Taming The Tiger

22. Cherished

Hu Jing Yao sat in silence, thinking about what Jing Yong told him. He wasn't angry for the gossip itself as he was used to sharing his bed with actresses and actors alike, but he was fuming because that stupid Dan Li caused a severe problem between him and Yu Hua. As if he didn't feel enough remorse, now he knew that Yu Hua only tried to protect him and Jing Yong.

Well, that fact also didn't bring any relief to the agitated man as he felt the green-eyed monster tugged at his heart. Wasn't Yu Hua always so busy? Then how did he get close to Jing Yong that well? He produced a lie about his sponsor uncle and even risked his role to protect the younger while he was pretty reserved when he was with him. Didn't he treat him so well? Then why...

"What the hell am I thinking about?!" Hu Jing Yao rubbed his face with irritation. He definitely let the weird actor grow on him too much. Maybe it was better to release him before it was too late... but he still had to apologise to the man. If Jing Yong told him the truth, then Yu Hua was in a pretty bad mood and it could affect the drama.

Yeah, just for the sake of the drama...

While Hu Jing Yao was torn between his heart and mind, Jing Yong was going to the set with his newly-made small friend.

"What the hell am I doing here? Yu Hua will kill me if he hears I went to GL," Ming Lei said with dread, standing in front of the area.

Jing Yong squeezed his shoulder, "I will keep it as a secret if you agree to be my friend," he said, leaning on the smaller man.

Ming Lei's eyes shone, "really?" he asked with hope and Jing Yong thought he really looked like a cute chick. A dangerous type, but still cute.

Jing Yong nodded with a huge smile and pulled the smaller man into the set. As expected, Yu Hua's shooting wasn't over yet, so the duo sat in the dressing room and ordered some food for lunch.

"That bastard will apologise to Yu Hua, right?" Ming Lei asked when the silence got awkward.

Jing Yong heaved a sigh, "I don't know, the CEO is a mysterious man," he shrugged, then added, "but he looked pretty pissed off."

Ming Lei nodded, but he was sceptical. He put his elbow on his leg and leaned his head on his palm, "how did you know about the gossip though? Yu Hua tried so hard for you not to hear it," he asked, but realising he revealed that he knew about the situation from the beginning, he slapped his forehead.

Luckily the actor didn't notice the gaff as he was busy being grateful for Yu Hua to care about him that much. Linking his fingers together, he said "Lu Mei confessed it to me, she didn't want to be a part of the scheming anymore."

"I see," Ming Lei nodded while adding a silent bitch.

There was a lingering silence after that until the delivery guy called Jing Yong for the pizzas he ordered.

When the new actor was back, Yu Hua was already in the dressing room, looking at Ming Lei with shock.

"Hey ge!" Jing Yong intervened immediately before Ming Lei spilled all the beans, "I found your friend around the set and brought him here."

Yu Hua shifted his gaze between them, then sat on the chair next to his friend, "what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

It is you who is not alright, Ming Lei said inwardly, looking at the lifeless eyes of his best friend. Still he mustered a smile and said "I just wanted to treat you to lunch, but Jing Yong said we could have it here together."

"Oh," Yu Hua nodded and turned his head to Jing Yong, "thank you."

With a full smile, the younger actor put the pizza boxes on the table and claimed an empty chair, "eat a lot, ge, this is my sorry lunch for you."

"Ha?" Yu Hua asked, not understanding what he meant.

Jing Yong heaved a sigh and met Yu Hua's wondering gaze, "I know what you did for me, ge, Lu Mei already told me."

"I-" Yu Hua started, bashful to be caught, but Jing Yong swiftly grabbed a slice of pizza and stuffed it into Yu Hua's open mouth.

"Thank you so much, ge, and I am sorry to cause you a problem," he said sincerely and seeing the tear welling to his doe eyes, Ming Lei repeated the actor's earlier action and stuffed a slice into Jing Yong's mouth forcefully.

"Let's just eat, it is getting cold," the small man said with authority and the topic dropped.

The rest of the lunch was full of laughter. Yu Hua tried his best to ignore obvious flirtation between Ming Lei and Jing Yong, silently rooting for them, and the duo did their best to cheer the depressed man.

At least there were still some people who cherished and trusted him...