—My wife likes it. I’ll keep him company and let him have some fun.
Chu Yao replayed the voice message five times and still could not understand why Jin Zhihan would say something so ambiguous.
His voice had a slightly husky texture, carrying several shades of indulgence and fondness.
Had he already predicted back then that netizens would question their relationship?
He had never once called Chu Yao “wife” to his face.
Who would have guessed? The man was actually pretty good at acting.
Chu Yao rubbed his burning ear. An indescribable awkwardness lingered in his heart.
“You’re still listening to it?” Qin Yuan suddenly leaned his head over, startling Chu Yao. “Hearing Jin Zhihan call you that makes your heart race, doesn’t it?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chu Yao pushed him away and put his phone aside.
Seeing that even Chu Yao’s ears had gone red, Qin Yuan stopped teasing him. “The producer’s move worked pretty well. A lot of netizens have dropped their doubts now. Maybe they figure if a rich man is willing to spoil his wife, then it must be true love.”
“True love isn’t that casual.” Chu Yao did not want to talk to him about something so mushy and changed the subject. “Didn’t we arrange dinner with Director Han? Isn’t it time?”
“I came in to tell you it’s time to leave.” Qin Yuan remembered the actual business at hand.
Chu Yao said, “Then hurry up.”
By the time they reached the hotel, it was already dark.
The dinner was to discuss Chu Yao’s next movie. Until now he had filmed mostly art-house movies and action films and had never challenged himself with science fiction. Chu Yao did not want to stay trapped in his comfort zone and never chose the same kind of role twice.
Director Han’s science-fiction film released during the Spring Festival season had broken the domestic box-office record. Now every actor in the industry hoped for the chance to work with him, yet he had approached Chu Yao directly and invited him to collaborate on his new film.
For Chu Yao, an opportunity like this was rare. Out of respect at dinner, he drank several extra glasses of alcohol.
Qin Yuan knew Chu Yao could not hold his liquor and sensed he was about to get drunk. Under the table, he lightly nudged Chu Yao’s leg as a hint for him to drink less.
He knew what Chu Yao was thinking. Chu Yao was afraid Director Han would think he had become arrogant after marrying a financial tycoon, so he was using the toasts to restore a sense of balance.
After dinner ended, Director Han and the others left first. Qin Yuan saw that Chu Yao’s face was flushed and asked a waiter to bring him some hangover soup.
“How has your alcohol tolerance not improved at all after all these years?” Qin Yuan put the soup in front of Chu Yao. “Can you drink it yourself?”
“This tastes awful.” Chu Yao braced himself against the wall and stood. “I’m going to the restroom.”
Afraid he would fall, Qin Yuan hurriedly set down the bowl. “I’ll help you—”
Before he could finish, Chu Yao had already rushed out the door. The restroom was just around the corridor. Chu Yao followed the wall, and when he turned the corner, he unexpectedly walked straight into someone’s chest.
He looked up and saw a pair of dark, ink-deep eyes—the same pair he had opened his eyes to on countless mornings.
His long fingers instinctively tightened around Jin Zhihan’s arm. Using him for support, Chu Yao steadied himself and said softly, “What a coincidence. You’re here for business too.”
Jin Zhihan lowered his eyes to the flushed young man in front of him and remembered the first time they met.
Back then, Chu Yao had also drunk too much. He had been wearing the same kind of clean white shirt when he carelessly stumbled around a corridor corner and crashed into Jin Zhihan’s chest.
The young man’s dense, long lashes had drooped, hiding his clear eyes. The instant he lifted them, dazzling light from the crystal lamps overhead poured into his pitch-black pupils.
His black hair had been soft, his features exquisite. Light wrapped him in something like a gentle filter. Standing there before Jin Zhihan, he had looked like a shot from a film.
No one knew that the very first time Jin Zhihan saw him, a desire to possess him had arisen in his heart.
Coming back to himself, Jin Zhihan placed a hand at Chu Yao’s waist. His point of concern was strangely specific. “You didn’t drink on an empty stomach, did you?”
Chu Yao was unused to such intimate contact and reflexively struggled outward. Jin Zhihan immediately let go.
“I ate before drinking.” After answering his question, Chu Yao pointed toward the restroom. “I’ll go over there first?”
“Mm.”
Chu Yao had not expected Jin Zhihan to still be waiting in the same place when he came out of the restroom.
At the moment, he was leaning lazily against the wall at an angle, his relaxed posture giving him a rare touch of rakish elegance.
Then again, their marriage was already public. There was no longer any need to fear the media photographing them together.
“I told Qin Yuan. You’re going home with me.” Jin Zhihan met Chu Yao’s gaze and slowly straightened.
Chu Yao’s eyes were slightly unfocused. It almost looked as though there were two Jin Zhihans in front of him. After a delayed pause, he lightly nodded.
The two got into the car one after the other in silence.
The driver started the engine smoothly. Neon lights flickered along the nighttime road, which was unusually quiet.
Chu Yao was a very well-behaved drunk. Once he drank, all he wanted to do was sleep. Especially in a gently rocking car, peaceful as a baby’s cradle. His head bobbed several times before his eyelids finally lost the battle, and he toppled sideways with his head landing on the thigh of the man beside him.
Jin Zhihan had been checking emails when a fluffy head suddenly dropped onto his leg. Apparently still not comfortable enough, Chu Yao pressed his face against Jin Zhihan’s inner thigh and rubbed against it, shifting around until he was satisfied.
Jin Zhihan enjoyed this rare show of dependence. He patted Chu Yao’s back soothingly, almost as if coaxing a child.
After some unknown amount of time, Chu Yao fell deeply asleep. His even breaths seeped through the fabric of Jin Zhihan’s trousers and brushed his skin.
Jin Zhihan suddenly felt that time had become very difficult to endure.
When they reached home, Chu Yao still had not woken. Unwilling to disturb his sleep, Jin Zhihan carried him out of the car.
The alcohol had fully hit him by then. Chu Yao curled obediently and softly in Jin Zhihan’s arms like a cat, completely unconscious with drink.
The driver who witnessed all of this wore the fond smile of an old father, his whole face screaming that he had been thoroughly fed by the ship.
He was probably the person who knew best just how much President Jin liked Chu Yao.
Once, Chu Yao had suffered a minor accident while filming in a neighboring city. President Jin had been in the middle of an important shareholders’ meeting, yet the instant he received the news, he immediately dismissed the meeting and ordered the driver to take him there.
Unfortunately, by the time President Jin arrived, Chu Yao had already left the hospital where he had been treated and returned to North City.
Moments of regret like that had happened more than once. The driver knew far too many secrets, but every time, President Jin stressed that he was not allowed to tell anyone.
Who would ever imagine that the domineering CEO in everyone else’s eyes had been carrying a one-sided love all this time?
–
Filming for Heartbeat Tempo was about to begin. In late April, Chu Yao and Jin Zhihan went to dinner with the show’s producer and went over the filming process.
The show would be filmed in Cloud City, a captivating place where it felt like spring all year round. It had an ancient town, primeval forests, dreamlike snowcapped mountains, and countless good filming locations.
The three guest couples would each stay in one of three small villas built in local architectural styles and spend fifteen days living there.
The more everyday portion would focus on life inside the villa and show sweet little interactions between husbands, such as cooking and washing dishes together. The more conventional variety-show portion would involve the three couples eating together or going out to visit attractions and have fun.
In short, for those fifteen days, they would be the masters of their villas. They had to solve everything themselves, and unless necessary, the production team would not interfere.
Only when filming was truly about to begin did Chu Yao realize how quickly time had passed. He did not have much experience with reality shows, and he felt nervous inside.
But what had to come would come. The closer the day drew, the more he began to look forward to it instead.
The restaurant was not far from Stellar Entertainment’s headquarters. After dinner, Jin Zhihan asked Chu Yao whether he wanted to stop by and take a look.
Chu Yao had been to Stellar Entertainment several times before, but that had been before he knew Jin Zhihan.
He had gone there to audition for a movie that needed two male leads. One role had been given to an artist signed under Stellar. Chu Yao had not held much hope of getting the other part, yet unexpectedly, he passed the audition smoothly.
Stellar’s office tower soared into the clouds and had forty floors in total. Chu Yao followed Jin Zhihan to the executive offices on the top floor.
It was said that only the company’s top artists were qualified to come to this floor. Newcomers who had just debuted at the bottom of the ladder might ordinarily struggle even to see Jin Zhihan in person.
Chu Yao’s own management company was extremely prestigious within the industry, but compared with Stellar, its internal setup looked embarrassingly modest.
Jin Zhihan did not concern himself with him, so Chu Yao wandered around on his own. Several friends he had met while filming and still got along well with worked at Stellar, and sure enough, he soon ran into someone he knew.
“The boss’s wife is here for an inspection?” The other man gave him a teasing smile and bumped Chu Yao’s arm. “You hid it well. If I hadn’t seen the news, I still wouldn’t have known.”
“All right, enough useless talk.” Chu Yao could not be bothered to explain much. “Take me around and show me the place.”
“At your command, boss’s wife.” Wen Yan pressed his five fingers together and made a mock salute.
“Call me that one more time and see what happens.”
“I wouldn’t dare. I’m afraid President Jin would fire me.” Wen Yan had always had a smart mouth.
When they reached the elevator, he held down the button. “That show actually invited me to be the little assistant. I thought running errands sounded exhausting, so I turned them down. If I’d known you and President Jin were going, I definitely would’ve agreed.”
The producer had mentioned hiring a life assistant to help them solve everyday problems and act as a travel guide. The person for the role had not yet been finalized.
Chatting as they went, they arrived on the twentieth floor. Wen Yan and Chu Yao had barely stepped out of the elevator when Wen Yan opened his mouth to speak and ran head-on into someone.
Wen Yan’s expression stiffened instantly. From the corner of his eye, he quickly sneaked a look at Chu Yao.
All right. The person actually involved was much calmer than he was.
“Chu Yao, so you’re married.” Xie Yichen had come to Stellar on business. He spoke first, forcing himself to smile. “I’m really happy to see you doing well now.”
Chu Yao narrowed his eyes. A trace of scrutiny entered his gaze. He looked Xie Yichen over for a long moment before finally smiling.
Seeing how well Chu Yao had married, he was probably furious inside.
“Let’s go.” Chu Yao lifted his chin slightly at Wen Yan and walked straight past Xie Yichen.
He never wasted time on people he did not want to acknowledge.
Xie Yichen turned to watch Chu Yao’s back, thick unwillingness spilling into his eyes.
He understood Chu Yao. The more Chu Yao needled him like this, the more it proved he still cared about him.
At the thought, a confident smile curved Xie Yichen’s lips as he stepped into the elevator.
–
On April 30, Chu Yao and Jin Zhihan flew to Cloud City.
No one knew where the major media outlets got the information, but they rushed in from every direction to surround them.
Chu Yao left the airport with Jin Zhihan’s arm around him. Jin Zhihan protected him tightly so no one else could bump into him.
He was obviously a grown man in his twenties, yet in Jin Zhihan’s eyes, he seemed no different from a child incapable of protecting himself. Chu Yao found it mortifying.
The moment photos from the scene were uploaded online, a huge wave of people shipped them into oblivion.
[Waaah, who could look at that boyfriend energy and not fall for him!!]
[Baby Yao looks so tiny in President Jin’s arms!! How can they be this well matched!!]
[The show hasn’t even aired yet and I’m already dying with anticipation. I waited a whole month and finally got some material!!]
[They’re already in Cloud City. Can it start tomorrow? They should be beginning filming, right?! Can they start at midnight?]
[Sister above, at that hour do you want to watch them roll around in bed on livestream? The regulators won’t allow it. [dog-head] To be completely honest, I want to watch too.]
[I don’t care. My ship is the sweetest in the whole entertainment industry!!]
[I’ve already moved into the doghouse of your love. You two had better keep my bowl full of dog food.]
In his fans’ eyes, Chu Yao’s personality shifted between cool reserve and warm thoughtfulness. He was like the caring older boy next door, the type who knew how to look after people. But—
Whenever he was in Jin Zhihan’s arms, he turned into a cute, tiny Pomeranian who needed his owner to take care of him.
The contrast was unbearably adorable!