真正的明星 V1 101-128 & V2 1-⬆️

Volume 2 | Chapter 4: Breathtaking

“You look as if you’re going to cry.” Unable to help himself, Lu Tian Chen frowned. Not only did Tang Feng look as if he were going to cry, the expression in the actor’s eyes pierced deep into Lu Tian Chen’s heart.

Gazing into those eyes, Lu Tian Chen felt as if he had fallen into a sea of shards. The water made of sharp glass lacerated his body in every which way, giving him countless wounds.

“Tang Feng, there’s no need to force yourself. Everybody has a weak point, but we also have the right to indulge in that weakness occasionally. Don’t overestimate your own strength. You aren’t as strong as you think.” Lu Tian Chen pulled Tang Feng into a hug. He repeated, “You are an ordinary human. An ordinary man.”

You’re not the hero of a sci-fi film. You also aren’t the protagonist of a story who must carry the fate of the world on his shoulders.

“I’m… I’m only…” Tang Feng stumbled over his words. He took a deep breath and leaned against Lu Tian Chen’s shoulders. Many years ago, he’d imagined about a day when he could nestle inside another person’s arms and cry out all his pent-up emotions.

Lu Tian Chen tightened his arms around the actor’s waist. Tang Feng felt his ribs protest against the other’s strong grip, but at the same time, he felt deeply touched by the gesture. It almost made him want to release the reins on his emotions. It almost made him want to relax and let himself loose in the waves of his own weakness and wild hopes.

In the end, he gave in.

He grabbed tightly onto the ironed collar of Lu Tian Chen’s suit. The fabric crumpled inside his fists, becoming a wrinkled mess.
Paying no mind to the state of his suit, Lu Tian Chen continued holding Tang Feng tightly. When he heard the broken sniffles coming from his shoulder, he pulled Tang Feng off the couch to rest inside his arms entirely.

No one would turn weak just from crying or displaying a weak side. Occasionally letting emotions run loose wouldn’t affect anyone detrimentally. Most of the time, people would feel better after a good cry. Being kind to others was good, but it was also a form of slow torment that forced one to restrain one’s own emotions. Being excessively mature or understanding only imprisoned oneself.

♦

After crying, Tang Feng definitely felt better. It was a good feeling to have others rely on him, but it was even better for him to have someone to rely on. But only occasionally. He only needed it occasionally.

At first, he was a bit embarrassed to be crying on Lu Tian Chen’s shoulder. What was a forty-year-old man doing crying in front of someone half his age? But what does crying out of sadness have to do with age in the end? After removing the adjectives “successful” and “gentle” from his name, he was only a normal person.

Even the unparalleled heroes in comic books had their troubles and weaknesses. How could ordinary people like them be any different?

Tang Feng leaned quietly against Lu Tian Chen’s shoulder. His mind was entirely blank. He wasn’t thinking of anything, not of the past, not of the future. His thoughts had come to a complete standstill, trapped in the moment. Using two words to describe it, he was―spacing out.

He felt a soft touch on his cheek. When a series of warm touches fell on his cheeks and neck, Tang Feng realized Lu Tian Chen was kissing him. The kisses didn’t carry any sort of sexual desire or filthy lust in them. They were simply kisses. Gentle, tender kisses.

The kisses were careful, but he could feel the hint of adoration behind every touch that fell on his cheeks.

He finally understood how it felt to be cherished, to be held gingerly in someone’s hands like a treasure.