CH 11

Xi Nian was rarely influenced by anyone’s emotions, but Lu Xingzhe’s demeanour often made him feel angry. His grip on the other person’s chin gradually intensified, and his voice had a slight coldness to it: “Last time asking, why are you following me?”

Lu Xingzhe’s chin was pinched to the point of pain, but he didn’t even move his eyelids. He looked straight into Xi Nian’s eyes and gestured towards the camera in his hand, curling his lips and saying, “I’m just a little journalist. If you’re not afraid of tomorrow’s gossip magazine scribbling and saying you have a violent tendency, then I don’t mind making it true.”

Paparazzi were born to conquer celebrities, and gossip can really drive people to death.

Xi Nian didn’t doubt the veracity of these words. The feeling of being constrained everywhere in his previous life swept over his whole body in an instant, making his face a little grave. Lu Xingzhe was just teasing him, but he didn’t expect Xi Nian to be so incapable of taking jokes. He stared at Xi Nian’s pale lips for a moment, then changed his words: “I was just lying…”

There was a black signature pen in his pocket, and Lu Xingzhe twirled it nimbly between his fingertips, then tapped the car door lightly with the cap of the pen. He said with a smile, “I’m your fan, I just wanted to get an autograph after catching up.”

Xi Nian said, “Why should I trust you?”

The strength of the fingertips gradually loosened and dropped the chin it was holding.

Lu Xingzhe casually patted his unhealed leg; because he had stood for a long time, the gauze wrapped around his knee was not only the color of the medicine but also faintly tinged with dark red: “Anyway, you saved me, and I have no reason to hurt you, don’t you think so?”

Facing Lu Xingzhe’s playful eyes, Xi Nian knew his identity had been recognized by the other man, and he wasn’t too surprised, because some things couldn’t be kept secret for long.

Xi Nian asked him, “How did you find out?”

Lu Xingzhe said: “If I can’t even find this, I shall change my career as soon as possible.”

Seeing that Xi Nian was not moving after speaking, Lu Xingzhe passed the pen forward and asked with a low voice, “Sign your name?”

“…”

Xi Nian stared at him for a moment, then took the pen and pulled off its cap, only to find that Lu Xingzhe’s clothes were all black.

Lu Xingzhe also looked down, then pointed to the blue and white coat on his body, and said casually: “Then… sign here.”

Xi Nian reminded him: “That is my coat.”

Lu Xingzhe reacted: “Really?”

Xi Nian put the pen’s lid back on, not bothering to entangle with him: “Return the coat to me.”

Lu Xingzhe is a very “good” person, never greedy for small things. He opened his arms with a big grin, and looked at Xi Nian with a half-smile. There was an inexplicable seductive charm in his eyes: “Okay, you can take it off.”

Xi Nian didn’t move, wondering how there could be such a hooligan as Lu Xingzhe in the world.

Lu Xingzhe lazily leaned against the car door: “Don’t want to? Then I’ll leave without taking it off?”

After he finished speaking, Lu Xingzhe turned around and wanted to get in the car, but he was pulled out by Xi Nian before his butt even touched the seat—there was a muffled sound as the car’s door was slammed shut! Xi Nian pressed Lu Xingzhe’s face against the car window, with both his hands held behind his back. After Lu Xingzhe’s face came in contact with the glass, he could even feel the cold rain marks on it.

Even though Lu Xingzhe struggled to look back at him, he could still laugh at this moment: “You’re not getting angry from embarrassment, are you?

No one answered.

—It was just a coat, not something that was important for Xi Nian, but he just couldn’t get used to Lu Xingzhe being so proud.

The man didn’t say a word, and Xi Nian’s muscular body suddenly covered him from behind. The temperature was so hot that Lu Xingzhe shrank a little. Just as he was about to say something, a strange hand climbed up from his waist to his chest and then pinched the coat zipper ——

“Woo—”

When the zipper slammed down, most of the jacket came off.

Lu Xingzhe reached to hold down Xi Nian’s hand on the zipper and said with a half-smile: “Oh, I just wanted the coat for a while, I told you earlier, it’s not like I won’t return it to you.”

The coat was now loosely draped over Lu Xingzhe’s body, the cold wind poured in after it fell, taking away the remaining warmth from his body in an instant. Lu Xingzhe’s exposed skin was pale and cold, like jade, but his lips were still bright crimson.

Xi Nian had to admit that even if this paparazzi was not good at all, at least he had some advantages, such as sleeping with him, which was pretty vigorous.

Maybe too many things had happened today, which made Xi Nian constantly reminisce about his past life. Finally, Xi Nian no longer deliberately lowered his voice; his voice was deep and magnetic as he said, “No, I’ll take it myself.”

Lu Xingzhe’s ears were a little itchy, and his scalp felt numb after he heard Xi Nian’s voice, but he didn’t let go of the hand holding the zipper, implying: “Really? Why do I think you are deliberately taking advantage of me?”

As soon as Lu Xingzhe finished speaking, the hem of his clothes was lifted up. A slender waist was revealed underneath the clothes and the cold wind poured in, making him tremble all over. After Lu Xingzhe realized what Xi Nian had done, he turned around in surprise: “Hey… you…”

Xi Nian’s palm pressed against the sensitive skin around the other man’s waist, the force was not gentle; it could even be said to be fierce. Xi Nian was only satisfied when he saw a slight change in Lu Xingzhe’s laughing expression.

“Lu Xingzhe,” Xi Nian reminded him, “you have nothing to take advantage of.”

This kind of person never suffers any losses. Just like in the previous life, when he cut a wound on Lu Xingzhe, the other party had to bite off a piece of flesh from him like a maned dog. There was no longer any win-win situation but jade and the stone that burned together1.

Lu Xingzhe didn’t understand what Xi Nian was talking about, so he said with a smile, “Maybe you’re just good at talking and are just trying to take advantage of me.”

Xi Nian was holding the signature pen in his hand. He clamped Lu Xingzhe with one hand, and with the other hand, he started to draw on the back of the opponent’s waist. The tip of the pen was cool, and then a name was slowly outlined.

Xi Nian.

Xi, Nian…

Xi Nian made the last stroke and let go of Lu Xingzhe, he took a step back and pulled away all his strength. Then, due to a sudden lack of force holding the other man down, he saw Lu Xingzhe fall to the ground with dishevelled clothes. Because of being close to the window, his left side of the face was slightly red.

Lu Xingzhe was stunned for a second before he realized what Xi Nian had done. He touched the back of his waist, his fingertips felt the wet ink marks, and his ears turned red: “Hey…you… you…”

Lu Xingzhe wanted to say: how could you sign your name on me? But his tongue seemed to be tied up, and he couldn’t utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Xi Nian was satisfied when he saw that Lu Xingzhe had lost his composure, so even the coat became dispensable. Xi Nian looked at the other person quietly, and repeated what Lu Xingzhe said to him in the hospital that day: “You are in good shape.”

Lu Xingzhe closed his eyes. He never imagined that he would be molested by someone; his face was burning like a fire. He got up from the ground with his hands, opened the car door, and sat in the driver’s seat.

Through the half-open car window, Xi Nian raised his eyebrows and asked, “My Coat?”

Holding the steering wheel, Lu Xingzhe finally calmed down a little bit. He turned his head to look at Xi Nian, there was still the unfaded residual redness in his ears, and the broken hair on his forehead covered the expression Lu Xingzhe’s eyes held: “Just now I told you to take it off, but you didn’t. Now, I’ll give it back when I’m in a better mood.”

When he said this, Lu Xingzhe could feel the sensation of a lingering strange feeling in the back of his waist.

Xi Nian said, “It’s up to you.”

Xi Nian returned to the car after speaking, but did not leave immediately. He saw Lu Xingzhe driving away in the opposite direction from the rear-view mirror and then started the car to go home.

Today happened to be Saturday, and the first round of the elimination match of 《Star Movement Association》 was scheduled to be broadcast on the sports channel at 8 p.m. Given the turmoil caused by the elimination of Su Ge in recent days, some said he was not strong enough, while others said he was injured. This caused many melon eaters2 to wait in front of the TV, hoping to delve deeper into the true reason.

There was no way one could compare the level of an artist with that of a professional player. Except for the results of the first few places that were still eye-catching, the rest were almost horrible. Nobody laughed at anyone as everyone was half a catty3, and coupled with the bottom points in the ranking competition, many people believe that Su Ge lost due to injury.

[Not much to say, I’ll just take a look at how Su the Thousand Knives4 lost, and I’ll leave after watching.]

Su Ge’s face had been knifed, and many places have been fine-tuned. Being associated with the name thousand knives, inexplicably referred to this black history and a title that can not be erased. Braindead fans were most sensitive to such names, so a large group of them exploded.

[What kind of thousand knives nonsense are you talking about? I think you are the one who received a thousand knives, if you are jealous of Su Ge, just say it, don’t beat around the bush!]

[Thank you for Su Ge’s pure, natural, prospering beauty. It’s just that when you were a child, you fell on the side of your face and got stitches, so this black fan, please don’t bark up the wrong tree!]

[All the words have been said by certain fans, and it seems that you are the one who advocated that Su Ge will definitely win the championship before the game. Does your face hurt?]

[No one can guarantee the unexpected situation, but I can say that if Su Ge was not injured, there was an 80% chance of winning the championship!]

The fans of Meng Qianlin and Yu Fan were outraged when they heard the words: You treat my idol as a dead person?! Su Ge was only two rings ahead of second place, you still have a face to say that there was an 80% chance that he would win!? Unsurprisingly, the three parties clashed again, and the number of floors in the comment area increased, visible to the naked eye. In the midst of this bloody scene, just then, a comment quietly popped up.

[I have been to the scene of the second knockout round today. I personally think that No. 9 Xi Nian is the most likely to win the championship. He hit ten rings in a row with twelve arrows, and his strength is really tough.]

The user who posted the comment was a Big V5, certified as a personal trainer at a certain shooting range. He spoke impartially and didn’t bully anyone, but he was targeted by the braindead fans, as everyone seemed to think that they had been trampled on.

[How much black money was collected by the one upstairs. Let’s earn it together, send me too!]

[Yes, if seen from the bottom, the strength is indeed strong!]

[Twelve arrows hit ten rings in a row? Seriously? Have you seen it blow through?]

In the past few days, it has become customary for Xi Nian to be ridiculed, but today, unexpectedly, there was a small rebuttal voice.

[Whether it is really powerful or not, you can tell by watching TV. I would like to advise certain fans to accumulate virtue, so it won’t get too painful to be slapped in the face later.]

[Although Xi Nian has few fans, that doesn’t mean that any cat or dog can come and step on them. You will know it when you see it with your own eyes. He is handsome and kind, and whoever scolds him is blind!]

[The show is about to start! Xi Nian’s fans6, come and gather together! Let’s lick the beauty of Xi Ge’s prosperous age!!]

Lu Xingzhe came out of the bathroom wearing a nightgown; his hair was still wet and dripping with water. He casually stroked it behind his head and then sat down in front of the computer desk. Unexpectedly, he sat up straight as if he had been pulled to some painful point.

“Oh shit.”

Grinning his teeth, Lu Xingzhe rubbed his lower back, secretly scolding Xi Nian for his lack of virtue. There was nothing wrong with getting an autograph, but Xi Nian insisted on signing on his body; he almost rubbed his skin off while trying to wash the ink off.

The clock on the wall was ticking, pointing to eight o’clock impartially. Lu Xingzhe glanced at it, then turned on the computer and logged into the official website of the sports station—《Star Movement Association》 just started broadcasting.

yù shí jù fén: Jade and stone burned together: the metaphor means that whether it’s good or bad, all is destroyed together.

“Melon-eaters” is a slang that refers to people who posts to discuss issues in Internet forums, and then line up to follow posts and gossip, mostly just onlookers enjoying the gossips.

bàn jīn bā liǎng: Half a catty. The full metaphor is ‘half a catty equals eight tales’ as a catty in ancient times was 16 taels, so half a catty was 8 taels. This is now used in derogatory terms to refers to something evenly matched. Here it is referring to how no one could laugh at the other because everyone was at equal footing, and it would be like the pot calling the kettle black.

qiān dāo: thousand knives. In n ancient times, there was a punishment of cutting into pieces by a thousand knives, where flesh was cut to show the seriousness of the crime, and even death cannot atone for it. Now, it is used in derogatory way to curse someone to bear thousand knives as in receive bad luck and punishment due to hatred toward them.

Refers to Weibo users who have obtained personal certification on Weibo Platforms (social media).

[nián gāo] is the original word that is used here, which means Rice Cakes/New Year cake: Not explicitly mentioned yet, but this refers to Xi Nian’s fan support group, the word used here is 年糕 [nián gāo] whose first letter is similar to his name 席年 [xí nián], to create a fan group name similar to his name.