Chapter 17: Shower
This is peak viewing time for the livestream.
Many viewers clicked in, almost thinking they’d returned to Away’s old life vlogs.
“Why does this scene feel so familiar?!”
“Damn! He’s not hugging him!! Hug him!”
“Jiang Shulu, if you don’t hug him, I will!”
“Am I imagining things, or does Tang Yue seem even more lonely after becoming a father?”
“The loneliness is overwhelming, it’s heartbreaking. How has he been living all these years?”
“Social anxiety and seclusion really fit his persona, but I still hope his voice won’t be buried. I really want to go to his solo concert.”
“I thought back then that after the band disbanded, Tang Yue would continue his career as a solo singer, wuwuwu.”
“I saw someone on the forum dig up old suspicious posts. Is Evening Tang Yue?”
Seemingly not receiving a response to his outstretched hand, Tang Yue leaned closer to Jiang Shulu.
Jiang Shulu was certain Tang Yue was completely intoxicated.
He touched Tang Yue’s hair and said, “Xiao Yue, you’re drunk.”
Tang Yue didn’t even react; the next second, he was enveloped in a hug.
It was the embrace he’d longed for, carrying the familiar scent of ebony.
It was the source of Tang Yue’s sleepless nights for years, always making him crave the feeling of being embraced by Jiang Shulu.
The room wasn’t large, and it lacked the refined atmosphere of those travel variety show guesthouses.
The furniture had an aged feel to it.
But it was clean, like someone’s private room, now containing two people reunited after a long separation. Their embrace was filled with palpable tenderness.
Tang Yue still felt uncomfortable. After hugging for a while, he got bored and mumbled something about taking a shower.
The shower facilities weren’t great either. Jiang Shulu: “Can you manage?”
“It’s just helping Tang Yue shower! Jiang Shulu, can you be a little more considerate?!”
“He’s probably embarrassed, after all, they’re both grown men.”
“But I remember from interviews that they said they sometimes showered together.”
“Thinking about them showering together now is terrifying. The gay guy I imagined turned out to be the straightest straight man.”
“Let it go, they’re brothers. If they were going to get together, they would have by now.”
One hug had Tang Yue completely captivated. He nodded: “I can.”
Unfortunately, the alcohol’s aftereffects hit him, and he asked the person next to him: “Why are you here?”
Completely bewildered, his question was innocent.
The post-production team zoomed in on the shot.
Close enough to clearly show the bewilderment on Tang Yue’s face. His exceptionally beautiful eyes, under the dim wall lamp, were like flickering candle flames, instantly stirring up all the longing in Jiang Shulu’s heart.
Jiang Shulu: “I’m here with you for the show.”
Tang Yue replied with an “Oh”: “Where’s my son?”
He couldn’t remember if he’d brought his son. “Where’s my Meimei? Is he still playing outside? I… I need to go find him.”
Tang Yue suddenly jumped out of bed, putting on his shoes to leave.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Tang Yue drunk… so refreshing.”
“The alcohol’s too strong, even heavy drinkers would be tipsy.”
“I’m still immersed in the hug earlier, it was so tight… Jiang Shulu, did you ever have a moment of heart-fluttering back then?”
“I dare not think too much about it. If he had feelings back then, wouldn’t it be such a missed chance now, so heartbreaking!!”
“Think positively! It’s a new beginning. Isn’t Tang Yue alone now?”
“Fast forward to a family of three.”
“Am I the only one still clinging to the absurd fantasy that Tang Yue gave birth to the child…”
Tang Yue stumbled as he walked; walking a straight line was difficult, let alone stepping over the threshold. At the moment he was about to fall, Jiang Shulu scooped him up.
Jiang Shulu: “Come on, little Meimei’s dad, let’s get you a shower to cool down.”
He spoke with a smile. From the fixed camera position directly opposite the door, viewers felt Jiang Shulu’s helplessness through the screen.
Helplessness, yet with a familiarity that was hard to separate, making anyone who heard it long to reminisce about the past.
Tang Yue let out a sound of surprise, looking up at Jiang Shulu, lost in thought, seeming to freeze.
Jiang Shulu: “Your son sold you to me, saying he’d calculate it by the radish slice.”
He found it increasingly amusing. Tang Yue’s son wasn’t at all like him. The feeling was familiar but Jiang Shulu couldn’t place it.
Tang Yue was still processing the radish and his son, when Jiang Shulu carried him outside.
The bathroom was tiny, the bathroom heater was poorly installed, giving the illusion of an outdoor shower.
Wind blew in through the cracks in the window frame, making Tang Yue, who was placed on the bathroom counter, slightly dazed.
The production team wasn’t crazy enough to livestream the guests showering.
The viewers watched as the tall man carried the slender young man out of the room.
The wind blew up the corners of Jiang Shulu’s long coat.
Tang Yue’s hoodie drawstring was held by Jiang Shulu’s finger on his shoulder, making it look like it was wrapped around his well-defined knuckles.
It was as if these two people were destined to be entangled, without any coincidence, destined for an endless entanglement.
Tang Yue: “Radish?”
Jiang Shulu: “You really don’t remember? Why do you still like to chug your drinks like that? Hmm?”
Tang Yue let out an “Oh,” and stared intently at Jiang Shulu again.
It wasn’t far from the room to the bathroom outside, yet Jiang Shulu walked slowly, or perhaps the production team slowed down the footage.
The scene looked like a TV drama.
Jiang Shulu only knew that Tang Yue liked to secretly look at him.
Whenever Jiang Shulu noticed and looked back during training, Tang Yue would nonchalantly lower his head. Either drinking water or fidgeting with his fingers, as if he hadn’t been staring at someone intently.
Now, Tang Yue wasn’t sneaking glances. From this angle, Tang Yue’s crow-like eyelashes seemed sprinkled with moonlight powder, burning so intensely that Jiang Shulu felt his face flush.
Jiang Shulu whispered: “Don’t stare at me like that.”
Tang Yue didn’t hear him. He had poor hearing in one ear; the in-ear monitors he was given on stage needed individual adjustments.
Liu Xicháo always joked, saying that if they talked badly about Tang Yue in front of him, he probably wouldn’t know.
Tang Yue would humph in response: “I’m not deaf.”
“I just have a nickname.”
Liu Xicháo said again: “No wonder sometimes when the captain calls you, you don’t respond, are you pretending not to hear?”
Tang Yue thought: It’s not every time, sometimes… I just want to hear him a little more.
On the other hand, he felt ashamed, feeling greedy.
Anyway, Yao Lixin’s loud voice was audible to Tang Yue.
In noisy environments, Liu Xicháo’s gentle voice also had to be loud when talking to Tang Yue. He would always jokingly say it was early preparation for old age.
Because of this, Tang Yue liked to be lost in thought, making Jiang Shulu feel that Tang Yue had his own world.
The young man was like a meteor falling from the sky, just passing before his eyes.
He couldn’t even catch the stardust, just like Tang Yue’s sudden disappearance after the band broke up.
Now that Tang Yue had finally reappeared, Jiang Shulu didn’t want him to leave again.
Tang Yue continued staring at Jiang Shulu, causing Jiang Shulu to quicken his pace.
The livestream viewers couldn’t take it anymore.
“What’s going on?! Is this a romance drama?”
“Even idol dramas don’t have this kind of princess carry and slow-motion eye contact scene anymore! (I mean, it’s really beautiful)”
“This cliché scene really tests their looks…”
“Am I the only one who finds the scene quite heartwarming?”
“The atmosphere between these two has a timeless quality. Jiang Shulu isn’t some domineering CEO anymore…”
“I’ve always been a Jiang Shulu fan. But after he quit the entertainment industry to focus on his career, I didn’t follow him closely. I occasionally saw news about him and felt that he was a completely different person. It’s a bit of an over-interpretation, but I still feel like Jiang Ge isn’t happy. He had so many talents when he was young, but he gave them all up in the end, becoming an heir who perfectly fits his family. It’s such a pity.”
The bathroom door closed. The red painted wooden door looked old, the paint peeling in many places, and the camera abruptly cut.
A bang, as if shutting the viewers out too.
But you could still hear Tang Yue say, “I can’t take my clothes off like this.”
But there was no next sentence. The only sound was the night wind in the courtyard.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
It was incredibly teasing.
“Chengkong Media, I urge you to be kind to us old fans.”
“Is paid viewing not an option?”
“I want to see how Jiang Shulu bathed Tang Yue. Is it really okay to go in wearing so much?”
“The bathroom is so small! Two guys crammed together?”
“Suddenly feel like this variety show doesn’t have much of a budget, making such high-profile celebrities stay in a few square-meter bathroom.”
Jiang Shulu also thought the space was too small and the conditions too simple.
It was so cramped that he found it difficult to meet Tang Yue’s gaze.
Tang Yue still knew he was hot, and seeing the showerhead, he knew he needed a shower. He turned on the water, only to be sprayed with cold water in the face, causing him to flinch.
Jiang Shulu: …
Tang Yue seriously said, “Oh, it’s cold.”
Jiang Shulu decided to be quick and efficient. This man was burning hot; getting him showered, giving him some hangover medicine, and letting him sleep would be best.
Just like back then.
Tang Yue was stripped of his clothes. He tried to resist, but Jiang Shulu was very strong.
The more he was restrained, the less Tang Yue moved. He looked at Jiang Shulu, with that look that puzzled Jiang Shulu.
Why does it feel like I’ve wronged him?
Why is he looking at me like this?
The bathroom shower was difficult to adjust the temperature. Jiang Shulu frowned and fiddled with it for a long time.
He suddenly heard Tang Yue’s laughter.
The young man, who was placed on the bathroom counter earlier, had been splashed with cold water.
His wet bangs stuck to his forehead, making his face even more strikingly beautiful, but his laugh was a bit childish.
Jiang Shulu: “What are you laughing at?”
Tang Yue smelled of alcohol, like the lingering scent of alcohol after swallowing it, or like Tang Yue’s own scent.
It spread in the cramped bathroom, almost pulling Jiang Shulu into this alien-like meteor-shower-enclosed circle.
Tang Yue: “You’re like a thief opening a safe.”
Jiang Shulu was amused: “Your imagination is really rich.”
Tang Yue: “Why would the captain open my safe?”
Jiang Shulu: …
He’s really drunk.
After saying that, Tang Yue’s voice lowered, and he looked at his hands helplessly, his wet sleeves.
Tears flowed down again.
Jiang Shulu was suddenly at a loss.
He cupped Tang Yue’s face, ignoring the fact that the shower was already spraying water. The hot air spread in the small space.
Tang Yue’s face was held by Jiang Shulu, and the next second, he hugged Jiang Shulu’s waist tightly, suddenly bursting into tears.
He sobbed, his whimpers accompanied by intermittent words.
Jiang Shulu couldn’t ignore the longing, despair, and grievance.
It was a flood of painful murmurs.
The water flowed, splashing on the ground, inevitably wetting Jiang Shulu’s clothes.
Tang Yue was being washed by Jiang Shulu, the hot water made him stop crying. The drunken young man mumbled, only calling Jiang Shulu’s name.
Shulu ge.
Captain.
Brother.
Tang Yue: “It hurts.”
Jiang Shulu’s fingers pressed against the scar on Tang Yue’s abdomen. He clearly remembered that this part of Tang Yue was intact before.
Even the thin muscles he showed during performances were exceptionally beautiful.
Tang Yue’s waist was still as slender as ever.
Jiang Shulu remembered that once, Tang Yue’s stage outfit had a waist chain, a silver ornament that flowed like a galaxy in the light, rising and falling with his breathing, causing countless fans to scream.
Now there was a long scar there, even if it wasn’t obvious, it was clear it had been there for years.
An unfamiliar touch landed there, Tang Yue subconsciously flinched, wanting to remove Jiang Shulu’s hand.
Jiang Shulu: “What is this?”
He looked at Tang Yue. The other’s eyes, whether from tears or water, made Jiang Shulu feel for a moment that this person had loved him for a very, very long time—
An illusion.
Tang Yue grabbed Jiang Shulu’s hand and pressed it against his abdomen.
He gave a smile, a stubborn gentleness, and a hint of pride: “It’s a mark where Meimei lived.”