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Chapter 19
Editor: Jodi
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” The moment Bai Wenyan left, Mu Nan yanked the ring off his finger, as if it was something contagious.
Cheng Han also took the ring off from his own finger and handed him a ring box. “Keep it with your assistant for now. You never know when you might need it.”
Mu Nan pinched the ring between his fingers, full of disdain as he placed it in the box, however he still resigned himself to holding it.
“And you?” Mu Nan asked awkwardly, “How did you find me? And why did you bring…… this thing?”
Cheng Han didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, “I just needed one more ounce of caution than you.”
Mu Nan: “Are you mocking me?”
“En.” The corners of Cheng Han’s lips hooked up in a smile, “Looks like you caught on.”
“Hiss—” Mu Nan sucked in a cold breath.
“What? Toothache?” Cheng Han laughed, in that smug, infuriating way.
Mu Nan: “Why can’t I control my hands that really want to punch somebody?”
They walked side by side back home, through the empty neighborhood streets, strolling down the tree-lined path, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Mu Nan couldn’t remember the last time he had breathed freely like this. As a celebrity, he always had to go out fully disguised, sneaking around like a thief.
So a moment of freedom like this was precious to him. Of course, it would’ve been even better without this annoying guy beside him.
“Hey, you still haven’t answered me.” He said, jumping up to tear off a leaf from a nearby tree. “How did you know I was there, and how did you just happen to have a ring? Tell me! Do you have a spy following me?”
Cheng Han walked with his hands in his pockets, his pace calm and unhurried. He glanced at him. “Yeah, spy games never go out of style.”
“Spy games, my ass! I’d rather have a tunnel war!”
They bickered their way back home, sunlight breaking through the thick canopy, casting little spots of light on their heads and bodies.
Mu Nan’s frustrated protests echoed through the air as they walked, his bouncing figure resembling that of an angry little rabbit.
The heat in the air was rising gradually, so Mu Nan took his jacket off, revealing his small fair arms. Then he wiped the light sweat from his forehead, however a couple of beads formed on the tip of his nose again.
Summer had arrived.
*
Mu Nan looked down at his fleshy arms, sinking into deep despair.
He hadn’t even started losing weight yet, and summer was already here.
Since Cheng Han worked out regularly, one room in their house had been converted into a gym.
And now, he was standing hesitantly at the entrance of the gym, looking left and right as he pinched the flesh on his arms in front of the mirror.
“Give it up.” A teasing voice came from behind him. “Look at how round Xiao Bai is. But he’s your blood, so it’s just genetics.”
Mu Nan turned around and glared at Cheng Han, who had already passed him by and stepped onto the treadmill, setting it to a slow jog at level 6.
Cheng Han was dressed in a sports outfit of shorts and a t-shirt. His build was lean but well-defined, his muscles showing smooth lines. His biceps, when flexed, formed a nice curve—not too bulky, but definitely not flabby.
Mu Nan had to admit, he was jealous.
That was his ideal body shape.
He stepped towards the strength training machine tentatively, sliding in two weight plates, trying to do some resistance training.
“Stop.” Cheng Han’s voice came from the treadmill.
“What? You have a problem?”
“Come over here and warm up first.” Cheng Han pointed to another treadmill nearby.
“Oh.” Mu Nan, knowing he was in the wrong, stepped onto the treadmill, then allowed Cheng Han set it to a brisk walk at level 4. “Walk at this speed for a while, then you can add a bit of incline later.”
Resigned, Mu Nan walked on the treadmill, putting on his Bluetooth headphones to listen to music to distract himself from the boredom.
But after a while, he started hearing something other than music through the noise-canceling headphones.
“May the everlasting gods have not decreed laws against self-slaughter! Oh, this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew…”
“Weakness, thy name is woman!”
“Break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue!”
He took his headphones off, then confirmed that it was indeed Cheng Han who was reciting lines, and from his limited theater knowledge, he figured he was quoting Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“Practicing lines.” Cheng Han’s jogging pace didn’t slow, and his breathing remained steady.
Mu Nan reluctantly gave him credit for that in his mind. “You’re planning to act in a play?”
“No, Shakespeare’s just good for practice.”
Mu Nan asked again: “But modern dramas and films all use post-dubbed voiceovers, so what’s the point of you practicing lines?”
Cheng Han finally stopped the treadmill, wiping the sweat off his face with a towel. Now his voice carried the sound of heavy breathing. “I didn’t go to acting school, and since I’ve decided to work in this field, I want to make up for the basics.”
“You’re planning to become an actor in the future?” Mu Nan asked him.
This time, Cheng Han hesitated for a moment before replying with a simple “En.”
“Makes sense. Singers often go into acting.” Mu Nan muttered to himself.
Cheng Han didn’t respond to this and instead asked, “What about you?”
“Me?” Mu Nan stepped off the treadmill as well. “I’ll probably just stick to singing. I’m not good at anything else.”
“Don’t want to try acting?” Cheng Han pressed.
Mu Nan shook his head. “Never studied it, never tried.”
“Oh.” Cheng Han said lightly, “Why not give it a go? The world’s full of options. You might as well try them all and see.”
Then immediately after he finished saying this, before Mu Nan could even begin to think about what he had just said, he walked over to the bench press and tapped the bar of the barbell. “Come on, even Xiao Bai will be impressed by how motivated you are.”
*
By the time they left the gym, Mu Nan was nearly paralyzed from exhaustion.
He struggled to pick Xiao Bai up, wiping fake tears from his eyes like a drama queen. “Cub, Daddy’s suffering for you.”
Xiao Bai, with its round eyes, kicked its little bunny legs wildly, while Mu Nan, on the other hand suddenly realized something. “Wait, cub, I really need to give you a proper name. You’re my baby after all, so you should have my surname. How about… Papaya? Papayas are pretty tasty.” 1 (He literally named it 木瓜 and the pronunciation of the ‘Mu’ in the 木瓜- Papaya is the same as the pronunciation of his surname 沐- Mu)
Xiao Bai: ???
Cheng Han, overhearing this, could practically see the confusion in the bunny’s eyes.
Then Mu Nan thought of Xiao Hui. “You need a name too. Since Cheng Han brought you home, you should have his surname, right?”
“You can be… Orange. En, it’s all fruits.” 2橙子 (The same for this one as well. He named it 橙子 and the pronunciation of the ‘Cheng’ in the 橙子- Orange is the same as the pronunciation of Cheng Han’s surname 成- Cheng)
Cheng Han finally couldn’t take it anymore and tried to stop him from this “rabbit abuse” After all, living for over a decade with such names could leave a psychological scar on any rabbit.
However he wasn’t fast enough, because Mu Nan had already sent out a post on Weibo.
[Mu Nan: I’ve given my two babies names. The one on the left is Papaya, the one on the right is Orange. Say hello, everyone.]
Mu Nan’s fans were known for their ability to shower him with compliments, however even they were at a loss for words when faced with these names.
Within a minute, the comment section was flooded with question marks.
[Bunny, do you have many questions?]
[Nan Nan, do you really think this is better than calling them Big Hale and Little Hale?]
[I’m speechless. Papaya? Why not just call it Wood?]
And seeing that no one appreciated his naming skills, Mu Nan sent out a second post angrily: [You people just don’t understand good taste!]
His fans could only coax him as if they were coaxing a child: [Alright, alright, the names are great!]
[Nan Nan has given them great names. Little papaya, little orange, come here so Mama can give you a kiss, uagh—]
“Do you also think the names are bad?” Mu Nan, doubting things, asked as he looked at Cheng Han.
Cheng Han was silent for a moment, then said with difficulty, “Actually, it doesn’t have to follow my surname.”
Mu Nan: ….
*
After two weeks of trying to bulk up, Mu Nan finally noticed some faint muscle definition on his arms. However it was still far from what he had envisioned.
One day, after a particularly grueling workout, as Mu Nan lay sprawled on the floor, Wilder, who he hadn’t seen in half a month finally showed up with a new batch of gigs and opportunities.
This time, however, Wilder brought two unexpected pieces of news, either of which could be career-defining for him.
“Bai Wenyan came to me and said he’s willing to fully fund a studio for you. He’ll cover everything, no need for shares, and he’ll even pay the contract breach penalty to your current company.”
“And the second?” Mu Nan asked.
“I got you an offer for a second male lead in a workplace romance IP drama. Do you want to try your hand at acting?”
Mu Nan glanced in the direction of Cheng Han’s room, and Cheng Han’s words replayed in his mind.
These two options, no matter which one, seemed equally tempting.