Chapter 26: The Sponsorship and the Earring

He was being sponsored by a classical clothing brand. They claimed to have seen his performance in “Siheyuan” and wanted to sponsor Su Xuan’s outfit for the red carpet.

“Siheyuan” is a Republican-era drama, perfectly fitting the style of this classical brand, so they directly offered the sponsorship.

Su Xuan expected some trendy Chinese-style attire, but when he opened the box—it was a gray Zhongshan suit, paired with a pair of gray-black cloth shoes.

The kind of outfit his great-grandfather loved to wear back in the day.

This time, Su Xuan was walking the red carpet with Shen Chao. He quickly opened Shen Chao’s fan club page to check. Shen Chao wasn’t new to such events; he always released photos of his attire in advance.

Shen Chao wore a dark striped suit, with a slim suspender pants and white shirt underneath, complete with various accessories like tie clips. The total cost of everything on him was at least seven figures. Shen Chao’s face paired perfectly with these luxury items, making him look especially aristocratic.

The killer move was that Shen Chao was also wearing ear studs.

It made him look incredibly young.

Su Xuan slowly lifted his gaze from his phone to the Zhongshan suit lying on the bed. He could almost hear the suit chuckling at him in a grandfatherly tone—[Come on, dear grandson, put me on~]

The gray Zhongshan suit was ironed flat and laid out on the bed, with the gray-black cloth shoes placed under the pant legs. Su Xuan estimated that when he wore them, a bit of his white socks would show above the ankles.

Su Xuan fell into an eerie silence—this was a ghastly old-fashioned vibe.

No way!! If he wore this and stood next to Shen Chao, how weird would that be!

Su Xuan jerked his head up to look at Liu Pangpang: “Is the outfit I rented from you for fifteen thousand still there?”

Liu Pangpang clearly realized the gravity of the situation. He had only just gotten this set today, and his expression was bordering on collapse: “I returned it!”

Su Xuan was mortified: “…Can I just go like this?”

Liu Pangpang looked at the words “I am a gay” on Su Xuan’s white T-shirt and his rainbow socks: “…”

Liu Pangpang wanted to scream.

Going in that would be just as bad!!

Any film festival is bound to be the most dazzling place under the stars. The weather wasn’t even that warm yet, but celebrities were already wearing backless, shoulderless, leg-baring gowns, smiling gracefully on the red carpet. This was one of their most beautiful moments—various skirts and dresses making them shine as they walked gracefully in high heels, turning heads with a single glance.

Male stars’ outfits were comparatively monotonous, rarely catching the eye instantly, but some did.

In previous years, that someone was often Shen Chao.

And this year, that someone was Shen Chao and the man in the Zhongshan suit beside him.

Reporters lined both sides of the red carpet, shouting non-stop at the celebrities in the center: “Look here! Look here!”

Generally, the volume of these reporters reflected the star’s current popularity. When Shen Chao stepped onto the red carpet, their voices and the continuous flashes would nearly blow the roof off.

Sometimes, if the live broadcast didn’t zoom in on Shen Chao, you couldn’t even see his face from a distance—just a blur of white light flashing past on the red carpet before Shen Chao had already entered.

But this time, the red carpet was almost quiet. Only the host’s voice rang out: “Walking toward us now is the cast of ‘Siheyuan,’ including lead actors Shen Chao and Su Xuan. They share an intense entanglement in the drama…”

Even the host couldn’t continue reading.

Because it was just too strange.

Shen Chao was, as always, a fashion benchmark. But beside him was Su Xuan, his passionate on-screen partner, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit and gray-black cloth shoes, with his hair slicked back in a pompadour, walking at the center of the cast with steady, unhurried steps, never looking sideways. Every time he raised his hand to greet the reporters with a smile, it made people feel he was about to heroically declare, [Hello, comrades!].

Su Xuan looked more like Shen Chao’s prematurely deceased grandfather than Shen Chao’s prematurely deceased wife in the drama.

The reporters set down their cameras with hollow expressions. They had originally come to capture some intimate, romantic shots of Shen Chao and Su Xuan.

But now, even if Su Xuan sat on Shen Chao’s shoulders and laughed, it would only evoke idioms like “grandfather’s kind smile, grandson’s filial joy,” not flirtation.

When Su Xuan and Shen Chao entered the venue, Shen Chao finally spoke: “You wearing this…”

Su Xuan nervously looked at him. Shen Chao averted his gaze, as if suppressing a smile, and said softly, “This doesn’t suit you.”

Liu Pangpang said the same thing to Su Xuan.

The Zhongshan suit could look handsome on some people, but when Su Xuan wore it, the effect was subtle—it just didn’t seem like he belonged among the living.

Su Xuan thought sadly, wearing this, he couldn’t possibly have a romance. A socialist grandfather-grandson relationship, maybe.

Shen Chao had just seen his outfit

Shen Chao stared at Su Xuan for a moment, then suddenly reached out and ruffled his hair into a slightly messy, choppy style. He took off his own ear stud and put it on Su Xuan, then said, “Unbutton two buttons of your jacket.”

Su Xuan fumbled to pull out the hem of his shirt. Shen Chao, from somewhere, borrowed a pair of his own to wear. He looked Su Xuan over properly, his heart pounding.

Shen Chao said seriously, “Now you look good. Let’s go.”

Su Xuan didn’t know what he looked like now. This was his first time at such a major film festival opening, so he couldn’t help asking again, “Do I look okay now?”

Shen Chao suddenly took his hand: “You’re fine.”

Shen Chao pulled him into the venue. Su Xuan heard the crowd erupt, and he turned dazedly to Shen Chao—was this part of their performance?

Su Xuan took a couple of deep breaths, telling himself to stay calm, then gripped Shen Chao’s hand back.

Shen Chao lowered his gaze, his ears slightly reddening, and his hand tightened its hold.

“Siheyuan” had a mediocre showing; it only won a few awards like Best Cinematography. When receiving the award, Director Liu looked very calm. He had anticipated this outcome, but still expressed gratitude for the entire cast’s contribution, especially the two leads.

As always, the Golden Tree Awards cruelly teased Shen Chao for Best Actor, and in the end, it wasn’t him. But when the announcement was made, almost everyone in the venue looked their way, especially since the host dragged out the suspense maliciously, saying, “Could it be Shen Chao, who we’ve been waiting years for?”

At that moment, the camera zoomed in for a close-up of the audience. Shen Chao and the transformed Su Xuan sat together. Shen Chao rarely showed much expression, and in previous years, even a random close-up of him could be used to accuse him of dissatisfaction with the Golden Tree Awards committee.

But not this time. Su Xuan was smiling and talking to Shen Chao, and Shen Chao’s gaze never once looked at the stage. His eyes were much softer than in previous years, and he even reached out to subtly adjust Su Xuan’s hairstyle and ear stud.

Su Xuan gave him a surprised but shy smile. The camera lens clearly showed that the ear stud on Shen Chao’s left ear was gone.

Shen Chao had taken off his ear stud and given it to Su Xuan.

The two of them didn’t care at all about the people on stage; they only looked at each other. This made the award presenter very embarrassed.

But no one cared whether the host was embarrassed or not. As soon as this scene aired, the CP fans went absolutely ballistic.

This was the first time Su Xuan and Shen Chao had appeared together since “Siheyuan” was released, and aside from the behind-the-scenes footage from four years ago, this was their first public interaction.

And what an explosive interaction it was!!

Who the hell wanted to watch an award ceremony full of backroom deals?! My CP just wore ear studs and went to the bridal chamber!!

In previous years, the Golden Tree Awards were usually a battleground for Shen Chao antis and fans to tear each other apart. Every time Shen Chao was a runner-up, the antis would go wild, and the fans would be furious but unable to suppress them, turning the trending topics into a mess.

But not this year.

Although Shen Chao still dominated the trending list, clicking in revealed a flood of [AAAAAAAAAA I’M DEAD!] comments.

All sorts of gossip accounts posted news about the Golden Tree Awards. As long as they included a photo of Shen Chao and Su Xuan together, no matter the topic, the comment section would eventually turn into this:

[Mom, I want candy. Thanks, Mom. Enough, enough, I’m gonna die from too much sugar!]

[Question: How do you transfer an ear stud from one person’s ear to another?]

[Answer to above: Take it out, then put it in.]

[AAAAH THEY’RE IN THE SAME FRAME!! I BEGGED THE BUDDHA FOR FIVE HUNDRED YEARS!! MY CP FINALLY APPEARED TOGETHER!!]

[Earlier the gossip accounts said SC (Shen Chao’s initials) and SX (Su Xuan’s initials) had zero interactions for four years? SC looked down on SX? Face-slapped now, hehehe.]

[Wuwuwu I’m so sugar-deprived I’m about to get hypoglycemic! Thank you, Shen Chao and Xuanxuan, for the sugar and saving my life!]

[I now pronounce this new couple married. Please exchange ear studs… oh, they already did. Sorry, I’ll see myself out. You go on!]

[The left ear stud, holy crap!! The left ear is the closest to the heart!! Shen Chao, you’re too much!!]

Shen Chao’s fans were initially hesitant about whether to control the comments. But they quickly discovered that the antis, who had pissed them off so much in previous years, were being crushed and trampled by the screaming CP fans, with zero ability to fight back. Any anti-Shen-Chao comment would be buried under ten [AAAAAAAHHHHH!] responses within seconds.

Shen Chao’s solo fans: …

Now they didn’t know what to say, but they felt complicated and oddly satisfied.

After the behind-the-scenes content for “Siheyuan” was released, once the film grossed over two billion, there was very little footage of Su Xuan and Shen Chao left. Probably none at all.

CP fans hadn’t seen the two of them in a long time. They spent every day begging under the official Weibo of the web drama “Jiuliu” for some BTS, demanding they hurry up with the series. If they didn’t get fresh content of Shen Chao and Su Xuan soon, they’d die.

But at the same time, CP fans were terrified—”Jiuliu” was a proper male-female lead drama, easily poisoned by forced interactions, especially with all the rumors between Song Xiao and Shen Chao.

Unlike the situation with “Siheyuan,” where they could shamelessly ship the characters, going too far here would definitely get them slammed, and they’d be crushed into dust.

CP fans were anxious, but they couldn’t stop following these two.

Although shipping real people usually ended badly, they just wanted to see how far the two would go.

Most of them had originally started shipping the pair out of transference of feelings for the characters.

In “Siheyuan,” the two had a tragic end, separated by fate, which easily stirred their emotions. But later, in the BTS, the two’s youthful interactions from back then were just too precious.

They followed the film’s BTS releases, watching the journey from tentative mutual curiosity to gradual acceptance of each other, and finally to their farewell.

And when they took the final group photo, both Su Xuan’s gaze at Shen Chao and Shen Chao’s gaze at Su Xuan were incredibly powerful. They didn’t look at each other directly—Su Xuan silently and cautiously peeked at Shen Chao, or Shen Chao silently watched Su Xuan when he turned away. The feeling of wanting to reach out but holding back, mixed with the tragic sense of separation from “Siheyuan,” made them cry uncontrollably.

And that same gaze, four years later, reappeared at the Golden Tree Awards opening ceremony.

The way they looked at each other hadn’t changed at all.

Song Xiao lay on her bunk in the crew’s lodging, watching the live stream with tears streaming down her face. She sobbed into her hand: “This is just too damn shippable! Damn it, why don’t I get interactions like this with him!”

The two of them spent all day acting, acting, rehearsing, rehearsing! When they filmed fight scenes, it looked like they were enemies! Shen Chao had bruised Su Xuan’s face with his sword several times!

Once the live stream ended, Song Xiao immediately called Shen Chao: “All done?”

Shen Chao grunted in affirmation. Song Xiao immediately gave a mischievous ‘Eeeh’: “You perpetual runner-up! Didn’t win a single award, but I feel like you’re pretty happy?”

Shen Chao didn’t say anything, but he didn’t deny it either. Song Xiao had known him for years and could still read his temperament—this was an admission of happiness.

She was a bit surprised: “Really happy?”

Shen Chao rarely had a good mood after attending a film festival.

Because the festival often used him to ensure viewership. Shen Chao was popular enough that if any major award category included him, fans and people following Shen Chao would watch the opening ceremony. They had ample ratings. In the end, the award would never go to him.

And even though sometimes Shen Chao’s performance really was good enough to win, the judges still wouldn’t give it to him.

Because once Shen Chao won, the trick of using him for ratings next time wouldn’t work as well.

So Shen Chao had been nominated for the Golden Tree Awards many times but always ended up as a runner-up. That’s why some in the industry mockingly called him ‘Runner-Up Monster.’ Before the festival, Shen Chao’s fans would be ecstatic, and afterward, his detractors would be at their peak.

But this time, no one was mocking Shen Chao—the short video of Shen Chao and Su Xuan together was circulating everywhere thanks to rabid CP fans. Everyone’s attention had shifted. No matter how much Golden Tree tried to play up Shen Chao’s runner-up status, no one cared.

Even those who didn’t follow CPs were discussing Su Xuan’s bizarre Zhongshan suit. The goofy video of Su Xuan walking the red carpet was approaching ten million views. Song Xiao had watched it and laughed all night.

Shen Chao, who usually got dragged through the mud after festivals, dodged the bullet this time.

Song Xiao said, “But this time those people didn’t hold it against you. Hey, that’s not what I called about. That ear stud of yours—how did it end up on Su Xuan’s ear?”

When Song Xiao asked this, the lewd popular comment popped into her head: [Take it out, then put it in.]

And then she heard Shen Chao say, “Take it out, then put it into Su Xuan’s…”

Shen Chao: “…earlobe. He has his ears pierced.”

Song Xiao: “…”

She really couldn’t help her dirty mind.

Song Xiao also felt that she might be too deep into CP shipping, so she teased, “Why did you give him your ear stud? Aren’t you kind of… you know, very possessive of your stuff? Why were you willing to give it to Su Xuan today?”

Shen Chao was a person with strong territorial awareness. Many of his things were his, and no one else could use them. So when Song Xiao saw that ear stud on Su Xuan’s ear, she was quite shocked.

But then she heard Shen Chao say, “Giving it to him doesn’t count as lending it out.”

Song Xiao: “…”

Song Xiao sat bolt upright on the bed like a carp, her eyes wide: “Holy crap! What do you mean, Shen Chao! Explain yourself! What do you mean ‘doesn’t count as lending it out’!”

There was silence on the other end for a moment, then Shen Chao said, “Giving it to Su Xuan doesn’t count as lending it out.” He repeated it calmly.

Song Xiao choked on her words, her breath caught in her throat. She was a bit frantic: “Are you a broken record?! Why doesn’t it count! Is Su Xuan your ‘inner person’ that it’s not considered lending?”

Shen Chao said, “I… just really want to let him wear something that’s the same as mine.”

Song Xiao: “FUUUUUCK!!!!”

Ever since Su Xuan joined the crew, this guy had been acting strange! She’d even caught Shen Chao staring at Su Xuan many times!

She screamed and laughed wildly: “Shen Chao! You’re done for! Every time I showed off my relationship, you looked at me like I was a pair of dogs! Now it’s your turn, Shen Chao!! Fess up! And you said you two were just ordinary colleagues! Do you like him!”

Song Xiao bounced off the bed, laughing like a demon: “Do—you—like—Su—Xuan!”

After a few minutes of silence, he hung up.

Holy crap, not really!! She was just joking!!

Song Xiao writhed and rolled all over the bed—Damn!! Shen Chao didn’t deny it!!!

f*ck!!!!!! He likes him!!!

After the opening ceremony, Su Xuan returned to the set, but Shen Chao hadn’t yet.

Shopping day was approaching. Shen Chao had to film a promotional ad for a major e-commerce platform he had a contract with, attend a gala, and handle some personal business Su Xuan wasn’t clear about.

Shen Chao’s level of career development was nothing like a man in his twenties.

Su Xuan had once inadvertently sat in on a video meeting between Shen Chao and Wang Shou discussing various matters, and only then realized how much was going on behind the scenes. Not just acting, commercials, and the operation of Star Culture, but Shen Chao also invested in other things—for instance, he seemed to hold shares in this e-commerce platform.

His whole life was filled with the simple, empty, and boring worries of the rich.

Su Xuan let out a long, melancholy sigh—Xuanxuan also wants to have those worries.

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