Chapter 17: Don't forget that the internet is forever

Xi Zirui hates the consequences of his actions.

Especially the consequences of his stupid actions.

When he created his throwaway weibo account he thought it would be hilarious to call it "Han Yu's #1 fan". Like everything else, when it comes to Han Yu, Xi Zirui doesn't know what possessed him to do it, but he did get a chuckle out of it at the time.

There was no way anyone would know it was him, at any rate.

Except now Han Yu has posted a never before seen photo of him to a random account proclaiming itself to be his number 1 fan.

"Delete it, delete it, now," Xi Zirui shouts, trying to get at the phone before remembering his braces.

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it!" Han Yu replies, frantically tapping on the screen. "Ok, it's gone."

Xi Zirui doesn't let out a sigh of relief just yet, they say that nothing is ever truly gone from the internet.

He tells Han Yu to delete the throwaway account while he's at it, lest it come back to bite him in the ass once again, and also lets him know the credentials to his official weibo account, so he can login and post the photo.

There's a furrow of concentration between Han Yu's sharp eyebrows as his fingers fly over Xi Zirui's mobile.

It's almost sweet to see him so focused on saving Xi Zirui's ass from the scolding he'll get from Li Siqi if she ever finds out.

"Ok, it's done." Han Yu lets out a sigh of relief and hands the phone back to Xi Zirui.

Xi Zirui settles it on his lap just when a notification pops on screen.

It's a comment someone left on his post.

"Magpie: Why was this photo original posted by an account called 'Han Yu's #1 fan'?"

Under Magpie's comment there's a screenshot of the original post from the throwaway account, which couldn't have stayed up for more than 20 seconds.

"Fuck, I hate the internet," Xi Zirui says, slumping against the bed with a groan.

Han Yu leans over and scans his eyes across the screen, hissing out a "Damn," when he sees the screenshot.

"I'm sorry, didi." He lowers his eyes and fiddles with the zipper of his jacket, something Xi Zirui is starting to notice he does whenever he's nervous or uncomfortable. "I should have noticed it wasn't the right account."

Maybe if he wasn't feeling pleasantly full with chocolate, or perhaps still high from the painkillers, Xi Zirui might have reveled in Han Yu's look of sincere consternation.

Besides, he looks rather adorable with his eyebrows arched downwards like that and his lips pursed in frustration.

Every time he gets a glimpse of the real Han Yu, behind all the polish and the glamour of his actor persona, something at once sweet and sour bubbles up in Xi Zirui's stomach.

He has no idea what that's all about. Probably indigestion.

"It's not your fault, I should have remembered," Xi Zirui says, shrugging. Now that the damage is done there's no use in panicking any longer, he'll handle Li Siqi's rage when it comes. "I should apologize too, I probably got you in trouble as well."

Some of the unease lifts from Han Yu's features, and he sits down on the bed next to Xi Zirui, who scoots sideways gingerly to give him some space.

Xi Zirui's phone hasn't stopped vibrating with incoming notifications since the post was published.

He chances a quick downwards glance and sees that everyone is losing their mind over the screenshot, and trying to understand what it means.

Han Yu reaches over his legs and shuts the screen off. "Don't think about that now, what's done is done. You should rest and enjoy your evening, do something fun."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Xi Zirui asks, already anticipating Han Yu's lascivious smirk and flirty propositions.

He's maybe even looking forward to it a little.

But instead of the filthy grin he's expecting, Han Yu's eyes widen with sudden inspiration and he jumps out of the bed, treading the soft carpet towards the lone armchair in front of the bed, where the neglected Nintendo Switch lies.

He gets back to the bed and throws himself down on the soft comforter with a huff. "Can I play? I've always wanted to."

Han Yu always manages to surprise Xi Zirui by doing and saying the opposite of what he expects him to.

When he smiles like that, earnest and childish, the effect is almost blinding. All his chiseled perfection giving way to something real and warm. He stops being the distant cover photo model and becomes the kind of playful older boy Xi Zirui can imagine himself calling "gege" without irony.

"What am I supposed to do then? It's not like I can play too," Xi Zirui says, lifting his arms in demonstration.

Han Yu turns on the Switch and rests his head on Xi Zirui's shoulder. "You can make fun of me, I've never played video games before."

Xi Zirui's shocked gasp makes Han Yu chuckle under his breath. "What, never?"

Han Yu hums. "No, never. When I was younger my family was too poor, my parents didn't have money for video games. When I was a little older, things got a bit better but by then I was too focused on my studies and getting into acting school."

He says it all so casually, like it's nothing, but that short sentence makes Xi Zirui rethink all his preconceived notions about him.

He can imagine a younger Han Yu studiously poring over his school books, trying hard to turn an impossible, distant, dream into reality.

What must he have looked like back then? Did he have the same intense gaze, the same knife's blade smile? Or was he just an awkward kid, all gangly limbs and jutting elbows, still not having fully grown into his tall frame?

Xi Zirui realizes he's lost in his own thoughts when Han Yu shoots him an inquiring look.

He bumps his shoulder's against Han Yu's and says, "I won't have mercy on you if you suck."

Han Yu laughs, high and delighted, and chooses Mario Kart from Xi Zirui's library. "I'll count on didi's superior knowledge."

Despite his words, Xi Zirui ends up spending hours teaching Han Yu how to navigate the controls, and test out different characters until he finds one that best suits his play style.

He only teases him a little about declaring that Princess Peach is his favourite.

---

By the time Han Yu leaves to go back to his own room it's long past midnight, and Xi Zirui's tired eyelids have been trembling with strain for the past half hour.

That night, he has an odd dream where he and Han Yu are racing against each other on the rainbow road track, but before they can reach the finish line a loud noise wakes him up.

Li Siqi is standing in front of his bed, coughing pointedly into her closed fist.

"Good morning," Xi Zirui says, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

Li Siqi taps something on her tablet and then turns it around to show him. "Can you explain this?"

Xi Zirui isn't really surprised to see the screenshot of the original post making the rounds on weibo, he knew it was just a matter of time until Li Siqi found out about it.

"It was a mistake, I accidentally posted the photo to a dummy account," he says, rubbing his nape sheepishly.

Li Siqi narrows her eyes at him. "You didn't take the photo though."

Ah, that will be little harder to explain. "Ah, that, Han Yu took the photo but..."

Li Siqi's eyebrows disappear into her neat fringe. "You were told yesterday not to spend time with him, and yet..."

Xi Zirui cuts her off with a snort. "It's not like there are hidden cameras in my hotel room." At least he hopes not. "Anyway, we're in love or whatever."

His words throw her for a loop, she blinks several times in a row, like a computer trying to reboot. "What?"

Xi Zirui figures that if Li Siqi is determined to be a pain in his ass, he won't hold back from making her life harder, too.

"Yeah, it's true love, we simply can't be apart," he gets up from the bed and clasps his hands in front of his chest, bowing slightly to Li Siqi. "I'm sorry for making things harder for Li laoshi, I'll be depending on you."

The look she gives him is hilarious, ahh he wishes he could take a photo of her face. "Speaking of love, has Li laoshi gone out with Director Liao, yet?"

Li Siqi goes from being pale with fury to red with embarrassment in such a short timespan that it's a miracle her blood pressure doesn't drop. "Please hurry Xi laoshi, you're wanted on set in half an hour."

Sniggering under his breath, Xi Zirui nods and makes his way to the bathroom.

---

Since at the moment, Xi Zirui i wearing two bulky wrist braces that not even the widest, most billowy sleeves can hope to hide, he's going to be filming only close ups, and waist up shots with his hands out of frame for the next couple of days.

Unfortunately for Li Siqi's blood pressure that means he's going to be filming mostly with Han Yu.

The first scene of the day is an intimate scene where Hai Yaomei is bedridden while in Xiu Xianren's sect, and the two of them have a heart to heart about their respective moral standing.

Xi Zirui is only wearing a thin inner robe, but most of his body is hidden by the sheet including the wrist braces.

Han Yu is dressed in Xiu Xianren's gold robes, and sitting down by the bed, feeding Hai Yaomei some medicine.

"Ok, let's start everyone. On your marks, action!" Liao Min says, looking into the camera's screen with eagle-eyed focused.

"The demonic energy is taking a toll on your body, why do you insist on following this path," Han Yu says, reciting his lines perfectly, melting into Xiu Xianren's lofty posture with ease.

Xi Zirui looks into his distant eyes and scoffs. "What does young master Xiu care? Young master shouldn't pretend he's not looking forward to the day the demonic energy finally gets the better of me."

Han Yu's hand wavers minutely on the bowl of medicine he's holding, a nice touch that conveys Xiu Xianren's disquiet with minimal effort. He turns his face to look into Xi Zirui's eyes, his gaze heavy with emotion and meaning.

He does something with his eyebrows, his eyes, a subtle twist of his mouth, and some of Xiu Xianren's composure slips just enough that a sense of vulnerability shines through his righteous facade.

"I do care," he says, his voice going down an octave, his eyes never leaving Xi Zirui's. "Yaomei has shown that he can be a compassionate, upstanding cultivator in our recent travels, it would be a shame for the demonic energy to consume him before he reached his full potential."

He's a really great actor, Xi Zirui realizes. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but in that moment he's so taken with Han Yu's performance that he forgets his own lines.

Liao Min is quick to remind him. "Cut! Lines, Xi laoshi, your lines!" she groans. "From the top!"

He grimaces self-consciously at Han Yu and mouths, "Sorry."

Han Yu shakes his head fondly. "Didi can make it up to me later with his body." he says, winking.

Oh so the truce is over, and they're back to this childish nonsense?

Xi Zirui narrows his eyes at Han Yu. Fine, if that's what he wants, that's what he'll get.

If he's a little disappointed that the intimacy he thought growing between them yesterday was apparently all in his head, he doesn't let it show.

He's an actor, after all.