“How was it?” Yi Chen asked as they exited the examination room.
“Not bad.” Yu Xi packed up his things and headed out. Soon, Luo Qin emerged from the examination room too and secretly gave Yi Chen a thumbs-up.
Yi Chen: “?”
They walked out of the hospital gates, where the smell of disinfectant faded away, replaced by bright sunshine.
Although his differentiation was imminent, Yu Xi’s daily life hadn’t changed much. Apart from measuring his pheromone differentiation levels with a portable device every morning and sending the results to the hospital, everything else remained the same as before.
If he had to point out one difference… maybe it was that his chats with Yi Chen had become more frequent lately?
Yu Xi wasn’t the type who loved texting, but Yi Chen always sent the most boring yet adorable things.
[YI Chen: Ran into an old grandma crossing the road today.]
[Yi Chen: Halfway across, someone suddenly jumped on her back and rode her like a horse.]
[Yi Chen: Even the hat-wearing uncle was shocked, but turns out they were filming a skit lololol.]
[Yi Chen: Had pork cutlet rice for lunch.]
[Yi Chen: Boiled pork cutlet in plain water, Xiao Liu special.[dies][dies][dies]]
[Yi Chen: Worked out for two hours.]
[Yi Chen: Xiao Liu’s studying for the civil service exam.]
[Yi Chen: He’s doing exam prep WHILE playing games!!]
[Yi Chen: I have no idea how he manages to be both so intense and so chill!!]
[Yi Chen: Just bought a lemon water [picture]]
“Who are you chatting with?” Luo Qin, lounging on the sofa, couldn’t resist peeking over when he saw how happily Yi Chen was smiling.
It was Luo Qin’s day off. He’d had a fight with his sister that morning, stormed out of the house, and showed up at Yi Chen’s place. The moment the door opened, there he stood in heavy eyeliner, ear studs, a lip ring, and a studded jacket. “My sister says my outfit is scaring off her boyfriend prospects! It freaked out her crush!”
“Is this look that scary?! It’s cool as hell!!”
Yi Chen: “…”
Luo Qin watched as Yi Chen expressionlessly shoved him inside. Then Yi Chen turned to the paparazzi who’d been squatting in the bushes downstairs all night, snapping photos in shock while dialing the cops. “Sorry about that, he’s my friend. Normal job, just letting loose on his day off. Not a street thug, no threats, no robbery.”
Luo Qin: “…”
Undeterred, Luo Qin pressed: “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Yi Chen shut the door and drew the curtains tight. “Do you know what kind of headlines we’d get if they snapped you today?”
“#Yi Chen’s Black Magic Fairy Friend#”
“#Studded Jacket Comes Alive!!#”
“#Crush Bolts After Seeing My Bro#”
“#Rivets for Sale Under His Building Make Owner Rich#”
Luo Qin: “…”
Luo Qin flopped onto the sofa like he’d lost all strength, legs kicked up like a king, fiddling with his phone for a bit. He eyed Yi Chen giggling nonstop at his screen.
“Who can make our Young Master Yi show that kind of face?” Luo Qin said. “Oh right, I just ordered lemon water on your account.”
Yi Chen kept scrolling through the chat logs.
Yu Xi was in the middle of filming right now, so his replies came slowly—only a sentence or two between costume changes. Sometimes they were pretty curt, but Yi Chen’s every topic, no matter how dull, got a response.
“Hm? What’d you just say?” Yi Chen asked.
“I said I bought a lemon water.”
“…” Yi Chen. “Why the hell are you telling me about that?”
Luo Qin: “?”
“Why are you telling Yu Xi about that crap?”
“Sharing life moments.”
“…” Luo Qin was speechless. “Speaking of, does your dad know about you and Yu Xi?”
“Yeah.” Yi Chen said. “I told him.”
“And he didn’t say anything?” Luo Qin was surprised.
Yi Chen seriously typed back to Yu Xi. “What would he say?”
Luo Qin: “Back in the day, didn’t he and…”
Before he finished, Yi Chen suddenly stood up and looked at Luo Qin earnestly. “There’s nothing on my face, right?”
Luo Qin was baffled. “Nah, why?”
He glanced down at Yi Chen’s phone screen and cracked. “Dude, it’s just a video call from him. Why so nervous? Act your age.”
After the video call ended, Yu Xi felt like he had a problem.
They were midway through filming when an insane urge hit him—he desperately wanted to see Yi Chen. He ducked into the changing room under the pretense of swapping outfits and quietly initiated a video call.
Yu Xi leaned against the wall, fingertips lightly resting on his gland.
The surroundings were dead silent.
Too silent. The wild thoughts in his head bubbled over uncontrollably.
I miss him so much…
Crazy.
I miss him so much.
Really going crazy.
But…
“See you tomorrow,” Yi Chen had said before hanging up.
They were meeting tomorrow.
They needed to shoot promotional posters for The Boundless’s start-of-production.
The set was a classroom—The Boundless was a campus drama, so the poster theme was school life. They had to change into school uniforms.
“You’re here.” Wang Hui waved at Yu Xi and Yi Chen.
“There’s something I want to discuss with you two.” Wang Hui said.
“What is it?” Yu Xi asked.
“Here’s the deal.” Wang Hui explained. “We set a start date for The Boundless before, but it got delayed. I booked the location back then, and the date lines up to next week. Paid the deposit, but now with personal reasons pushing things back, no refunds. Could you guys squeeze in some time next week to shoot a few scenes early? Or some promo shorts? Help you get into the vibe too.”
Yu Xi: “?”
Yu Xi: “The investor’s standing right here. Why save his money?”
“Gotta save where we can.” Wang Hui laughed. “The savings end up in your pocket anyway. Our investor’s giving you all the profits just to get you on board.”
They settled on shooting the extra scenes ahead of time, though the schedule was sudden, so Yu Xi and Yi Chen had to shuffle things around.
Makeup done, it was time for the poster shoot.
Yu Xi and Yi Chen changed into the prepared school uniforms.
Time flew, but school uniforms never changed.
Blue-and-white uniforms, down to the fabric and feel—exactly like their high school days.
When Yi Chen emerged from the changing room, he saw Yu Xi in the blue-and-white uniform.
He sat in the classroom, propping his chin on one hand while his fingertips tapped the desk idly, staring bored out the window.
The sunlight was perfect, spilling over the windowsill and gilding his hair tips with a soft halo. He looked fluffy.
In the clear sunlight, Yu Xi looked at Yi Chen, his eyes bright.
—Just like before.
Yi Chen: “!”
Something felt off about his body!!
Yu Xi, noticing the weirdness: “??”
Wang Hui walked in from outside, camera crew in tow—they’d just finalized the shots. “All set? Let’s start—”
Yi Chen: “Wait!!”
Wang Hui watched as Yi Chen bolted from the set.
“Holy shit, you pervert?! Stop!!”
Yu Xi chased after Yi Chen, face angry, but his ears were bright red.
Wang Hui: “?”
