Chapter 53 - My Costar Tags Along

Yao Shen tries to defend himself. "That's not-"

But before he can get a word in edgewise, the interviewer jumps in to add, "That's right, Yao laoshi said so himself in his introduction segment for that actor survival show a few years ago."

Yao Shen's expression shutters immediately, his heart kicking up a storm inside his chest.

At his side, Xin Hulei has no reaction, continuing to look expressionlessly into the camera.

The interviewer clears his throat, noticing the charged atmosphere.

"Right, Yao laoshi, does Xin laoshi have any pets?", the man asks, reading from his queue card awkwardly.

"He has a cat, and, uh, caterpillar," Yao Shen replies, pulling at a loose string in his sleeve, wishing he had a zipper to fiddle with instead.

Xin Hulei shifts a little in his seat. "They aren't pets....they're friends," he amends, his tone earnest but not sentimental -- even so, Yao Shen can immediately imagine the high-pitched cooing of his fans once this segment airs.

'LeiLei is such a sweetheart.'

The interviewer lets out a peal of laughter, too loud to be merely polite. "A caterpillar? That's an unusual pet. Did Xin laoshi raise silkbugs as a child?"

Xin Hulei tilts his head to the side, looking at the interviewer as if he is himself a curious kind of insect. 

"No."

The interviewer stammers something inaudible and flips through his queue cards.

Seeing him so flustered by Xin Hulei's aloofness makes Yao Shen feel somewhat vindicated.

---

They continue on in that style of silly interview for a few more hours. Yao Shen grows steadily more bored as the time goes on, and his answers become even flatter, to the point that his voice become almost as dull and disinterested as Xin Hulei's.

He's extremely relieved once the media scrum finally comes to an end and he can go back to his hotel.

There will be more interviews, and even worse -- live appearances in the future, but for now Yao Shen can forget about the downsides of being an actor and focus on the good. Slipping into someone else's skin and leaving all his troubles behind.

His scenes for tomorrow are going to demand a lot of him, and he wants to get a good night of sleep ahead of shooting the confrontation with the sect leaders about Xie Huan's conduct in the morning, and his punishment in the afternoon.

Bi Jialu congratulates him on another job well done and gives him back his phone. "It was vibrating a lot laoshi," she warns, smiling apologetically.

Yao Shen is about to see if he has any recent messages when Xin Hulei materializes at his side.

"Do you want to grab something to eat?" His tone of voice is casual, as if he couldn't care less for the answer, but his gaze is intensely fixed on Yao Shen. "I brought the bike today, we can have dinner in the city."

Yao Shen still can't wrap his head around why someone who can teleport chooses to ride around in that deethtrap on wheels.

His personal conclusion is that, despite of how nonchalant and above it Xin Hulei looks, he must care about looking cool.

Which means his effortless bad boy attitude isn't so effortless after all.

It makes Yao Shen feel a little better, honestly.

Just then, Yao Shen gets a new message and his thumb automatically taps the notification open.

[Cute Didi: Let's go out for dinner? My treat.]

Yao Shen looks between his screen, and Xin Hulei's face. Considering his options.

On one hand, he can have dinner with the didi who is nice to him, flirts with him, and seems interested in some kind of a relationship.

On the other, he can go for a hellish ride on the back of Xin Hulei's bike, probably end up at some terrible restaurant. Reminiscing about all the times Xin Hulei teased him, and of course the shining moment where he singlehandedly dashed his hopes of making a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

He doesn't know what it means that he wavers for long, indecisiveness coiling unpleasantly in the pit of his stomach.

Finally, he types:

[Not a Monster, a Ghost: Sure, I'm still on set, where can I meet you?]

And tells Xin Hulei, "Sorry, I already have plans."

He expects Xin Hulei to nod and be on his way, but his gaze doesn't waver and he nods towards Yao Shen's phone. "With whom?"

What does he care?

"None of your business," Yao Shen retorts, although a small part of him feels pleased.

[Cute didi: I'll take my agency's care and pick you up]

[Not a Monster, a Ghost: Sounds good]

---

After getting out of his costume and wig, Yao Shen waits for Gao Wu by the car park. He's dressed in shorts and a tshirt as a concession to the heat that is growing stifling even in the evening.

He's distracting himself with a mobile game when he feels a presence at his side.

Xin Hulei is peering down at him, the longish strands of his hair shoved into a backwards baseball cap. He's wearing a loose fitting tank top and slim black joggers that cling to his long legs, making them seem even longer.

The holes on Xin Hulei's tank are very wide, and from the side Yao Shen can almost catch a glimpse of his nipple.

"What are you doing here?" Yao Shen asks, looking down into his phone, trying to distract himself from his embarrassment. 

"Making sure you're safe," Xin Hulei says, with a nonchalant shrug.

Before Yao Shen can ask what he means by that, a car enters the car park and comes to a stop in front of them.

Gao Wu slides down the window, looking puzzled at Xin Hulei. "Oh, is Xin laoshi coming with us?"

"No," Yao Shen says, at the same time Xin Hulei says, "Yes," and walks around the car towards the passenger seat.