Chapter 3  

The grass in the little plot of land in the backyard had grown quite long. Without him here, nobody else would trim it. The pool was empty too. It looked a bit rundown, a bit dirty.

No one was in the house. The furniture was still the same as when he had left, though. Nothing had really changed. Yuan Ye didn’t look or stay around for too long. He packed up his own things and sat for a bit on the lawn. After taking a few pictures, he left. After all, this wasn’t his home. Arriving to pick up things without notifying the owner in advance was already pretty bad. If he started acting like the owner, moving and touching objects in the house, that would be unforgivable. A clean cut was a clean cut; it needed to be definite to give the other freedom. One shouldn’t act like they were still in the past. That would only make everyone feel awkward.

After he left, he ultimately decided to send Ji Xiaotao a message: Xiaotao, I went back to the house in the Eastern district to pick up some things. Tell your ge about this later.

Ji Xiaotao was probably busy, so didn’t answer immediately. He finally received a response in the afternoon: Okay Ye ge, no problem.

Fang Shaoyi was on set for a movie, thus out of town. Consequently, the two of them didn’t meet prior to the beginning of filming. They didn’t speak to each other beforehand and the show directly started filming. On the day of recording, the camera crew first headed to where Fang Shaoyi was. Yuan Ye flew over by plane alone. They would meet at the airport, then fly straight to a certain Asian island two hours later.

The itinerary had been confirmed ahead of time. Yuan Ye was fairly confident in how well he had memorized the schedule, so felt confident. Even so, the moment the plane started taxiing on the ground after landing, he still slightly furrowed his brows. His expression seemed somewhat displeased.

Yuan Ye had a ski cap on. When he walked out with both hands in his pockets and his head lowered, he heard someone shout his name——“Yuan Ye.”

The leg he had put out imperceptibly trembled. Following this, he immediately returned to normal. He was too familiar with that voice. He could tell exactly who this person was just from hearing one word.

He lifted his head and looked over, immediately meeting that person’s gaze. They made eye contact. Only they knew what they felt in their hearts in this instant.

Yuan Ye smiled faintly and walked over. Looking into the other’s eyes, he smiled and called out, “Yi ge.”

After, he shifted his gaze away to wave at the camera crew following this person. He introduced himself to the camera, “Hello everyone. This is my first time meeting you; I’m Yuan Ye. My apologies, my flight was delayed.”

He was about half a meter away from Fang Shaoyi. Fang Shaoyi took a step forward and swung an arm around Yuan Ye’s shoulders. A familiar scent surrounded Yuan Ye, catching him off guard. He lowered his gaze and heard the other say, “Let me introduce everyone again officially. This is Teacher Yuan Ye, an intellectual.”

The young follow PD smiled off to the side and said, “I’m Uncle Ye’s fan. I own all of your books.”

Fang Shaoyi looked over. He cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Why do you keep looking at me?”

Yuan Ye stared at him and answered, “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Let me get a good look.”

Fang Shaoyi’s mouth twitched. An extremely handsome face that always appeared extra enticing with such a smile. But as Fang Shaoyi smiled at him like this, Yuan Ye suddenly discovered while looking at him that there were wrinkles at the corners of Fang Shaoyi’s eyes. Thin lines that spread out from the very edges of the eyes actually added a weathered look. It was very appealing. The image of student Fang Shaoyi from many years ago suddenly flashed through Yuan Ye’s mind. Following this, he lowered his head and smiled.

A thirty six year old Fang Shaoyi and twenty year old Fang Shaoyi were ultimately different.

“What’s wrong?” Fang Shaoyi asked him.

Yuan Ye lifted his head to ask with a teasing tone, “You mustn’t have diligently applied your essence or massaged your face while filming, huh?”

Fang Shaoyi didn’t really understand what he meant. He subtly raised an eyebrow.

Yuan Ye told the cameraman, “Here, camera, give him a close-up. Look at Teacher Fang’s face. He already has wrinkles. You’re only thirty six. Don’t you feel unsightly?”

Fang Shaoyi burst into laughter. He shook his head and said, “We’re filming right now, don’t make such jokes. I’ve gotten old?”

“No,” Yuan Ye shook his head. He laughed softly and answered, “You’re still young.”

Fang Shaoyi had reached fame as a youth. He had started acting as a young child. His father was Fang Han, an extremely famous artiste in the film industry. In the earlier years, many people said that all of Fang Shaoyi’s achievements were because of his dad. He was completely a second generation celebrity. In the past, Yuan Ye had even expressed his anger about this on Weibo. He had never been in the habit of holding back his temper. He spoke whatever was on his mind. At that time, he posted on his Weibo: Fuck “second generation celebrity”. He hadn’t gotten angry when others said his books were bad or trash, but he couldn’t handle hearing others criticize Fang Shaoyi. He lived by if you attack him, then I’ll attack you.

These years, there were less and less people who made that argument. Practically nobody brought it up again, because anyone with eyes could tell that Fang Shaoyi was truly hardworking. He wasn’t any less talented than his father had been back in the day. Normally, he was also very lowkey. When he wasn’t working, one practically couldn’t hear anything about him in the entertainment news or gossip. He never got mixed up in any messes. A few years ago, he won two domestic film emperor trophies with the movie《Cerulean Dust》. Nobody could say he didn’t deserve them. A father like a tiger could not beget a son like a dog. Fang Han was incapable of raising a bad son.

After so many years in the industry, the only unexpected thing Fang Shaoyi had ever done was get married at such a young age. He had caused such a commotion, making so many people treat it like a joke. But the Fang family hadn’t been against his marriage at all. Once, Fang Han had said in an interview that he and his wife wouldn’t overly butt into their son’s love life. There was no need. The arrival and departure of fate was decided by each individual. His family wouldn’t try to control him, because it wasn’t their business.

This year, Fang Shaoyi was thirty six. He could still be considered a “little fresh meat” in the industry: in the prime of his youth. Most male celebrities at this age still needed to hide the fact that they were dating, much less married. But in Fang Shaoyi’s regard, he had been married for over a decade. Speaking of, there was something quite interesting. There was another couple thirty-something in age on the show, but they were in the young group because they had only started dating recently. Normally, they went for the “little fresh meat” and “little flower” image, so had charming appearances. Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye were thirty six and thirty three respectively. They weren’t any older than those two, but had been split into the old CP group.

Married for a decade and still not an old CP? Teachers, you both need to stop playing. If this were a heterosexual couple, the child would already be several years old.

The two of them chatted on and off. Though they didn’t say much, they also didn’t let the conversation completely die down so that there would be something for the cameras to film. The airport was a busy place after all. With several cameras trained on them, they had a strong presence. There would definitely be passersby who would recognize Fang Shaoyi. But Fang Shaoyi wasn’t a celebrity with a huge online following anyways, so didn’t have any fans who were wildly passionate and hard to control. When strangers recognized him, they only greeted him and asked for an autograph, which was nothing.

Yuan Ye only heaved a sigh of relief after they boarded the plane and found their seats. At an angle that the cameras couldn’t see, he furrowed his brows and looked outside. His expression seemed a bit agitated.

Fang Shaoyi was sitting next to him. These two people had already acted for long enough in front of the cameras. Now that the camera wasn’t filming them, neither spoke up. Fang Shaoyi turned around to look at the cameraman; the other had his head lowered and was fidgeting with his machine. Fang Shaoyi leaned over to quietly ask the little director, “Are we filming on the plane?”

The little director responded softly, “We just need to film a few segments after takeoff later. The cameraman will notify you in advance. You and Teacher Yuan can take a nap first if you’re tired.”

Fang Shaoyi turned around. He didn’t make a sound as he put on an eyemask to cover his eyes. He lowered his seat and seemed to actually fall asleep.

Yuan Ye looked over. He took off the mic pinned to his collar.

Fang Shaoyi’s eyes were covered, so Yuan Ye could boldly stare at him. Fang Shaoyi’s elegantly shaped nose and closed mouth were exposed even with the eyemask. His thin lips were slightly pressed together – his side profile and jawline were extremely sharp and attractive. Yuan Ye stared at this face. The person before his eyes was someone he was infinitely familiar with. The face was one that he reveled in and was entranced by.

Though he had mentally prepared himself a long time ago, Fang Shaoyi’s shout of his name in the airport had still made Yuan Ye temporarily panic. In front of the cameras, he could still put up somewhat of a front, but his heart had been in his throat the whole time.

This was Fang Shaoyi after all.

When he had gotten together with this person, he hadn’t yet reached twenty. He had clearly only been a wild monkey, but had been recklessly adamant about taking a bite out of the moon.

A self-mocking smile was painted onto Yuan Ye’s face. He closed his eyes too and leaned back against the seat.

Why the fuck was he thinking about all these random things? Useless and annoying.

Being in a plane for hours on end wasn’t very comfortable, but Yuan Ye could still put on a decent act for the camera. He could still chat and joke with the camera crew. To his side, Fang Shaoyi appeared slightly glum. When this person wasn’t speaking or smiling, he seemed a bit somber. Halfway through, Yuan Ye even patted his face and told the camera, “See? Teacher Fang’s old already, so is always in a seriously bad mood when he wakes up.”

Fang Shaoyi caught his hand and removed it from his face. After, probably for the cameras, he didn’t let go. Yuan Ye’s palms were sweaty. He licked his lips. His tobacco addiction was kicking in and he wanted a cigarette.

This was a show that combined travel and games. It was pretty relaxing and was basically an extended vacation. Their first destination was a beautiful little island. The two of them had been here before. They were the first to arrive, so the other three celebrity couples were nowhere to be found.

Ji Xiaotao had already gotten here ahead of time. He needed to come early to see if there was anything else that needed to be prepared. When he saw Yuan Ye, he rushed over and shouted with a smile, “Ye ge!”

“Ey, I heard you. If you were any louder, you would’ve knocked me over,” Yuan Ye smiled. “Be a bit quieter. Be mindful of the ears of us old people.”

He casually lifted a hand to tug on his ear. Only now did his and Fang Shaoyi’s hands separate.

As soon as they did, his wet palm instantly became exposed to air, becoming an expanse of cold.