Yan Yushan had imagined all sorts of demands, but it had never occurred to him that Xu Xishuang would ask for tonics as compensation.
Jiang Yangze was just about to agree on Yan Yushan's behalf and declare that he could supply as many tonics as Xu Xishuang wanted, but Yan Yushan stopped him first. He said gravely, “You can't just take tonics indiscriminately.”
“I'll find you a qualified doctor,” Yan Yushan continued. “He'll give you professional guidance and help improve your health. Would that be all right?”
“Mm.” Xu Xishuang was somewhat more satisfied.
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
Jiang Yangze looked at one icy sickly beauty sitting with his mouth shut and one cold-faced demon king equally unwilling to speak. Caught between them, he felt as though he might freeze into an icicle. He had no choice but to conscientiously keep the conversation moving. “Well, Xiao Xu, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Jiang Yangze, a close friend of Yan Yushan's. Is there anything else you want? Brother Yan can definitely get it for you.”
What Xu Xishuang wanted most right then was birth control. He wanted to see whether he could avoid the child who would cost him his life in the original plot. But there was no way he could say that to Yan Yushan and Jiang Yangze. He had no idea how the author had even come up with the bizarre premise of male pregnancy; no normal person would think of such a thing, and he didn't want the two men to believe he was insane.
So Xu Xishuang said, “I want to leave the hospital.”
Yan Yushan studied his pallid complexion and frowned slightly. He said patiently, “I'll ask the doctor.”
Yan Yushan turned and left the ward, his perpetually tense shoulders finally relaxing a little. Jiang Yangze glanced after him, pulled up a chair beside Xu Xishuang's bed, and tried to strike up a conversation.
But he could see that Xu Xishuang genuinely lacked the energy to talk, so he tactfully kept quiet. Xu Xishuang seized the opportunity to consider what he should do next.
After thinking it through, he decided on the simplest possible strategy: from this point forward, he would do the exact opposite of whatever happened in the original novel. The sickly beauty ran away? He wouldn't. The sickly beauty retired from entertainment? He certainly wouldn't. He would keep acting and stir up all the trouble he pleased in show business!
Yan Yushan soon returned to the ward. He nodded slightly to Xu Xishuang and said, “The doctor says you're free to leave. The discharge paperwork is already done.”
Xu Xishuang immediately sat up, forgetting just how frail his new body was. He moved so abruptly that dizziness washed over him, darkness danced before his eyes, and he nearly fainted all over again.
He quickly steadied himself, blinked, and, under Yan Yushan's and Jiang Yangze's shocked and worried gazes, gritted out, “I'll be going now.”
For two seconds, he stared at Yan Yushan's perfect face, the one that drove countless fans wild, before reluctantly looking away. Although the man's looks matched his preferences perfectly and his performance in bed had been excellent, Yan Yushan belonged to the novel's main bottom. The two of them were never meant to be.
“I'll send you the doctor's contact details in a moment.” Yan Yushan started to reach out and support Xu Xishuang, then hesitantly pulled his hand back. “About the film…”
He had assumed that after what happened, Xu Xishuang would refuse to continue shooting without a second thought. To his surprise, Xu Xishuang showed no particular emotion. He simply snatched his jacket from beside the chair, put it on, and said, “I'll keep filming.”
Jiang Yangze's mouth dropped open.
Xu Xishuang was in a hurry to buy contraception and didn't want to waste time here. He gave them a cool nod and walked out of the room without a backward glance.
Jiang Yangze stared after him, dumbstruck. After a long moment, he turned to Yan Yushan. “Brother, it looks like Xu Xishuang really, really hates you.”
And he was genuinely dedicated to his work.
Yan Yushan said nothing. He, too, left the ward.
Once outside, Xu Xishuang discovered that the hospital was a private facility with excellent privacy. No wonder a superstar like Yan Yushan had dared show his face without a mask. He checked his pockets and quietly breathed a sigh of relief when he found his wallet, keys, phone, and other essentials safely inside his jacket.
He soon realized, however, that he was wearing Yan Yushan's clothes beneath it. Yan Yushan had probably dressed him. Judging by the label, the garment cost at least five figures. It hung loosely on him, and he could still smell Yan Yushan's faint woody fragrance.
After considering it for two seconds, Xu Xishuang decided to find a chance to return it.
He dug a face mask out of his jacket, covered his mouth and nose completely, hailed a taxi at the roadside, and gave the driver a destination near the hotel from the previous night.
He got out feeling dizzy, followed his phone's directions to a pharmacy, and found that the short walk had already made his legs go weak. Once again, Xu Xishuang marveled at his sickly constitution. He scanned a code to buy a box of contraceptive pills, stuffed it into his jacket under the shop assistant's disapproving, 'what a scumbag' stare, and slowly made his way back to the hotel.
In his room, he boiled a kettle of water, mixed it with bottled water he'd purchased on the way to make it lukewarm, and took two contraceptive pills.
Xu Xishuang silently apologized to the child that might already exist inside his belly, hoping it would be born into a good family in its next life instead of transmigrating into a disposable baby-delivery device like him.
After taking the pills, Xu Xishuang felt even worse. A twisting pain gripped his abdomen, and it took a long time to subside. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, dragged his body out of his room with the box of leftover pills clenched in his hand, then furtively tossed it into a communal hotel trash can like a thief.
There was no way he'd throw it away in his own room. Considering how unprofessional this hotel's staff had been, he seriously suspected that some awful scandal would break before the following morning if he did.
Having accomplished his mission, Xu Xishuang slowly returned to his room, entirely unaware that a figure standing in the corner had witnessed his entire suspicious performance.
Yan Yushan had returned to the hotel to settle accounts with the person who'd drugged him the night before. He hadn't expected to run into Xu Xishuang as soon as he came back. Remembering Jiang Yangze's claim that Xu Xishuang hated him, he stopped involuntarily, intending to wait until the other man had gone before heading over.
He hadn't meant to intrude on anyone's privacy. Nevertheless, when Yan Yushan passed the trash can, he couldn't resist looking inside.
Against the used paper and cigarette butts, the contraceptive-pill packaging stood out conspicuously.
At that moment, Yan Yushan felt as though lightning had struck him.
…
Back in his room, Xu Xishuang received the doctor's contact details from Yan Yushan. He sent back a brief “Thank you,” opened the contact card, and discovered that the doctor was also surnamed Xu, making them namesakes of sorts.
Xu Xishuang added Doctor Xu on WeChat and arranged a complete physical examination for the following day. The doctor promised to draw up a comprehensive health-improvement plan for him as quickly as possible. Satisfied, Xu Xishuang said goodbye and flopped onto his bed to catch up on sleep.
That bastard Yan Yushan had tossed him around all night. He'd barely slept. In any case, Yan Yushan's movie wouldn't officially begin filming for another week. The location crew was busy setting everything up, while the actors had nothing to do for the time being. Yan Yushan was paying for the hotel; Xu Xishuang might as well make the most of it.
He also planned to spend these few days using his phone and information online to sort out the original owner's relationships. He hadn't inherited any of the man's memories upon transmigrating. Everything he knew about this world came from the boys' love novel.
By the next day, before arriving at Doctor Xu's private clinic, Xu Xishuang had gained a basic understanding of the world and a much more concrete appreciation of Yan Yushan's status in the entertainment industry.
Yan Yushan came from an extremely wealthy family. Since childhood, all his friends had been privileged heirs from the world's most powerful families, people who stood at the very top of their respective fields. He had entered the entertainment industry before reaching adulthood, making his debut as a child actor in a film by a renowned director. He started at the top, and his acting lived up to the opportunity: he became an award-winning young film star early on, then swept the industry's three major film awards after coming of age.
Not only was Yan Yushan unrivaled in the acting world, the most prestigious part of the entertainment industry's hierarchy, but he was also talented at almost everything. He had sung opening and closing songs for films, performed ballet and Latin dance, and even served as a mentor on a boy-band competition. Now he had ambitiously set his sights on directing, preparing to shoot an art-house film about same-sex love.
Xu Xishuang had learned that same-sex marriage was legal in this world. But the law had only passed a few years ago, and public acceptance was still incomplete.
The original novel said very little about this film, and Xu Xishuang hadn't had time to read the screenplay yet, so he had no idea what story Yan Yushan intended to tell. The film hadn't been officially announced either. All he knew was that he was one of the leads; he didn't even know who the other actors were.
The original Xu Xishuang's parents had died, and the grandparents who raised him had also passed away several years earlier. He spent most of his time recuperating at home and only accepted jobs when he ran low on money. His manager generally left him alone, although she made sure he didn't miss out on good opportunities. Overall, she was quite responsible. The original owner was distant, unsociable, and had almost no friends. His contact list was tiny, and his health wouldn't have allowed him to socialize much anyway.
While Xu Xishuang was lost in thought, time passed. He completed the entire examination and sat across from Doctor Xu, waiting to hear the results.
Doctor Xu was a stern-faced young man with upright features and slightly thinning hair. He inspired a certain instinctive awe; no one would have questioned his professional competence on account of his youth.
Noticing Xu Xishuang staring at the top of his head, Doctor Xu lifted his eyes and said gravely, “I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?”
“The bad news.” Xu Xishuang thought the doctor was surprisingly playful.
No matter how bad it was, it couldn't be worse than transmigrating into a baby-delivery device.
“Your immune system is congenitally deficient,” Doctor Xu said. “Existing medicines can't treat it. We can only work on improving your overall condition gradually.”
Xu Xishuang wasn't surprised. “What's the good news, then?”
Doctor Xu said, “We're planning to name the disease after you.”
Xu Xishuang: ???
Xu Xishuang was speechless for a moment before asking, “So how do you treat it?”
Doctor Xu glanced at him. “At this stage? Try to stay in a good mood.”
Xu Xishuang: … ?
Notes
• The ‘Three Golds’ (三金, sān jīn) — In Chinese-language cinema, this often refers to the Golden Rooster Awards (mainland China), Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan), and Hong Kong Film Awards. Saying Yan Yushan has won all three presents him as a rare, exceptionally successful film actor, not simply someone with three unrelated trophies.
