Chapter 126: He Simply Couldn’t
Xu Mocun turned to Shen Xiumo. “You want to make do with us, but have you asked for our opinion?”
“We’re all so close,” Shen Xiumo said. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Jiang Su and Xu Mocun were given a standard room with two beds.
Xu Mocun wanted to say more, but he just moved his lips and looked at Jiang Su.
Everyone was looking at Jiang Su.
Under everyone’s gaze, it was hard for Jiang Su to either agree or disagree.
“Do whatever you want,” Jiang Su said before heading back to his room.
He had been working all day and was tired. He just wanted to shower and go to bed early.
As soon as Jiang Su got back to the room, he went to take a shower.
When he came out, he saw Huo Qingyan and Shen Xiumo sitting on the edge of the other bed, both looking rather uncomfortable.
Xu Mocun sat on the other bed, a complicated expression on his face.
The atmosphere in the room was strange and awkward.
Jiang Su’s skin was fair, and his neck was still flushed from the shower. In his pajamas, he looked surprisingly soft.
Shen Xiumo couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment.
Until he felt a kick from Huo Qingyan.
“Ouch—” Shen Xiumo sucked in a sharp breath, the pain making him glare at Huo Qingyan. “Why’d you kick me?”
“I didn’t see you,” Huo Qingyan said.
“You…” Shen Xiumo started.
It was a lie. The kick was hard enough to break his leg. How could he not have seen him?
Damn it!
Jiang Su ignored them, pulled back the covers, and got into bed.
Shen Xiumo rubbed his leg, his eyes drifting back to Jiang Su.
Huo Qingyan stood up abruptly, pulling Shen Xiumo up with him.
“Hey, what are you doing? Let go! I need to take a shower…” Shen Xiumo struggled, but Huo Qingyan dragged him out anyway.
“We’re getting a late-night snack,” Huo Qingyan said.
Bang—
The door slammed shut. Xu Mocun turned to Jiang Su, looking bewildered. “Didn’t we just eat? Another late-night snack? Did Huo Qingyan always eat this much?”
“He’s probably a bottomless pit,” Jiang Su said, his eyes still on his script.
But his tone was completely serious.
It left Xu Mocun wondering what he actually meant.
…
The nightlife around the film set wasn’t very exciting.
It wasn’t like Qingyang City, where you could find a good meal or a drink anytime you wanted.
At this hour, there was nothing to be found for a late-night snack.
And that wasn’t Huo Qingyan’s real intention, anyway.
He bought a pack of cigarettes at a convenience store and stood by the road to smoke.
“Aren’t we getting a snack?” Shen Xiumo was still looking around for a place to eat.
Huo Qingyan didn’t answer, just took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly.
He looked like he had something on his mind.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Xiumo asked.
Huo Qingyan looked down, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and said nonchalantly, “When we get back, if you look at Jiang Su one more time, you’ll lose more than just the hotel.”
Shen Xiumo’s lip twitched. “Jiang Su is good-looking. What’s wrong with me looking at him? Ask yourself, what right do you have to say that to me? Who are you to him?”
Huo Qingyan was speechless for a moment.
Who was he to Jiang Su?
No one.
He had already resigned himself to the fact that Jiang Su would never forgive him.
He thought he could be content just watching Jiang Su from a distance.
But now he knew that was just what he had told himself.
He simply couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t even stand Shen Xiumo looking at Jiang Su a few too many times.
Seeing Huo Qingyan’s stiff expression, Shen Xiumo sneered. “I was just looking. Jiang Su is still young, with his whole life ahead of him. What if he meets someone he likes, falls in love, gets married? Are you going to kill them?”
The tip of Huo Qingyan’s cigarette glowed and faded in the night wind.
He took one last drag, then crushed the butt out. “Perhaps,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
The wind carried his voice away.
“What?” Shen Xiumo hadn’t heard him clearly.
“Let’s go back,” Huo Qingyan said, already walking away.
By the time they got back, Jiang Su and the others would probably be asleep.
And they were. When they returned, Jiang Su and Xu Mocun were both fast asleep.
Shen Xiumo, holding his clothes, was about to take a shower when Huo Qingyan stopped him.
Shen Xiumo’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you even human? You won’t let me shower!”
“They’re asleep. You can wash up in the morning,” Huo Qingyan whispered, his voice barely audible.
The room wasn’t well soundproofed; the shower would wake Jiang Su up.
This was just inhuman!
Shen Xiumo was furious. “I…”
But a single glare from Huo Qingyan silenced him.
Shen Xiumo took out his phone and typed a message for Huo Qingyan to see: “Let me win the next bid, or so help me, I’m taking a shower tonight, even if the sky falls.”
Huo Qingyan nodded.
Only then did Shen Xiumo reluctantly put his pajamas away.
What was one night without a shower?
He could handle it.
…
That night, Jiang Su slept surprisingly well.
When he woke, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
The curtains weren’t great at blocking out the light, and he could see a faint glow from the window.
Jiang Su stared at the window for a moment, then rolled over.
As he turned, he came face-to-face with Huo Qingyan.
It took him a moment to remember the events of the previous night.
He had no idea when Huo Qingyan and Shen Xiumo had returned.
Huo Qingyan was still in yesterday’s clothes, not even changed into his pajamas. He must not have slept well, as his brow was slightly furrowed.
As for Shen Xiumo…
Jiang Su sat up and saw that the other side of the bed was empty.
Was Shen Xiumo up already?
Jiang Su got out of bed, quietly grabbing his clothes and heading to the bathroom.
When he came out, Huo Qingyan was awake.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hair messy and his clothes wrinkled. There was a rare, dazed look on his face that softened his usual sharp demeanor, even though he sat perfectly straight.
They looked at each other across the room, neither of them speaking.
Suddenly, Xu Mocun bolted upright. “What time is it!”
“It’s still early,” Jiang Su said, looking away and turning to organize his things at the desk.
The room was small, with nothing on the floor to trip over, so Jiang Su walked toward the desk without looking down.
Until he stepped on something.
“Who’s stepping on me…” a voice mumbled from the floor.
Jiang Su looked down and froze.
The person curled up on the floor was Shen Xiumo.
He knew Shen Xiumo couldn’t be up this early.
But still…
Wasn’t Huo Qingyan going a bit too far?
The bed was small, but it was still wrong of him to push Shen Xiumo onto the floor.
Jiang Su shot Huo Qingyan a look.
As if reading his mind, Huo Qingyan explained, “I didn’t push him. He fell off on his own…”Â
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