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Join the ServerAfter Su Xuan finished his greeting, Shen Chao promptly took a seat right beside him.
The spot next to Su Xuan was originally Liu Pangpang’s. However, with Shen Chao settling down with a frigid expression, Liu Pangpang, like a eunuch, didn’t even dare to breathe loudly. He respectfully tucked his head down and stood by Su Xuan’s feet.
Shen Chao and Wang Shou’s usual seats were in the middle. Now that Shen Chao had taken this spot, Wang Shou had no choice but to stand beside him.
The two managers stood like a pair of eunuch commanders, one on each side, both wearing identical, worried frowns.
‘What kind of madness has possessed Su Xuan… or Shen Chao?’
Liu Pangpang dared not speak directly, fearing Shen Chao might overhear. He lowered his head and furiously messaged on his phone.
[Liu Pangpang]: Are you insane!!! Su Xuan, are you toxic! Listen to what you just said! Was that even human speech! Look, you’ve angered Shen Chao so much he can’t even move!
[Liu Pangpang]: (choke.jpg) If I have to stand all night, I’m going to kill you!
[Su Xuan]: I couldn’t help it. I’ve been researching so much about Shen Chao’s girlfriend lately, my mind is completely filled with her.
Su Xuan had little awareness of privacy; his phone lacked an anti-peeping screen. Standing there, Wang Shou, being tall, could see Su Xuan’s screen clearly, even if unintentionally.
Wang Shou: ….
From every angle, Su Xuan possessed quite the audacity.
[Liu Pangpang]: Damn it! What’s with your WeChat name! What’s with that grass radical on your name! Did you change it to that name because you’re asking to be screwed over?!
[Su Xuan]: ….No, it’s about needing a little green on your head for life to go smoothly. When I think of Shen Chao’s girlfriend, I just feel all green on my head….
[Liu Pangpang]: …….
[Liu Pangpang]: Green your mother! Get rid of it! What does she have to do with you! How dare a monster like you put a cuckold’s hat on yourself! His legitimate partner is far better than you, alright?!
[Su Xuan]: Can’t I be a boyfriend fan?
Wang Shou recalled Liu Junya’s manipulative, clingy demeanor, and he never expected there to be ‘boyfriend fans’ in the industry. He couldn’t help but look at Su Xuan with a touch of sympathy, yet he also couldn’t resist continuing to peek—for an agent in the industry, gossip was a professional quality.
[Su Xuan]: Also, Pangpang, I’m not selling that poster for 15,000 anymore. I got it for 18,000 with great difficulty.
[Liu Pangpang]: Are you talking about that signed Shen Chao poster? The one listed on XianFish?
[Su Xuan]: Yes, I think it should still be 18,000. He’s too popular, and I feel unbalanced if the price is too low.
Liu Pangpang couldn’t hold back: [You’re a celebrity, not a scalper. Can you have a little ambition?]
Su Xuan was waiting for precisely that remark. With immense pride, he declared: [Alright! You’re right! I’m not selling it! You pay for the costume rental fees!]
[Liu Pangpang]: ….
Wang Shou, witnessing all this: ….
He couldn’t help but let out a snort, and Shen Chao’s icy gaze immediately froze him. Wang Shou instantly composed himself. Shen Chao lowered his head indifferently. After a moment, he pulled out his phone from his pocket.
Soon after, Wang Shou’s phone vibrated. He opened it to find a message from Shen Chao: [What were you laughing at Su Xuan about just now?]
Wang Shou thought, ‘Shen Chao isn’t usually this nosy.’ But considering Shen Chao’s abnormal reactions whenever Su Xuan was mentioned, he decided to attribute it to his boss perhaps having a unique way of dealing with people he disliked.
[Wang Shou]: Su Xuan was chatting with his manager. It was quite funny.
Shen Chao asked: [Funny?]
Wang Shou honestly replied: [They talked about you, it was hilarious.]
[Shen Chao]: ….
Wang Shou suddenly realized something was amiss. He had been so busy peeking and replying that he hadn’t thought it through. He quickly explained: [They talked about some things related to you, but it wasn’t meant to say you were funny! But what they talked about you was very funny…]
Damn it! Wang Shou couldn’t help but curse, ‘Why am I digging myself deeper with every word!’
Wang Shou quickly spilled everything: [Su Xuan praised your girlfriend for being beautiful; he really likes her.]
Shen Chao: [My girlfriend?]
[Wang Shou]: It’s Liu Junya. He seems to be a boyfriend fan of Liu Junya. He even felt cuckolded because of the rumors between you and Liu Junya, and it seemed quite genuine.
Wang Shou subtly felt Shen Chao’s expression turn significantly colder, his eyes radiating a chill that made Wang Shou feel a bit uneasy.
[Wang Shou]: Also, he has a signed poster of yours. He went through a lot of trouble to get it for 18,000.
Shen Chao: [Hmm, that’s normal.]
Wang Shou added: [Then he plans to sell it on XianFish for 18,000.]
[Shen Chao]: …
Shen Chao sat beside him, and Su Xuan was in high spirits. Knowing the significant difference between them, he wisely didn’t initiate conversation with Shen Chao, instead keeping his head down and chatting animatedly with Liu Pangpang, waiting for the movie to start.
As they chatted, a deathly gaze fell upon Su Xuan from beside him. Shen Chao was staring at him coldly.
Su Xuan: ?????
Su Xuan wondered, ‘After all these years, is Shen Chao still remembering my confession to him? Is he that vengeful?’
‘It shouldn’t be.’
‘There must have been many people confessing to Shen Chao over the years. He should be able to understand that ordinary people like us easily fall for a celestial being like him.’
‘With so many people liking him, he shouldn’t still feel that my affection was an offense, even if my affection was a bit special.’
Su Xuan thought with a hint of guilt.
Shen Chao’s rejection of his confession at the time had an underlying coldness. Su Xuan understood; straight men often reacted this way to gay men who confessed to them. Shen Chao had even filmed a gay-themed drama with him for several months, becoming intimately inseparable. Su Xuan hadn’t revealed he was gay before, and Shen Chao treated him as a friend, not deliberately keeping his distance.
Shen Chao’s reaction to his confession was perfectly normal, even polite.
Su Xuan was fresh out of the gate then, young and naive, prone to judging others by himself. He thought that if he got too deep into character, he’d fall for others. In the drama, Shen Chao’s gaze towards him was so profound that he surely wasn’t too disgusted.
‘Not disgusted means he might like me, which meant a faint possibility of being together.’
With Shen Chao sitting beside him, Su Xuan vaguely felt transported back four years. A young Shen Chao, with an untamed, cold arrogance, sat on a small stool asking for his guidance, calling him ‘senior.’ Every word emphasized distance, yet Su Xuan, oblivious and blinded by his affection, simply smiled foolishly at Shen Chao’s clean, handsome face.
His nascent love had nowhere to hide. Years of secret adoration had settled into a quiet calm. Su Xuan still liked Shen Chao, but his feelings were no longer so brazen.
Su Xuan knew it was impossible, so his delusions were not as wild. He felt peaceful. Even when Shen Chao looked at him, Su Xuan’s heart rate would quickly accelerate, then gradually calm.
The lights slowly dimmed, and the movie began.
‘The Courtyard House’ marked the beginning of Su Xuan’s four years of loving Shen Chao. Initially banned by officials, it finally premiered after enduring many hardships, and Su Xuan watched it without blinking.
Even if he never became popular again, Su Xuan still wished to see the outcome of the story he and Shen Chao had portrayed four years ago. Regardless of whether the result was good or bad, it deserved the right to be seen by the public.
The screen lit up, displaying a grainy effect deliberately created by the director. Three black-and-white characters flickered: ‘The Courtyard House.’
Starring: Su Xuan, Shen Chao.
The story of ‘The Courtyard House’ was set in Shanghai in the last century.
Su Xuan played Wang San, the young master of a wealthy Southern merchant in Shanghai. This young master was usually idle, indulging in lust and pleasure. However, because Wang San was a child born late in his father’s life, and his two elder brothers had died tragically in the war, he was greatly doted upon by the rich merchant. He never lacked money, and his favorite pastime was frequenting brothels, snatching other men’s concubines or desired courtesans for entertainment, possessing a truly vile character.
Shen Chao played a ruffian, a mute who was fierce and aggressive but couldn’t speak. By a twist of fate, he saved Wang San, who was beaten black and blue after snatching someone’s concubine.
However, this young master was unscrupulous and repaid kindness with enmity. He developed an attraction to the handsome mute. A few days later, Wang San brought a large group of servants, ambushed the mute, and then, with an eight-bearer sedan chair, carried the unconscious mute into the Wang family’s courtyard house.
In the early stages, the mute and Wang San only had a physical relationship. But later, the mute secretly contacted some underground party members and developed new ideologies.
Wang San’s father, coincidentally, had close ties with the local warlords. The mute began working as a spy, stealing his father’s account books for the organization. One time, Wang San’s father discovered him and, enraged, vowed to beat the mute to death.
Wang San went mad, declaring the mute was his person. He kowtowed and knelt before his father, taking the beating for the mute and desperately protecting him, ultimately collapsing unconscious from his father’s furious blows.
The mute guarded Wang San’s bedside, waiting for him to awaken. His emotions were complex. The mute yearned for freedom and the new era spoken of by those people, but he clearly knew that when the new era arrived, Wang San and his father would be the first to die.
They were entirely products of the old era, yet the mute felt indebted to Wang San and didn’t want him to die.
However, when Wang San woke up, he remembered nothing.
Wang San, having smoked too much opium, had gone mad. He had no idea what he had done. After learning what he had done, Wang San merely laughed heartily, even mocking the mute’s naivety and foolishness.
Wang San believed the mute was simply being exploited by those so-called organizations, warning him to be careful and to stop contacting them.
Wang San then completely dismissed the matter, continuing to frequent pleasure houses. The mute remained silent at home for two days, then continued his solitary path towards freedom, becoming a member of the underground.
Eventually, the Great Liberation arrived. Underground intelligence informed them that Shanghai was about to be purged and they needed to evacuate, but they could bring one family member.
The mute wrote, ‘I want to take my wife with me.’ He ran frantically, searching all over the chaotic city for Wang San.
Amidst the pandemonium, he couldn’t find him anywhere. Finally, the mute stood outside the red building where he had first saved Wang San. He heard Wang San’s joyful sounds with a woman.
The mute climbed the wall. He beat Wang San, then forcefully grabbed his hand, demanding Wang San leave with him.
Wang San refused to go, even wildly using his pipe to blind one of the mute’s eyes. He cursed the mute, calling him a traitorous dog, saying he was ruining his good time, and told him to get lost.
The mute, clutching his injured eye, left Shanghai alone.
Many years later, the mute, now a high-ranking military officer, returned to Shanghai for an inspection. He found the courtyard house where Wang San had once taken him in. Inside, only an old butler remained, who told him that Wang San had left everything to the mute.
The mute wrote, ‘Where is he?’
The old butler said that on the afternoon of the evacuation, Wang San had shot himself. Afterward, his father returned and also passed away with the young master.
The old butler personally handed Wang San’s pipe to the mute, telling him that after the young master took him in, he said living with the mute was far more joyful than smoking opium, so he quit the habit and never touched it again.
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