Part 2
Tang Yue nodded again. The blanket was lifted, and the faint night light was enough for Jiang Shulu to see Tang Yue’s face.
Tang Yue seemed a little embarrassed, his tone apologetic: “It was you, Captain, who brought me back from the bar. You were scolding me…”
Jiang Shulu: “I definitely didn’t scold you.”
Tang Yue: “Okay, but you were really fierce.”
His voice still carried a faint accusation. As Jiang Shulu pondered, he added softly: “And later, you were very fierce, hurting me badly.”
Jiang Shulu:…
The dream was so out of line, it actually happened.
It was actually real.
Jiang Shulu didn’t dare to recall it, afraid that he would think of himself as a beast.
Yet, Tang Yue could still speak so frankly about it.
Jiang Shulu: “You should have called the police.”
Tang Yue: “But I wanted it.”
He wouldn’t look into Jiang Shulu’s eyes, his voice slightly hoarse from crying, but still clear.
Tang Yue: “I had several drinks before you came, and I… felt bad too.”
He started fidgeting with his fingers, making Jiang Shulu inexplicably think about his hands touching other places.
Not touching, but holding.
He hadn’t realized before that Tang Yue was so strong. It also made Jiang Shulu feel like he was a beast.
But Tang Yue wasn’t doing so well either, first whimpering, then becoming unrestrained. Thinking back, Jiang Shulu felt that Tang Yue, to some extent, quite liked the rough treatment.
The atmosphere became more ambiguous, as if something ignited the air, with a crackling tension. Jiang Shulu’s mind was filled with the past.
All the scenes that would be too embarrassing for anyone to know, their first time together.
Tang Yue, who was so afraid of pain, cried until his throat was hoarse, and he hadn’t spared him.
Jiang Shulu didn’t speak for a long time, and Tang Yue finally dared to look at his face.
But Jiang Shulu caught him in the act.
Tang Yue pursed his lips: “I thought you had forgotten.”
Jiang Shulu: “I really thought it was a dream.”
Tang Yue: “I’m sorry, Captain. It’s my fault.”
He was like a wooden block.
Jiang Shulu chuckled. A normal person would ask: “Does dreaming of doing this with me mean you have feelings for me?”
Tang Yue was still apologizing.
Was it a case of who wronged who?
What if Tang Yue had been with someone else that day?
Jiang Shulu didn’t dare to think too much, wondering who gave Tang Yue the drink and what their intentions were.
Although Away had been preparing to retire that year, many companies extended offers.
Compared to Jiang Shulu, who certainly wouldn’t stay in the industry, Tang Yue was the most easily manipulated of the other three.
Without any background, without any foundation, and silly, innocent enough to make one want to defile him.
Fortunately, Chengkong Media wasn’t the kind of company that would make their artists accompany clients for drinks, otherwise Tang Yue might have changed hands several times.
Jiang Shulu: “Why were you at the bar that day?”
Tang Yue: “Second Brother said to go to a bar to dance and relax, so I went with him.”
Tang Yue: “He said everyone was in the industry, it didn’t matter.”
Jiang Shulu’s memory was too fragmented, but it didn’t hinder the understanding that going to a bar after a celebratory banquet was normal.
It was just that Jiang Shulu didn’t like to go, and the other members couldn’t control him.
That could only mean Tang Yue had called him.
Jiang Shulu: “Did you call me?”
Tang Yue exclaimed: “I don’t remember. Maybe I accidentally touched the button. After all, you were my speed dial.”
Number 1.
Jiang Shulu: “You don’t even remember the people you were drinking with?”
His voice was clearly tinged with anger, “You know you have a poor tolerance for alcohol, right?”
Tang Yue made a sound of agreement. He still had that conditioned reflex of being scolded by Jiang Shulu, so he lowered his head and silently fidgeted with his fingers.
Jiang Shulu offered his hand for him to fidget with.
He found that the way he fidgets was exciting, easily reminding Jiang Shulu of that dream, no, that incident.
It was hard not to have other reactions.
Jiang Shulu pulled the blanket over them.
Tang Yue saw it and said plainly: “Need help?”
Jiang Shulu almost thought he had misheard.
He asked in surprise: “What did you say?”
The blanket covered them both. Tang Yue reached out his hand, but Jiang Shulu still knew how to refuse, grabbing Tang Yue’s hand.
Tang Yue exclaimed: “Captain really hates me.”
What kind of logic was that?
Jiang Shulu: “Who told you that refusal means hate?”
Tang Yue: “Second Brother told me some gossip about other groups…”
Jiang Shulu’s mind was buzzing, unsure whether it was jealousy, anger, or something else.
He asked word by word: “Did you do that with Yao Lixin?”
Tang Yue snorted: “Impossible, I’m not a pervert.”
Jiang Shulu: “Then what do you mean by doing that to me?”
Tang Yue: “I hope you won’t be angry.”
Jiang Shulu held Tang Yue’s hand, tightly pulling him into his arms. He whispered in his ear: “Tang Yue, who is actually angry?”
Jiang Shulu: “We did that, you didn’t mention a word and left, and now you’re acting strangely.”
The captain, nicknamed by fans as always dignified and never wayward, bit Tang Yue’s ear hard.
“What did you take me for?”
Tang Yue tried to resist, but was held tighter.
He was also wronged, many unspoken grievances and fears, plus his fluctuating feelings for Jiang Shulu, caused him to cry again.
This time, he cried out loud.
Not drunk, not intoxicated, sober crying.
Jiang Shulu panicked a little, hurriedly looking down at the person in his arms.
Tang Yue bit Jiang Shulu’s collarbone through his pajamas, as if to replicate the pain this person had imprinted on his body.
But it was different.
In this world, which man can get pregnant? He had already prepared to grow old alone.
Tang Yue cried loudly: “Do you think I wanted this?”
“I… I don’t even deserve to like you.”
Fate had been disrupted once; would it return to its starting point in another way?
Tang Yue was a thoroughgoing pessimist. The mere possibility was enough to make him tremble with fear.
The next day, many people waited early for the livestream, only to find there was no delightful morning experience of witnessing the guests’ sleeping faces.
Because the room only contained Jiang Shulu, sitting on the bed looking at his laptop.
The camera then switched to show Tang Yue.
He had gone out to buy breakfast alone.
However, it was clear that Tang Yue hadn’t fully woken up.
The morning temperature was quite low, and Tang Yue was walking with his neck hunched.
[Why is he up so early today?]
[Tang Yue’s eyes are so red. Did he cry, or did he rub them because he wasn’t fully awake?]
[My mind is still on the moment when the livestream closed yesterday, the final second when he and Jiang Shulu looked at each other. It felt like they were about to go to the wedding chamber next.]
[You guys are so imaginative. Am I the only one staring at the black screen reflecting my own foolish smile in despair?]
[Which idol group’s variety show has this kind of plot! As an Away fan, I’m boasting. There’s no other group with better post-show content.]
[Is it really worth boasting about the variety show turning into a romance show?! —I almost died laughing at the comments from overseas fans. They’re suggesting the production team add bilingual subtitles, hahaha.]
In the video, the young man walking slowly down the steps was wearing a hazy blue fleece jacket. His entire outfit was very ordinary, nothing special.
But Tang Yue, the “alien,” had an extraordinary aura, a loneliness cultivated over ten years.
In the small village on a misty morning, the camera zoomed in on his face, making one afraid to disturb him.
Tang Yue didn’t know how many hours he had slept. He looked around drowsily and asked the off-camera director: “Is the shop you mentioned up there?”
Morning smoke seeped from the houses. A dog was much faster than Tang Yue climbing the stairs, and it wasn’t afraid of strangers at all. It even looked back at Tang Yue from a few steps up.
Tang Yue looked at the dog, and unconsciously quickened his pace, reaching out to touch it.
But the little white dog ran away.
He sighed.