By the end of that evening's hotpot dinner, Xu Xishuang finally managed to eat several slices of meat from the spicy broth. Before Xiao Wang could begin lecturing him, he clapped his hands over his ears and hurried back to his room. He flopped onto the bed, ready for a blissful evening browsing the internet.
Rolling over, he caught sight of a T-shirt draped over a chair. It took him several seconds to remember that it belonged to Yan Yushan.
After a long hesitation, Xu Xishuang reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and tossed the shirt into the washing machine. He would wash it, hang it out to dry, and, in this sweltering weather, return it to Yan Yushan tomorrow.
Having started the wash, he returned to bed and opened Weibo. The first post recommended to him was Yan Yushan's announcement. Xu Xishuang thought for a moment, then reposted it with an equally brief caption: “Hello, everyone. I'm Yu Xiang.”
“”
The official account's statement was courteously worded. Xu Xishuang hadn't known anything about that day's trending topic. Following the online discussion, he found the photograph that had been trending. Seeing it featured only himself and Yan Yushan, he lost interest and idly skimmed the comments.
Thanks to Yan Yushan's and the production's official explanation, the conversation had become considerably more rational. But when Weibo users discovered that Bitter Summer starred two men and read the description on the official account, they were amazed that Yan Yushan had dared direct a film about same-sex love. Naturally, they began to speculate.
There had been quite a few same-sex films and dramas over the past two years. But someone of Yan Yushan's standing and talent choosing to 'go into' this genre, and as a director no less—did that mean something about his sexual orientation…?
Oh? Had Yan Yushan been straight before this? Xu Xishuang grew interested and kept reading the netizens' analysis.
Yan Yushan had never shown interest in men or women. Anyone who dared approach him with romantic intentions had long since had their career buried six feet under, so no one had paid much attention to his orientation before. Now that he was directing a same-sex romance, however, the internet launched a thorough investigation. Eventually, the commenters reached a unanimous conclusion: Yan Yushan was asexual and had no sex drive whatsoever.
Xu Xishuang: …
An asexual, sexless Yan Yushan had nearly fucked him to death??
Speechless, Xu Xishuang replied from his alternate account, “Absolutely impossible.” Ignoring the people who argued with him, he continued browsing happily.
Yan Yushan truly deserved his status as a superstar. Six out of every ten Weibo posts Xu Xishuang encountered involved him. Someone had pushed that day's photograph of the two of them back into circulation and added a production still showing Xu Xishuang with Chi Siyuan. The caption read, “Sisters, we've got a new feast to enjoy!”
Xu Xishuang looked more closely. Although he'd spent some time in entertainment himself, he wasn't familiar with every bit of industry slang. He headed straight to the comments for an explanation.
Once he'd ignored the insults—comments accusing Xu Xishuang and Chi Siyuan of trying to exploit Yan Yushan's fame—he quickly discovered what the other netizens meant.
They wanted to ship him with Yan Yushan, and also ship him with Chi Siyuan!
Xu Xishuang spotted a user named “I Can Stay Single but My Ship Must Have Sex for Three Days and Nights.” She seemed to be a prolific fan creator; countless people were begging for content in her replies. Responding to the original poster, she wrote, “But neither pairing has really worked together before. It's hard to cook up fan content without material.”
The replies were filled with more despairing cries for content. Unable to contain his curiosity, Xu Xishuang left a comment: “Why do you only ship Xu Xishuang with Yan Yushan or Xu Xishuang with Chi Siyuan? Why not ship Yan Yushan with Chi Siyuan?”
Those two were the original novel's official couple! All the ships they were supporting were heretical!
Someone responded almost immediately. “Because a sickly beauty goes with everyone.”
“Because Chi Siyuan is obviously a loyal-puppy top! And no one's going to dispute that Yan Yushan is the entertainment industry's ultimate top, right? Putting two tops together is such a waste. Besides, they have absolutely no chemistry.”
“How could someone as much of a bottom as Xu Xishuang not have a top to dote on him?!”
“There's the domineering older top × cold, sickly beauty pairing with its forceful older-man dynamic, and the sunny loyal puppy × proud sickly beauty pairing with its pure younger-man romance! Both are ridiculously shippable! Yan Yushan and Chi Siyuan just aren't a good match, mm…”
Xu Xishuang stared at his phone like an elderly man trying to comprehend the subway's latest technology: …
The internet really was hopeless these days. They couldn't even identify the actual canonical couple.
More than an hour later, Xu Xishuang finally set down his phone. Just before going to sleep, he received a call from Sister Zhao.
Her voice was gentle. “Xishuang, I saw you posted on Weibo today. Why have you suddenly decided to start promoting yourself?”
Xu Xishuang: ?
“To help promote the movie,” Xu Xishuang said, bewildered. “Why? Is something wrong, Sister Zhao?”
“No, nothing at all.” She hesitated before asking, “Xishuang, have you been having some trouble lately? You can tell me. I'll find a way to help you.”
Xu Xishuang: ??
He thought about it for a moment and then understood.
The original owner almost never promoted himself and always acted cold and indifferent. Sister Zhao had grown accustomed to it. Now that Xu Xishuang was cooperating normally with publicity, she considered that abnormal!
“I'm fine, Sister Zhao. There's nothing wrong,” Xu Xishuang replied. “I just thought that since Yan Yushan is directing this movie, I ought to show him some respect and help advertise it with a few more Weibo posts.”
Yan Yushan: the perfect excuse for everything!
Sister Zhao wanted to say something, but held back.
She wanted to point out that Yan Yushan had a hundred times as many Weibo followers as he did and probably didn't care about his little bit of promotion. Still, it was good that her artist wanted to participate. She said nothing more, confirmed that Xu Xishuang was all right, and ended the call. Then she began considering which activity she should arrange for him next.
Xu Xishuang turned off his phone and drifted peacefully to sleep.
Only when he woke the next morning and entered the bathroom to wash up did he suddenly remember Yan Yushan's shirt. It had been sitting in the washing machine for eight hours.
Feeling guilty, Xu Xishuang pulled it out. Once he confirmed it hadn't lost its shape, he sighed in relief, hung it on the little balcony, and left for the set to prepare for the day's shoot.
Most of the scenes that day belonged to Chi Siyuan, so Xu Xishuang didn't really need to attend. He got up a little later than usual, and by the time he arrived, filming had already begun.
He sat nearby and watched. Chi Siyuan was shooting the scene in which Xia Qinglang first met his classmates. Xia Qinglang found their experiences and ideas intriguing and couldn't understand their fascination with city people, but he quickly hid his surprise and tried to fit in.
Chi Siyuan's acting was still immature, but his own personality was very similar to Xia Qinglang's, so there weren't any major difficulties and filming went fairly smoothly. Still, his performance wasn't especially remarkable. If someone searched the entertainment industry for actors better suited to Xia Qinglang, they would undoubtedly find quite a few.
Thinking this, Xu Xishuang took a sip of the warm water Xiao Wang handed him and wondered how Yan Yushan had chosen his cast. It couldn't have been an investor forcing Chi Siyuan into the role. Yan Yushan himself was the biggest investor of all.
Then perhaps Yan Yushan simply liked Chi Siyuan and wanted to give him an opportunity?
Xu Xishuang thoughtfully stroked his chin and kept watching him.
Naturally, Chi Siyuan noticed. During a break, he flashed Xu Xishuang a radiant smile, bounded over like a puppy, and squatted enthusiastically in front of the low stool where Xu Xishuang sat. “Senior, was my acting good?”
“Average.” Since Chi Siyuan had called him Senior, Xu Xishuang felt free to be honest. “You still need a lot more practice.”
Chi Siyuan looked disappointed for an instant, as though his imaginary puppy tail had drooped. But he quickly cheered up. “Then, Senior, could I come to you to practice my lines?”
“Sure.” Xu Xishuang didn't hesitate long; he'd been bored lately too. “But wouldn't it be better to ask Director Yan? He wrote the script, after all. He could guide you better.”
Xu Xishuang was cautiously trying to play matchmaker for the novel's main couple. What if, in the original plot, Chi Siyuan had approached Yan Yushan instead?
He'd also considered that the safest course would be to keep both the main top and main bottom as far away as possible. But then he remembered that the original Xu Xishuang had died after leaving entertainment and distancing himself from both of them. There might be no causal link, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful.
He needed to maintain an appropriate degree of closeness with them. He didn't want to become an obstacle to their romance or an unwanted third wheel.
Unexpectedly, Chi Siyuan shook his head so hard it almost blurred. “No, no! Director Yan looks terrifying. I'm scared he'll yell at me.”
Xu Xishuang asked in surprise, “And why do you think I won't yell at you?”
“But I'm really scared of Director Yan,” he said pitifully, wearing the wounded expression of a puppy. “Senior, it's okay if you scold me. I can—I can take it.”
Looking at Chi Siyuan's round eyes, Xu Xishuang felt an itch in his hand. And he acted on it, reaching out to pat Chi Siyuan's head. “All right. Send me a message when you finish filming tonight. I'll run through the lines with you.”
Chi Siyuan instantly sprang back to life. He leaned into Xu Xishuang's hand, so happy his tail might have wagged, and discreetly rubbed his head against Xu Xishuang's snow-white wrist. He was about to say something else when Yan Yushan called from across the set, “Chi Siyuan, come film the next scene.”
Xu Xishuang watched Chi Siyuan wilt at the sound of Yan Yushan's voice. He reluctantly rose, waved goodbye, and ran back into the classroom set to continue filming.
Xu Xishuang happened to glance toward Yan Yushan, meeting his eyes by chance. Yan Yushan recoiled as if he'd been burned, immediately looking away to stare at the camera.
Xu Xishuang: ?
Yan Yushan watched Chi Siyuan on the camera monitor with a distracted mind. He'd noticed Xu Xishuang the moment he arrived and prepared himself for the man to come over and greet him. But instead, Xu Xishuang had spent the entire time looking at Chi Siyuan, then chatted with him endlessly, smiled at him, and even reached out to touch him…
Yan Yushan found himself inexplicably irritated. He took a bottle of cold water from the mini-fridge and drank deeply, but it didn't reduce his irritation at all.
The crew quickly noticed his change in mood. Most obviously, he began demanding that Chi Siyuan repeat take after take, refusing to tolerate the slightest imperfection. It was a complete departure from his gentle attitude toward Chi Siyuan the day before.
Remarkably, Chi Siyuan endured it, and his performance improved with each take. He was like a dull blade newly drawn from its sheath, repeatedly forced against the whetstone by Yan Yushan until it began to show its cutting edge.
Watching from the sidelines, Xu Xishuang nodded approvingly. So this was how the novel's main couple got along! It seemed they had a bit of that love-hate, rivals-in-romance dynamic.
Author's note:
Xu Xishuang: So it's love and hate.
Yan Yushan and Chi Siyuan: Only hate. No love. ?
Cultural Notes
• ‘Going to sea’ (下海, xià hǎi) — In Chinese entertainment slang, this can mean a male performer taking a role in a boys'-love drama or related production. It is used jokingly here about a major star taking part in a same-sex romance film, especially when fans speculate about his sexuality. It does not mean that Yan Yushan literally goes to sea.
• ‘Eating a CP,’ ‘making food,’ and ‘heretical ships’ (嗑CP, kē CP; 产粮, chǎn liáng; 邪教CP, xiéjiào CP) — Chinese fandom uses CP (from ‘couple’) for a pairing that fans want to see together. To ‘eat’ or ‘ship’ a CP is to enjoy imagining that romance; ‘food’ means fan-made stories, art, or edits, so fans begging for food want more creations. A ‘heretical’ CP jokingly means a pairing outside the original story's official couple, rather than an actual religious cult.
