Qiu Xing slept until 8 o’clock.
Xie Yang was sitting on the carpet and playing with his mobile phone. He saw Qiu Xing open his eyes and immediately said, “Tao Yang sent you a message. Qiu Jingwei called around 7 o’clock and I answered. He spoke to me in a bad way and I scolded him. I suspect that he will have a cerebral hemorrhage like his brother Qiu Jingbang. He Jun also called and said that the people in charge of Rongding’s branch offices and the shareholders have asked for a face-to-face conversation with you. The Liu family also called. I answered but they hung up the moment they heard it was me.”
Qiu Xing’s eyes quickly cleared up. He instinctively looked at the clock beside the bed.
“I turned off your alarm clock. It is already past 8 o’clock. I haven’t eaten dinner yet because I was waiting for you. I am very hungry now.”
Qiu Xing frowned and immediately retracted his gaze. He lifted his quilt while scolding Xie Yang. “Why haven’t you eaten when it is so late? You don’t have to wait—”
Xie Yang got up, bent over and kissed Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing stopped trying to get up and watched Xie Yang.
Xie Yang touched Qiu Xing’s furrowed brow and met Qiu Xing’s eyes. “Thank you for the hard work. I like you as well. In addition, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been angry about what happened yesterday. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have shown you directly to the media and the public without thorough arrangements and considerations. I’m the bastard.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, it won’t happen in the future.”
Qiu Xing stared straight at Xie Yang. His Adam’s apple moved up and down before he reached out to hug Xie Yang. He held the back of Xie Yang’s head with one hand and Xie Yang’s back with the other. His arms tightened and his voice was low. “Xie Yang… you always have a way to drive me crazy.”
***
It was too late and it was a waste of time to go out and eat. Xie Yang simply ordered room service. As they waited for dinner to be delivered, Qiu Xing went to the bathroom to wash up. Xie Yang stayed outside the bathroom and knocked on the door when he heard the sound of the hair dryer.
The hair dryer stopped and the door was opened. Qiu Xing appeared behind the door. His hair was still dripping with water. He held the hair dryer in one hand and raised his other hand to his hair. “What’s the matter?”
Xie Yang didn’t speak and just hugged Qiu Xing.
Qiu Xing looked down at Xie Yang and embraced him. The two people hugged quietly. Xie Yang rubbed Qiu Xing’s shoulder before releasing his arms and stepping back. He took the hair dryer from Qiu Xing’s hand, turned on the switch and gestured for Qiu Xing to turn around.
Qiu Xing watched Xie Yang and then turned to the mirror. Xie Yang slowly dried Qiu Xing’s hair and asked, “What did Dr Kirkman say?”
As the hair dryer moved, some hair fell on the sink. Qiu Xing wiped them off and replied, “It can only be weakened as much as possible, not completely stopped.”
“So sooner or later, you will be bald?”
If it was before, Qiu Xing's expression would've definitely changed when he heard this question and he would've avoided it. Now he was only silent fir a few seconds before raising his gaze. He and Xie Yang stared at each other and he said, "Will you... dislike it?"
“I wouldn’t blow dry your hair if I dislike it.”
The wet hair slowly dried.
“Xie Yang.”
Xie Yang looked up.
“Isn’t it tiring to be with me?”
Xie Yang gently patted the back of Qiu Xing’s head. The heavy emotion on Qiu Xing’s face was gone from this light hit and he frowned.
“I’m not tired.” Xie Yang rubbed the place where Qiu Xing had just been hit and asked instead, “Do you feel that you are forced to be uncomfortable when you are with me?”
Qiu Xing’s eyebrows were covered by his blown hair and he looked much softer than usual. He stared at Xie Yang in the mirror and suddenly smiled. “No.”
Xie Yang also smiled. “So it seems we are a pair of broken pots with bad lids. We were born to be a pair.”
Qiu Xing frowned at Xie Yang’s metaphor. “What is this nonsense about broken pots and lids?” Then he smiled again. He turned around, grabbed Xie Yang’s hand holding the hair dryer and turned it off. He took Xie Yang into his arms and gently touched the back of Xie Yang’s head.
He whispered, “You might encounter some trouble in the future. The Qiu family, the Liu family, the Feng family, the Tao family… many people will be watching you. Are you afraid?”
Xie Yang hugged Qiu Xing back. He placed his chin on Qiu Xing’s shoulder and watched Qiu Xing’s back in the mirror. He didn’t answer Qiu Xing’s question but instead asked on. “Every little action you make in the future will be stared at by netizens. They will doubt your feelings, discuss your condition, evaluate your appearance and dig into your family situation… will it be uncomfortable?”
If two people were together, they had to share troubling things as well as joy. ‘You will bring me trouble and I will bring you trouble. Everyone is the same.’
If they didn’t have the awareness to help each other share the burden then how could they be together?
Qiu Xing tightened his grip as he understood Xie Yang’s words. He declared, “I will protect you.”
Xie Yang smiled. “I will protect you too.”
***
It wasn’t long before dinner was brought over. The two people sat down at the small table beside the window and had a late dinner together. During this period, Qiu Xing answered two calls. One was from He Jun and one from abroad.
Xie Yang poured a bowl of soup for Qiu Xing and asked, “Is it very troublesome?”
Qiu Xing replied, “It’s no trouble. The shareholders over there want to personally confirm my physical condition and the details of the will. After all, this is related to Rongding’s future and the jobs of many people.”
At the mention of the will, Xie Yang drew back the hand holding the soup. “I suddenly want to make a will.”
Qiu Xing knew that Xie Yang was angry. He reached out and touched Xie Yang’s hand that was holding the soup. “I will receive good treatment and I will rest well… I won’t stay up late.”
It was pretty much the same.
Xie Yang placed the soup in front of Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing glanced at Xie Yang and abruptly moved the chair next to Xie Yang. He made it so their legs and shoulders touched.
Xie Yang turned to Qiu Xing.
Qiu Xing gently embraced Xie Yang’s waist. “I need to go abroad as soon as possible. If it is fast then I can come back in three to five days. If it is slow then it might take ten days to a fortnight. The things that need to be handled over there are very trivial but I still need to have dinner with some investors and partners.”
The ripple effect of publishing the will had come.
Xie Yang squeezed his chopsticks and nodded. “Go ahead and don’t worry about me. My filming in N City will be finished in another week. After that, my filming is greatly reduced. If it is quick, I can finish my personal scenes in mid-July. Then after this, I won’t take another role until you recover.”
Recover.
Qiu Xing saw Xie Yang acting like his illness would be cured and tightened his arm. “I will come back as soon as possible.”
Xie Yang shook his head. “You don’t need to work hard to come back as soon as possible. Work slowly. Your health is more important.”
***
Early the next morning, Xie Yang and Qiu Xing walked out of the room together.
He Jun had already brought Qiu Xing’s luggage and some necessary documents downstairs. He Jun would take Qiu Xing directly to the airport in N City. They would transit through G City and then fly abroad.
As he was about to leave, Qiu Xing exposed his essence again and frowned. “Don’t worry about public opinion on the Internet. I have asked the team to watch it. You don’t need to pay attention if those from the Qiu or Liu family look for you. Have a good meal in the crew and rest well in the evening. Don’t—”
Xie Yang lifted a hand to cover Qiu Xing’s mouth and looked at Gao Xuanhang who had just come out of the room across from him. “Good morning, Senior.”
Gao Xuanhang hadn’t expected to encounter the husbands as soon as he came out and was very embarrassed. He tried not to look at Xie Yang’s hand covering Qiu Xing’s mouth as he replied, “Good morning.”
Qiu Xing silently lowered Xie Yang’s hand and showed a calm and steady look.
Xie Yang was amused and introduced Gao Xuanhang. “Senior, this is my boyfriend Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing, this is Gao Xuanhang. He is a senior in the crew who plays my big brother and he takes good care of me.”
Boyfriend? Just a boyfriend?
Qiu Xing frowned slightly before controlling himself. He took the initiative to hold out a hand to Gao Xuanhang. “Hello, I am Qiu Xing. Thank you for taking care of Xie Yang during this time.”
Gao Xuanhang hurriedly shook Qiu Xing’s hand. They exchanged greetings and headed to the elevator together. Then they ran into Wen Han and several crew members at the elevator doors. This time, Xie Yang didn’t introduce Qiu Xing. He just greeted everyone.
After entering the elevator, everyone couldn’t help watching Qiu Xing.
Qiu Xing frowned slightly. Xie Yang noticed this and moved his body to separate Qiu Xing from everyone.
The elevator stopped at the restaurant on the third floor and a group of people walked out. Gao Xuanhang invited Xie Yang and Qiu Xing to have breakfast together but Xie Yang declined. He packed two breakfasts for takeaway and they got into the elevator again. This time, they went down to the hotel lobby to meet He Jun.
Before getting into the car, Qiu Xing reached out to hug Xie Yang. He kissed Xie Yang’s forehead before getting in the car with He Jun.
Xie Yang bent over to look at Qiu Xing through the car window. “Remember to eat breakfast.”
Qiu Xing nodded.
Xie Yang straightened and took a step back.
“Xie Yang.”
Xie Yang bent down again and looked inside the car.
“I will take the initiative.” Qiu Xing’s gaze was deep and the shell that had been soft for a day due to doing something wrong was hard again. “I’m not satisfied just being a boyfriend.” After that, the car window went up.
The car drove slowly away.
Xie Yang laughed as he watched the car leave. It was only after he couldn’t see the car anymore that he turned back to the hotel.