Chapter 40.1
The first to give a reaction wasn’t Zheng Dong, but Lu Di who was eating a biscuit. He stammered as he looked at Xu Luoyang, obviously in shock, “I…. Xu Ge you…. Mr. Qi….”
Xu Luoyang kindly helped him organize his sentences, “Your Xu Ge likes Mr. Qi a lot.”
Lu Di had a fantastical expression on his face that said, ‘I must be f*cking daydreaming,’ as he looked at Xu Luoyang and then Zheng Dong, and then back at Xu Luoyang. His outlook shattered into crumbs like a biscuit, “But, but aren’t you guys the only ones in the entertainment circle who have a brotherhood made of stainless steel?”
Lu Di, who asked this question, was devastated inside. He obviously followed Xu Luoyang every day, so why didn’t he see any hint of it? Was it that he was too blind or that Xu Ge hid it too deep?
Deciding to take care of Lu Di’s fragile heart, Xu Luoyang said euphemistically, “You can understand it that way. I am still a stainless steel, but I’ve become a wire ball, bent and twisted into a circle.”
“……” Lu Di decided to hold off a bit.
Compared to Lu Di, Zheng Dong’s expression was quite calm. He took three deep breaths in a row, “You’ve fixed your antenna?”
“?” Xu Luoyang looked confused, “What antenna?”
Thinking that he was probably dumbfounded, Zheng Dong changed his questioning style, “I heard from Di Zi that you met Xia Nan backstage at the show the other day?”
Xu Luoyang didn’t understand why Zheng Dong suddenly brought Xia Nan up, but he answered anyway, “Yes, he came to see me in the lounge and we had a chat. Maybe because I’ve helped him a few times in Director Chu’s production, so he wanted to invite me to dinner.”
“Did you say yes?”
Xu Luoyang was a great example of what it meant to be unmoved even in the face of the wind, “Of course not! I promised you that I would put my idol baggage back on my back, so how could I fall into the world of delicacies with him? I rightly refused!”
“……” Zheng Dong didn’t know whether to be grateful or to sigh. It seems that the antenna was still not fixed.
Lu Di sitting next to them suddenly reacted, “Xu Ge, so before when I always thought you guys were a model friendship in the entertainment industry, in fact …… you were giving dog food in broad daylight?”
Xu Luoyang looked back innocently, “No, I didn’t know I liked Qi Chang’an at that time either.” Giving out dog food or something, he didn’t think so?
Zheng Dong massaged his temples twice then asked a very important question, “How did you know that you liked Qi Chang’an?”
“Isn’t it natural to know such things?” Meeting Zheng Dong’s suspicious eyes, Xu Luoyang felt guilty and hesitated for a few seconds before telling the truth, but only in a low voice, “I had that kind of dream.”
Lu Di whispered in response, “What kind?” And then he quickly realized, “Oh, that kind of dream!”
Xu Luoyang blustered, “Isn’t that normal? It’s a normal part of human growth!”
Looking at Lu Di, who had quickly accepted this after reshaping his worldview, and Xu Luoyang, whose eyes were wandering and the tips of his ears red, Zheng Dong felt like an old father, “So what are you going to do next?”
“Pursue him!”
Hopeless, seriously hopeless! Pursue what pursue! Zheng Dong held his forehead, speechless, “Okay, go for it. Congratulations on your first love.”
“Okay, okay.” Xu Luoyang was so happy that he poured a cup of black coffee for Zheng Dong, then heard Zheng Dong ask, “You know Qi Chang’an’s background isn’t ordinary, right?”
Xu Luoyang nodded, “Yes.” That was why interracial relationships were really hard!
“If you succeed…… in pursuing him, you may face a lot of difficulties later.” Zheng Dong thought far ahead. The Qi family was a large family, so it was questionable whether Qi Chang’an would be allowed to be with a gay.
But looking at Xu Luoyang who had a goofy smile on his face, he suddenly couldn’t bear to go on– he had finally fallen in love with someone, but then he had met one with such a high difficulty factor.
After sorting things out, Zheng Dong changed his point of entry, “Another thing is, both of you are in this circle. Although the general environment is now very relaxed towards homosexuals and the public is very accepting, no matter what, you should be prepared for the worst.”
Seeing Xu Luoyang’s serious nod, Zheng Dong explained the pros and cons to him, “On the one hand, the pressure will come from the fans. You’re twenty-five and Qi Chang’an is twenty-six, both of whom are still at a stage where fans don’t really accept that their idols are in love. If the relationship is announced, it will definitely cause a strong reaction. If you add in the anti-gay crowd, there will definitely be more than a few tirades. Those who are mentally weak may not be able to handle it.”
Xu Luoyang’s expression also became serious, “Yes I know, but I can handle it.”
“The other kind of pressure will come from the industry. You know, heterosexuality is still mainstream, and not everyone is comfortable with same-sex love, so you might miss out on a lot of opportunities because of that and your professionalism might even be questioned because of it.” Zheng Dong looked at Xu Luoyang, who was much more mature than a few years ago and sighed, “So, Luoyang, you have to think carefully, because this relationship will definitely put your future at stake. Be careful.”
Xu Luoyang still replied, “I know.” He smiled, not in a relaxed manner, but calm enough, “I will try to let Chang’an know my feelings, but I can accept it if he refuses.”
As he said this, Xu Luoyang was a little embarrassed, “Actually, when I found out that I might like Chang’an, I thought about it over and over again for many, many days.”
“But I really like him, a lot.” He couldn’t say anything more rousing of emotion than that, but the look in his eyes was stubborn enough for Zheng Dong to understand this feeling.
Zheng Dong was a work-oriented person who had had a few relationships, but they had all ended in the end, so he didn’t really understand how much Xu Luoyang valued this relationship. However he was willing to try his best to understand, “Do you really like him that much?”
“Yes.” Nodding vigorously, Xu Luoyang’s voice was a little soft, but his smile was bright, “I’ve been thinking back over the past six months with him and I’ve found that every moment is so precious that I don’t want to forget them. He is really very good.”
At this moment, Xu Luoyang was a little annoyed at his own lack of words as he couldn’t describe how good Qi Chang’an really was.
Zheng Dong put the empty coffee cup he was holding down and finally reminded him, “No matter what happens to you and him in the future, I hope you won’t forget what you said to me when you came to me when you were nineteen. It wasn’t easy for you to get to where you are now, don’t let your former self down.”
The stone hanging in Xu Luoyang’s heart finally fell and he nodded, “I will stand on the highest ground.”
Zheng Dong said the same thing as he did then, “I will help you.” He rubbed his brow again– he was already anticipating that there would be frequent heart racing moments, sudden overtime and constant hair loss.
“Let me know when you’ve succeeded, but when are you going to start?”
“I need to do some preparation first!” Xu Luoyang remembered a problem, “By the way Zheng Ge, I’m going to see a movie tonight.”
Zheng Dong gave him a look, “To see the premiere of your sweetheart’s film?”
His heart pounding at the word ‘sweetheart’, Xu Luoyang smiled away, “Yes. The premiere of ‘Absolute Pursuit’ is at zero o’clock this evening, and I promised Chang’an that I’d be there for the premiere.”
Knowing that this was just the beginning and that the future of losing a lot of hair was still waiting for him, Zheng Dong nodded, “Disguise yourself or something, but be safe. If you get recognized, let me know immediately so I can ask Xue Ying to take the wind out of their sails.”
Really a lot of heartaches for his future self!
Before he went to the premiere, Xu Luoyang went home first.
He had just finished his shower when Qi Chang’an sent a video call request to him.
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