Chapter 48

Unlike the reckless abandon of their frenzied reunion that night, this time Xi Zhui’s affection arrived gentle and lingering.

Wen Chaosheng was pampered so thoroughly that by the end, his already drunken body had reached the brink of utter exhaustion. He simply couldn’t endure this long-lost pleasure any longer and drifted off into a soft, deep sleep.

He slept straight through until morning light flooded the room.

Wen Chaosheng’s consciousness slowly returned. Before he even opened his eyes, he instinctively tried to stretch his limbs, only for the aching soreness radiating through his body the next second to alert him that something was off.

“Uh?”

His heavy eyelids snapped open, and the first thing he saw was that impossibly familiar face.

Xi Zhui had been awake for a while. The usual sharpness in his brows and eyes had melted into a hint of warmth. “Sleep well?”

His voice was low and husky, laced with an indefinable satisfaction that suggested he was in high spirits.

“…”

Wen Chaosheng’s mind was still foggy, and he even wondered if he was trapped in a drunken dream. But the arm clamped firmly around his waist felt far too solid—not to mention the strange, swollen sensation in a certain part of his body. Everything screamed that this was real.

Last night, he and Xi Zhui had done something they absolutely shouldn’t have—again.

Wen Chaosheng’s expression shifted through a dozen shades as he averted his gaze from Xi Zhui’s stare. “I… we… I…”

“Yeah, exactly like it looks.”

Xi Zhui echoed his stammering syllables before filling in the blanks himself. “We did it. And you were the one who begged for it.”

“Just to remind you, last night you said it yourself—”

Taking advantage of how Wen Chaosheng always blacked out when drunk, Xi Zhui struck first. “Everyone has desires. It’s perfectly normal. You were the one who invited me into your bed.”

“…”

Was that how it happened?

But Xi Zhui had no reason to lie to him.

Wen Chaosheng’s face gradually flushed crimson, his heart pounding wildly. He wanted nothing more than to burrow under the covers and hide.

He struggled to process his drunken recklessness before finally squeezing out a single sentence. “Let go of me first. It’s hot.”

Xi Zhui obligingly loosened his hold but couldn’t resist asking, “I cleaned you up already, and you don’t have a fever. Why’s it hot?”

“…”

Too embarrassed to speak, Wen Chaosheng shrank deeper into the sheets, trying to piece together the fragmented images lingering in his mind.

In truth, his alcohol tolerance really had improved!

With some effort the morning after, he could usually recall at least a few vivid snippets from his drunken haze. It wasn’t much, but it beat a total blackout.

Before Wen Chaosheng could focus and dredge up more memories, though, there was movement beside him. He peeked out with one eye—and saw that Xi Zhui had gotten out of bed.

The man calmly picked up the bath towel from nearby and retied it around his waist, taking care to cover more of the scars.

Wen Chaosheng caught a glimpse of those broad shoulders and narrow waist, and the heat returned to his cheeks.

But then Xi Zhui suddenly turned, catching his furtive glance dead-on. “Sober now? Want to talk?”

Wen Chaosheng had been busted red-handed. He faltered. “Talk about what?”

“About this ambiguous relationship we’re in right now.”

Xi Zhui’s brow twitched faintly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his dark pupils. “Even if you black out when you’re drunk, it doesn’t mean last night didn’t happen, right?”

“…”

Yes.

A blackout might let him dodge the awkwardness of a one-night stand, but it couldn’t erase the fact that it had happened.

Wen Chaosheng still couldn’t untangle the truth of his drunken state, and his thoughts moved sluggishly. He had no idea what Xi Zhui was after. “You… what do you want to do about… us?”

Pretend nothing had happened and keep up the director-and-lead-actor dynamic? Or was he tired of these inexplicable hookups and ready to set some ground rules?

Worst case, they’d go back to being strangers.

Xi Zhui tossed the question right back at him. “What about you? What do you want to do about us?”

Wen Chaosheng hesitated, at a loss for words.

Perhaps sensing his confusion, Xi Zhui helpfully offered a few options. “Colleagues? Friends? Or…”

He paused. “Lovers?”

“…”

The word—far too sweet—struck at Wen Chaosheng’s taut nerves, but he didn’t dare respond.

They had slept together.

Playing dumb and picking one of the first two would be pure self-deception! But becoming lovers with Xi Zhui again?

Impossible.

Suddenly, a crystal-clear memory flashed through Wen Chaosheng’s mind.

Last night, fueled by alcohol, he’d tried to kiss the corner of Xi Zhui’s mouth—only for the man to dodge swiftly and hit him with a cool, detached question:

“Wen Chaosheng, you can only kiss someone you both like. What does this make us?”

“…”

Right.

Xi Zhui didn’t like him—that was why he’d dodged the kiss.

“Lovers” was the worst possible answer! Besides, he lacked the courage, and there was no future in rekindling things!

The old thorn in his heart began to ache again.

Wen Chaosheng’s breath trembled as he desperately searched for a more fitting, logical new dynamic for them.

During their habitual stretch of silence, Xi Zhui waited patiently. “Thought it over?”

Wen Chaosheng snapped back to himself. “Do I have to pick one of those three?”

Xi Zhui countered, “Got a fourth option?”

Wen Chaosheng licked his lips, discarding the first three unsatisfactory choices. Lacking confidence, he ventured, “Fuck buddies… okay?”

“…”

Xi Zhui had to admit, he was pissed off enough to laugh. “What?”

Wen Chaosheng’s chest tightened with guilt. He couldn’t meet Xi Zhui’s eyes. “Last night… even if I brought it up first, you didn’t refuse.”

“People have needs. It’s normal. It happened, and I’m not going to argue that.”

For once, he admitted to his own intentions and proposed a fourth path. “Until filming wraps, we could… help each other out.”

“Fuck buddies?”

Only this Turtle Brain could come up with that!

Xi Zhui’s chest heaved for a moment. Pissed to the extreme, he let out a laugh instead. “Wen Chaosheng, these past six years abroad—did you do this often with other guys?”

“No!” Wen Chaosheng shot back quickly this time, mumbling, “I’m not that easy.”

Xi Zhui shot him down. “You’ve always been pretty easy with me. Breaking up back then, inviting me for backdoor favors after we reunited, and now wanting me as a fuck buddy.”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng knew he was in the wrong. His voice grew more and more mumbled. “Fine if you don’t agree. I wasn’t forcing you.”

Xi Zhui ignored him, breaking eye contact as he headed into the bathroom.

Bang!

The door slammed hard, his temper obvious.

For once, Wen Chaosheng looked truly regretful. He covered his face with his hands, racking his brain to remember exactly what had happened last night—

He’d numbed his pain with booze, then Xi Zhui showed up, explained things with Nainai.

Right—and that scar!

Xi Zhui had gotten hurt years ago, but he’d only learned about it last night!

Then what? Hadn’t he just fallen asleep? How had they ended up sleeping together in a haze?

The more Wen Chaosheng thought, the more his head throbbed. Still drawing a blank on what came after, he gritted his teeth against the discomfort and sat up.

Xi Zhui must have cleaned him up afterward; his body felt fresh and dry.

Blushing furiously, Wen Chaosheng grabbed his pajamas from the foot of the bed and covered the telltale marks littering his skin.

At the same time, the bathroom door opened again. Xi Zhui had changed back into the clothes he’d worn before his shower last night and stepped out.

Their eyes met.

An inexplicable mix of shame and awkwardness washed over Wen Chaosheng. “You’re heading back now, right?”

Xi Zhui raised a brow and stepped closer instead. “What? Director Wen clung to me all night for a good time, and now that you’re awake, you want me gone?”

“…”

No comeback.

He had none.

Wen Chaosheng knew Xi Zhui could be sharp-tongued, but he’d never turned it on him before. Stung for once, he simply shut up in defeat.

Xi Zhui glanced at the pillow on the bed and suddenly remembered something. “I am leaving, but I need to take one thing back first.”

With that, he bent down and lifted the slightly thicker pillow on the right side, retrieving the jacket hidden beneath.

Wen Chaosheng panicked instantly and lunged to grab it. “What are you doing? That’s mine!”

“Yours?”

Noticing his obvious panic, Xi Zhui’s gaze flickered. “Wen Chaosheng, if I remember right, I lent you this jacket during the script read-through. How’d it become yours?”

Wen Chaosheng’s grip loosened a fraction as he struggled. “You said you didn’t want it back.”

“I told you to throw it away too. Why didn’t you?”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng was speechless.

He felt like one more excuse, and his little secret would be out.

Whatever lingering irritation Xi Zhui had felt evaporated amid Wen Chaosheng’s “the lady doth protest too much” silence. Last night, he’d already vaguely suspected—

Maybe Wen Chaosheng still had feelings for him?

That would explain the quiet jealousy, why he’d kept the jacket… and why they’d ended up together.

But for some reason, Wen Chaosheng wouldn’t admit it. He even wanted to slap a label like “fuck buddies” on whatever this was.

After thinking it through these past days, though, Xi Zhui knew one thing clearly: he couldn’t let go!

With two months until the film wrapped, he’d use every second to bridge the six-year gap! He wanted Wen Chaosheng to fall for him again—and say it himself!

Even if the odds were one in ten thousand!

“…”

Seeing Xi Zhui seem lost in thought, Wen Chaosheng stealthily tugged the jacket back toward himself.

Too bad—Xi Zhui noticed and put a stop to it.

“It’s cooling off a bit today. Let me borrow the jacket for now. I’ll grab some food from the downstairs restaurant.”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng eyed the overcast sky outside and reluctantly let go.

Xi Zhui smirked inwardly and dangled a fresh lure. “Come to my room for lunch later. Once we’re done eating, I’ll give the jacket back. Deal?”

Wen Chaosheng wavered, tempted yet hesitant.

After a moment’s silence, he couldn’t resist the offer—and he’d never truly been able to refuse Xi Zhui anyway. “Fine.”

The turtle had taken the bait, just like that.

Xi Zhui let out a discreet breath of relief. “Alright, I’m off then. I’ll ping you on WeChat later.”

No one brought up the matter of “clarifying their relationship” again. Since it couldn’t be sorted out right away, they simply let things stay messy for the time being.

As Xi Zhui stepped out of the room, he heard a door closing in sync from diagonally across the hallway. He glanced over and realized it was Yu Yan in the room opposite.

Yu Yan’s eyes and brows were alight with smiles, his whole demeanor refreshed and cheerful, as if he’d just encountered something wonderful.

Their gazes met across the space, and almost simultaneously, each picked up on the subtle undercurrent between them.

“Brother Xi?” Yu Yan spoke first. “Just coming out of Director Wen’s room?”

Xi Zhui didn’t answer. Instead, he signaled with his eyes toward the room number on the door behind Yu Yan. “Jin Zhao didn’t head back to Haishi City last night?”

It was a case of sharp eyes meeting sharp eyes. Xi Zhui saw no point in lying or covering it up. “Teacher Jian just left. Where are you off to, Brother Xi?”

“To the restaurant, to pack some lunch.”

“Together?”

“Sure.”

…

Half an hour later, Wen Chaosheng stepped out after receiving a WeChat message.

He stood at the door to Xi Zhui’s hotel room, hesitating over and over, not daring to simply press the doorbell.

Even though everything that was supposed to happen already had—and avoiding it now was pointless—he still worried that he might lose control and complicate what should have been a simple relationship even further.

Just as he was wrestling with his indecision, the door suddenly swung open.

Xi Zhui had changed into a casual, at-home outfit. He eyed the hesitant Wen Chaosheng. “How long do you plan on standing out there? Don’t want to come into my room that badly?”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng met his gaze and, for once, pushed back. “You’re the one who said it before—keep our distance outside work hours. It wouldn’t look good if anyone saw me going into your room.”

Xi Zhui fell silent.

Once again, his own words had come back to boomerang right into his knee.

He coughed lightly behind his hand. “Hurry up and get in here.”

Wen Chaosheng nodded. “Oh.”

Things had already gone this far, so he might as well throw caution to the wind.

A certain unspeakable part of his body still ached faintly, making his steps a bit shorter than usual, though he tried his best to act normal.

Xi Zhui saw right through it but said nothing, trailing slowly behind him.

It was Wen Chaosheng’s first time entering Xi Zhui’s room. The air carried a faint, familiar scent—like the coconut milk body lotion he’d grown used to long ago.

Wen Chaosheng subconsciously searched for the source of the fragrance, but after scanning the room, he couldn’t pinpoint it.

Matching his pace, Xi Zhui walked over to the dining table. “You skipped dinner last night and had some drinks, so I ordered you a bowl of vegetable and meat porridge. It’ll pad your stomach and warm you up.”

“Thanks.”

Wen Chaosheng eyed the steaming bowl of porridge and realized he was indeed hungry.

Xi Zhui had gotten himself a bland fitness meal for weight loss. The two sat facing each other, neither bringing up the intense entanglements of the night before.

After a while, Xi Zhui’s phone rang.

He answered it right in front of Wen Chaosheng. “Hello.”

“Brother Xi, Sister Hui asked me to give you a heads-up—the studios on both sides are clarifying things just like you wanted?”

Xiao Chao’s voice came through the line bright and loud, clear enough even without the speaker on.

“The other studio posts first, and ours reposts at noon? To boost the buzz and stretch out the timeline?”

“Mm.”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng slowed his sipping of the porridge, quietly perking up his ears to listen.

Noon?

What clarification were they posting?

Once the call ended, Xi Zhui easily caught the curiosity in Wen Chaosheng’s expression. “Eavesdropping on something?”

Wen Chaosheng swallowed a spoonful of porridge and muttered, “Your assistant’s voice is just really loud.”

Xi Zhui tapped the phone screen a few times, then simply turned it around and held it out for him to see. “No need to sneak around being curious. Just look.”

Wen Chaosheng had developed a touch of nearsightedness over the past couple of years and wasn’t wearing his glasses at the moment. He leaned in closer to read it, just as Xi Zhui began explaining in sync:

“I had Nainai’s studio post some photos to clear things up. She dug out an old family group photo to prove we’re just nominal cousins.”

“My studio will repost it soon, too. That way, some of those netizens won’t keep spreading unclear rumors about me and her—and others won’t buy into it for real.”

“…”

Wen Chaosheng quickly ducked his head, pretending he hadn’t caught on to whom Xi Zhui was pointedly referring. But for some reason, his mood lifted all at once. Even his pace at downing the porridge picked up.

Having skipped dinner the night before and endured that unspeakable physical exertion, Wen Chaosheng polished off the porridge even faster than expected.

Xi Zhui handed him a napkin. “Want to nap? I can get you some afternoon tea later.”

Wen Chaosheng shook his head. “I’ll sleep back in my room. No need for tea.”

Now that he was full, drowsiness was starting to creep in.

Xi Zhui had no reason to stop him. “Mm. With the crew on break, you should get some proper rest.”

Wen Chaosheng nodded but didn’t rush to leave.

He cleared his throat—lightly, but with clear intent. “The jacket.”

Xi Zhui played dumb. “What?”

Gathering his nerve, Wen Chaosheng pressed. “The jacket. You promised to give it to me.”

Xi Zhui had never intended to return that jacket infused with the other man’s scent. “It’s gone. I sent it, along with yesterday’s clothes, down to the dry cleaners in the lobby.”

Wen Chaosheng instantly felt a helpless sense of being tricked. He widened his eyes. “How can you not keep your word?”

Xi Zhui shot back, “You tell me first—what do you want my jacket for?”

Wen Chaosheng had his excuse ready from before. “It gets chilly at night when I’m reading scripts. I can drape it over my pajamas.”

He smugly figured he’d become a lying expert—no flaws whatsoever!

But Xi Zhui didn’t buy it for a second.

Knowing the man in front of him had thin skin, he pretended to accept the explanation. “Is that so? I’ve got plenty more jackets in the closet. If you want one, go ahead and pick now.”

Wen Chaosheng blinked in surprise. “That wouldn’t be right.”

Stealing someone’s jacket to use as a bedtime pillow was weird enough already. And now he was being openly invited to take one?

Xi Zhui stood up and pulled five or six jackets from the closet in one go. “Take your pick? Or should I just give you all of them?”

“…”

What generosity.

Wen Chaosheng was caught off guard, but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity delivered right to his door.

He wasn’t greedy, pointing to the least flashy one—a plain black number. Unaware of how brightly his eyes were shining, he said, “Then I’ll take this one.”

Xi Zhui hid a smile as he handed it over.

The jacket felt soft in his hands, carrying a pleasant scent.

Deeply satisfied—but terrified Xi Zhui might change his mind—Wen Chaosheng moved to leave at once. “Well, I’ll be going then?”

Xi Zhui raised a brow and, with a touch of deliberate mischief, brought up another matter. “Before your nap, have the hotel housekeeping change your sheets. Didn’t have time in the early hours of the morning.”

“…”

Talk about bringing up the exact thing better left unsaid!

Wen Chaosheng understood at once, his face flushing red as he clutched the jacket and fled.