CH 19

Before joining the film crew, Xu Jingzhe needed to pack his luggage. On the seventh day of the new year, Xu Jingzhe and Liang Yu headed back to the villa together. On the eighth day of the new year, Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived to pick him up early in the morning.

Liang Yu had been the one to pack the luggage. He packed two large suitcases. In order to maintain the image of a relationship, Xu Jingzhe also brought a few knick knacks belonging to Liang Yu. Zhu Xiaoxiao felt very complicated as she moved the luggage into the car. On the one hand, she was happy about her boss’s dedication. On the other hand, she was caught between tears and laughter for her ship. 

Liang Yu needed to do a follow-up interview for his holiday film, so he wasn’t going to be able to personally send off Xu Jingzhe. He sat on the living room sofa and waved at Xu Jingzhe.

“Come here,” Liang Yu said.

Xu Jingzhe obediently walked over to him.

Liang Yu placed a watch on his wrist. The watch band was rather loose. It hung limply against his wrist. 

“Send me the address when you get there,” Liang Yu reminded him once more. “Don’t forget.”

Xu Jingzhe: “I won’t forget.” Liang Yu still had his wrist within his grip. His palm wasn’t very smooth. His body temperature was very high. It was even a little rough. Xu Jingzhe was silent for a while. He felt that familiar prickling feeling crawling up his back once again.

Liang Yu stared at him for a while. Finally, he let go of his hand. “I told you that you’re too skinny.”

Liang Yu hooked a finger through the watch band. He laughed and said, “Your wrist is as thin as ever.”

There was still quite a ways to go before they got to the airport. Xu Jingzhe was sitting in the back of the nanny van with his head bowed, flipping through his copy of the script. He flipped through it for a while, seemingly not too focused. He paused on a page of the script for quite a long time.

Zhu Xiaoxiao observed him for a while. Then, she cautiously asked him, “Mr. Xu, did you rest well over the holidays?”

Xu Jingzhe was slow to react. He nodded, “I did. What about you? Did you have a fun time?”

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “Yeah! Man jie sent me another bonus! Who can say no to that?” 

Xu Jingzhe laughed. “That’s good.” He maintained his smile. After a pause, he continued, seemingly talking to himself, “I also had fun.”

Green Water was different from other historical dramas. There would be a lot of real location shots in the early stages. Director Liu was a very demanding person. He deliberately picked out a sparsely populated conservation area and demanded that all the staff spend over half a month in the middle of nowhere.

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She was currently looking for a kitchen to make honey water. Before she managed to find the kitchen, a message from Xiao Luo arrived. 

“Have you guys arrived on set yet?” She asked.

Zhu Xiaoxiao replied, “We’ve arrived. Has Mr. Liang’s interview ended?”

The plane ride was two hours long, and the drive from the airport to the conservation area was another two hours. Liang Yu’s interview should have ended long ago. Zhu Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure if Xu Jingzhe had sent Liang Yu the address, so she sent it to Xiao Luo.

“The lodging isn’t bad,” Xiao Luo said. “Is there anything you guys are missing?” 

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “I’m not sure. Mr. Xu hasn’t said anything.” She belatedly realized something. “Are you guys really heading over here right now?”

Xiao Luo replied with a voice message this time. Her voice held a bit of helplessness. “My brother can’t get through to Mr. Xu. He’s already booked a flight.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “…”

Xu Jingzhe had put his cell phone on silent. He and Director Liu took a walk around the site and took note of several locations. 

“This bamboo forest is pretty good.” Director Liu pointed inward. “There’s a natural lake here. When the time comes, we can string you guys up above the lake.”

He spoke about stringing up his actors the same way he would about stringing up a chicken. Xu Jingzhe gave him a helpless look.

Director Liu was quite proud. “Xiao Liang is coming to visit the set, right? Let’s give him a good show. By the way, you have a kiss scene with Luo Yaoye. He’s not going to kick up a fuss about that, will he?”

“Liang Yu isn’t that kind of person,” Xu Jingzhe said calmly. He suddenly remembered that he promised to send his address to Liang Yu. He pulled out his cell phone and was shocked to see the number of missed calls on his phone. Liang Yu had called him fifty-six times. 

Xu Jingzhe: “…”

He received so many calls that his phone’s battery was down to only ten percent, and the back of the phone was hot to the touch. Xu Jingzhe didn’t know whether he should call back or simply pretend that he hadn’t seen anything.

He hesitated for a long time, but, in the end, he decided to send him a message. He first explained that he had muted his phone. Then, he sent him the address.

Liang Yu immediately responded by calling him. This time, Xu Jingzhe picked up. 

“Do you need anything?” He didn’t seem to be angry about the missed calls. His tone of voice was very normal. “Is it cold?”

Xu Jingzhe replied that it wasn’t. He asked, “How was your interview?”

Liang Yu: “Pretty good. I sent you my schedule. Take a look at it.”

“?” 

Xu Jingzhe agreed, but he wondered why the man had sent his itinerary.

Liang Yu continued, “Tell Zhu Xiaoxiao to send your schedule to Xiao Luo.”

Xu Jingzhe was still confused. However, his mouth was quicker than his brain, so he instinctively agreed.

“I’ll get there tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.” Liang Yu suddenly said, “I have something for you.” 

Xu Jingzhe was really surprised this time. He asked, “Aren’t you busy? How come you’re visiting so soon?”

There was a subtle pause on the other side of the phone. He found an innocuous excuse. “The sooner I visit you, the sooner I can go back. What’s the problem with that?”

Xu Jingzhe: “…”

Xu Jingzhe definitely wasn’t going to refuse after getting a response like that. Towards the end of the call, his phone was starting to run out of battery, so he hurriedly hung up the call. Fortunately, Director Liu didn’t need Xu Jingzhe to accompany him anymore, so Xu Jingzhe hurried back to the farmhouse to charge his phone. 

Zhu Xiaoxiao prepared a large pot of honey water and brought it to Xu Jingzhe’s room. Xu Jingzhe sat on the edge of the bed, answering messages as he charged his phone.

“Send a copy of my schedule to Xiao Luo,” Xu Jingzhe suddenly said to Zhu Xiaoxiao. “Do you have a copy of it?”

Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded. “Yes.” She didn’t think much of it. “Is that all?”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t understand. “What else would I need to send?” 

Zhu Xiaoxiao said very naturally, “Send them a photo or something.”

“…” Xu Jingzhe didn’t expect such a request. He thought for a while and said, “I guess I can do that. Help me take the photo. Make sure to get my good side. Also, remember to edit it a little bit. It’s best if you show me the photo before you send it.”

Zhu Xiaoxiao: “…” Her idol really cared too much about appearances.

After sending out his schedule, Xu Jingzhe felt that he’d accomplished something big. He didn’t know what he was so nervous about. He’d probably just been frightened by the fifty-six missed calls on his phone. 

In addition to Liang Yu, there was also a message from Dr. Chen. He asked Xu Jingzhe about his current condition.

Xu Jingzhe thought to himself for a bit. Eventually, he replied that he had already joined the film crew and wouldn’t be able to attend consultations for the time being.

Generally, Xu Jingzhe would make his jobs clear to Dr. Chen. The length of his working hours would determine how stressed he’d be when he visited Dr. Chen. His psychogenic erectile dysfunction was unequivocally tied to the pressures of his environment. Dr. Chen was worried that his condition would get worse under the stressful working conditions he was laboring under.

“You need to learn how to relax,” Dr. Chen patiently persuaded him. “Don’t push yourself too hard.” 

Xu Jingzhe: “I’ve been pretty good recently. I feel very happy.”

Dr. Chen was a little surprised. “Happy? Did something good happen?”

Xu Jingzhe’s fingers hovered above his cell phone keyboard. For a moment, he didn’t know how to answer the question. It was true that he hadn’t felt so happy, so relaxed, so natural in such a long time.

These were all things that he could only have when he was with Liang Yu. 

Signing autographs. Gardening. Fishing. Liang Yu made him happy all the time.

“If my emotions change but my body still doesn’t go back to normal…” Xu Jingzhe didn’t continue typing. Suddenly, he didn’t have the guts to finish that question.