am I the only one who noticed that Luoyang must have just taken a shower? The little train in my head is whistling and whining as it drives further and further away!”
“– Don’t be anxious! The Food Producing Touch is five minutes away from the battlefield! Fairies can get ready with their little stools to collect their food! Knock-knock-my bowl~”
When he thought of the last time he saw a lot of versions of this suggestive article, Xu Luoyang subconsciously backed out of Weibo, but after he did so, he asked himself – ‘wait, I didn’t write it, why should I feel guilty?’
After Qi Chang’an left, Xu Luoyang’s life went on as usual, no different from before.
When it was time to get off work, he would habitually send a message to Qi Chang’an, “I’m off work, I’m coming to see you for dinner and when it was sent, he would delete it in a frenzy; he would even prepare two pairs of chopsticks; and the first thing he did when he rushed out of his bedroom in the morning was to shout “Qi Chang’an!” and then panic and ask himself how much time was left before he would come back…
Whenever he’d realized that Qi Chang’an was still abroad, he would be frozen for a few seconds.
So when he heard Zheng Dong mentioning Qi Chang’an on the phone, he instinctively subconsciously looked at the closed bedroom door and looked back after a few seconds, “What did you just say, Brother Zheng?”
“I was just asking, have you seen Director Zhang in the last few days?”
“No, I know that Director Zhang, the scriptwriter, and some of the crew are also in Qinli Town, but they were hiding very well. Qi Chang’an and I have never met them once.” The two of them had been working together for several years and so Xu Luoyang was able to sensed something in his words. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I thought I’d talk to you first,” Zheng Dong didn’t hesitate and spoke directly, “You remember Shi Yuanhao, right?”
“Yeah, I met him once at an announcement.” Xu Luoyang tried to pull the memories of this person out of his head, “I think he’s not bad looking, he’s from Haiyang Media.”
Haiyang was their rival company, there was never a day that they didn’t go against each other.
“That’s him, I got a message that Shi Yuanhao’s agent is contacting Director Zhang.”
Xu Luoyang gave a start and immediately reacted, “He wants to steal my role?” At the same time, some things in his head suddenly started to form connections.
Shi Yuanhao’s agent, Wu Bi, was a gold medalist in the agent department of Haiyang Media. The main reason why he had risen to the top so quickly was because he had poached the then film queen Yun Shu from Youli Entertainment and since then, Zheng Dong and Wu Bi had treated each other like air even when they met.
And this time, Zheng Dong and Xu Luoyang had made Yun Shu’s life unbearable, so Wu Bi must want to take revenge.
‘”Here’s the news’,” Zheng Dong had always known that Xu Luoyang was reasonable, so the two of them discussed everything, “Wu Bi is aiming for the role you have. The reason why Director Zhang chose you and Qi Chang’an as the double lead was because of Qi Chang’an’s unbelievable acting skills and the fact that he is a familiar face to the jury of the international film festival, which is almost a guarantee of winning an award.”
“But Qi Chang’an has obvious shortcomings; he only had two shows, he has no interviews, no endorsements and variety shows, and isn’t often talked about in the media. As for you, while your acting skills are not as good as Qi Chang’an’s, nor have you won any remarkable awards, your box office appeal is strong, the hype over you remains high, and you have a solid fan base and considerable popularity. With that said, you and Qi Chan’an complement each other.”
Xu Luoyang said, “Director Zhang’s goal is to win awards, so Qi Chang’an will definitely not be replaced, but I’m different, there are many people who can replace me in this role.”
He remained circumspect. Although he was a popular actor, he wasn’t the only one who was popular.
“Yes,” Zheng Dong said bluntly, “such as Shi Yuanhao, Wu Bi saw this and has been working on it.”
Xu Luoyang didn’t say anything like, “We’ve signed a contract, the first wave of buzz has already started.” Iit wasn’t uncommon for people to be replaced on the spot, let alone before the shooting started, and if they were replaced, they could even bring up new hot searches.
“I’ll find time to have dinner with Director Zhang in the next couple of days to see what’s going on.”
“I will also continue to listen for new information.” Now that they were finished, Zheng Dong suddenly changed the topic, “I saw earlier, you Weibo updated the photo with Qi Chang’an in Weibo?”
The moment he understood Zheng Dong’s meaning, Xu Luoyang replied directly, “I promised Qi Chang’an that I wouldn’t use him to promote the cp. Anyway, even if I manage to put the ‘Gu Cheng cp’ on the top of the hottest searches, and got media releases flying around, the crew and capitalists would still find a way to change actors.”
“Hmm, that’s true, I’ll do as you wish.” Zheng Dong had always respected Xu Luoyang’s wishes. He gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.
As he threw the phone on the sofa, Xu Luoyang looked at the dark clouds outside, “It’s going to rain again.”
Montreal.
Qi Chang’an arrived home at exactly 12:30. He had been in the studio for five days, rushing to catch up with the movie; his whole body was sickly and his face looked even more pale.
The housekeeper, Auntie Jiang, asked the maids to take his luggage, and said, with a tone that was a little formal, “The bath is ready for you. Young Master Chang Yin is not at the office today, he is waiting for you in the parlour.”
“The parlour?” Qi Chang’an rubbed his temples twice, “Tell my brother that I’ll see him in 30 minutes.”
“Okay, Young Master Chang’an.”
Qi Chang’an went to the parlour after changing his clothes and there he saw an old acquaintance sitting opposite his brother. He turned around, wanting to leave.
It was as if Qi Chang Yin had eyes behind his back, “Chang An, don’t try to pretend you haven’t been here.”
Qi Chang’an nodded to the brown-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man across from him, “Dr. Holman, nice to meet you.”
Dr. Holman, who had been Qi Chang’an’s doctor for fourteen years, understood his resistance and distrust of doctors and replied with a smile, “I don’t think you’re that happy to see me, but I’m glad that you’re in better shape than I expected.”
He cut to the chase, “I’ve had feedback from your life assistant, Mr. Liang, that you had a relapse about ten days ago?”
“Yes, the initial symptoms were stomach pain, followed by a sudden high fever, my right eye could only see within about one meter, and my right ear lost its hearing completely.” Qi Chang’an’s tone was calm and objective, it was like he wasn’t describing his condition, but even if a bit indifferent, he described the situation in detail.
After taking notes, Dr. Holman got up and left, leaving the two brothers alone in the parlour, both of whom didn’t feel like talking as they were somewhat silent for a while.
Qi Chang Yin was six years older than Qi Chang’an and had been in a high position for many years, but he always tried to be discreet in front of his younger brother., he started, “Are you flying back straight from California?” he started.
“Hmm, I’m in a hurry,” Qi Chang’an took a sip of his strong tea to refresh himself, “I promised someone I’d be back in a week or so.”
Thinking that Qi Chang’an had set a time with the director, Qi Chang Yin saw that he looked tired and couldn’t bear to ask any more questions so he said, “Go and rest first, we’ll talk about the rest when you wake up.”
“Hmm, remember to call me when it’s time for dinner.” Qi Chang’an said then stood up and turned to go out.
“Chang’an.” Qi Chang Yin looked at his back, his voice subconsciously softened, “A few days later is the anniversary of Mom and Dad’s death, you–”
“I’m going back to my room,” Qi Chang’an interrupted his brother’s unfinished sentence, his expression condensed.
The moment Qi Chang’an left the parlour, a bitter smile appeared on the corners of Qi Changyin’s mouth – he was really in a hurry again.
When he returned to his bedroom, Qi Chang’an closed the door behind him and found that the room had not changed at all, even the book on the table was still on the same page he had read before he left.
After almost ten minutes, he took his mobile phone out and looked at the time – it must behave been 1:30 am in Qinli Town. He wondered if Xu Luoyang was asleep then he saw his latest update.
“Can’t sleep QAQ.” The time was ten minutes ago.
Qi Chang’an paused for two seconds on the ‘repost’ button, then gave up and dialed Xu Luoyang’s phone number directly.
“Chang’an?” Xu Luoyang’s voice was very lively.
“Mhmm, it’s me.” The tense string in his heart slowly relaxed, Qi Chang’an closed his eyes, “Can’t sleep?”
Xu Luoyang huddled under the blanket felt that Qi Chang’an’s voice was a bit too sultry. He subconsciously held his phone away from his ear, “Did you see my Weibo post? I’m not going to lie, after an hour of trying, I just can’t sleep. I don’t know what to do, should I get up and mop the floor, or something? Maybe I’ll feel sleepy after tiring myself out.”
Turning over in bed, Xu Luoyang inexplicably felt that there was something wrong with Qi Chang’an. He seemed particularly tired, but also not exactly –just listening to his voice made him feel a little sad.
“Chang’an, is something wrong on your end ……?”
“Nothing.” It’s just that it’s too quiet around me and I want to hear your voice.
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THANK YOU FOR THE CHAPTERRRR!
Ahhhh veeeery soft 😭😭😭😭😭