Chapter 16: “Honey, am I the dog you raised…?”
Ever since the brand banquet, the physical contact between Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng had reached an unprecedented high.
First, they consolidated the ten percent and twenty percent tasks of taking and retrieving items, then moved on to the thirty percent handshake contact. Gradually, he adapted to brief contact.
All this was thanks to Lu Ciheng’s persistence. He asked Xie Shibai if he wanted to train almost every minute they were at home, looking like he genuinely and responsibly wanted to help cure his contact disorder.
“Ten minutes have passed. Are you rested?” Lu Ciheng’s voice was laced with joy, holding a cup of freshly brewed coffee in his hand.
Xie Shibai closed his book and sighed. They had practiced many times since the morning. Reaching the end of his patience, he asked, “Don’t you need to join the cast?”
Who was it that said when signing the contract that out of three hundred and sixty-five days a year, he was on set for three hundred and sixty-six?
Since moving in, he had barely seen Lu Ciheng work a few times. If it weren’t for the fact that he trended every time there was an event, Xie Shibai would suspect he was already a has-been.
Lu Ciheng’s eyes curved as he handed over the coffee in his hand. He was exceptionally keen on letting Xie Shibai take things from his hands recently, like a disguised form of feeding, and his heart was filled with satisfaction. “I take my work very seriously. Since I decided to play Chen Feng, I have to focus on preparation. I won’t juggle roles.”
Xie Shibai stared at the coffee for a few seconds. His resistance to caffeine was zero, especially since he couldn’t brew this flavor no matter how many times he tried. He had always been curious about how Lu Ciheng brewed his coffee.
Lu Ciheng asked, “Is the coffee good?”
Xie Shibai pursed his lips, the thick, bitter aroma of coffee still in his mouth. “Terrible.”
Although he said it was terrible, the coffee in the cup still hit the bottom.
Lu Ciheng’s eyes were filled with delight, his voice lowered in a sigh, “Teacher Xie, you really are…”
Tsundere and honest in a cute way.
Xie Shibai didn’t hear clearly what Lu Ciheng said. He reminded, “The movie is still in the preparation stage. From preparation to shooting, the earliest will be after the New Year. This time is completely enough for you to join a cast.”
“Mm-hmm-hmm.” Lu Ciheng stared at Xie Shibai’s hand holding the coffee cup. The slender fingers were white, appearing very bony when gripping the cup, exposing the protruding wrist bone, making one unable to resist wanting to touch it a few times. “Hand.”
Xie Shibai’s gaze rested on Lu Ciheng’s hand. He paused for a few seconds. Perhaps the person opposite was too serious, but he couldn’t help being provoked into a bit of competitiveness.
He handed his hand over. The simplest contact transmitted the body heat of both parties.
Perhaps because the number of handshakes had increased, the desensitization of the illness had truly begun. Xie Shibai no longer had much psychological resistance to shaking hands. The feeling of agitation appeared rarely. Only the pain in his arm would appear from time to time, but the slight impact wasn’t significant. Strong reactions like stomach pain never appeared again.
If not for the reminder of pain, Xie Shibai would even feel he had become a normal person.
Lu Ciheng lowered his eyes and held Xie Shibai’s hand, his thinly calloused fingertips rubbing the tiny scar left by the abrasion a few times.
Xie Shibai turned his head abruptly, lips lightly pursed, his gaze displeased. “Lu Ciheng, it’s just a handshake. Don’t move around.”
Lu Ciheng spoke unhurriedly, “Where is there a handshake where one doesn’t move at all? This is also part of the treatment.”
Xie Shibai wanted to withdraw his hand but was tightly held by Lu Ciheng. “It’s not like I haven’t shaken hands before.”
Lu Ciheng’s grip tightened. His black eyes narrowed, and an indescribable concern was born in his heart. His tone was low and slow. “Who has Teacher Xie shaken hands with before?”
Xie Shibai used his free hand to flip the book, as if distracting himself. “Many people. Can’t remember.”
Handshakes were the most basic social etiquette. Before the onset of his illness, all this was perfectly normal.
Lu Ciheng’s fingers interlaced, forcing their way into the gaps between the fingers for a dominant ten-finger interlock.
Now you can only shake hands with me.
Xie Shibai’s brow furrowed slightly. He felt the handshake had lasted a long time. His hand temperature had always been on the cooler side; after contacting Lu Ciheng for a while, his palm would be warmed up. When fingers interlocked, the roots of the fingers pressed tightly together, hot and uncomfortable.
“Time’s up.”
Lu Ciheng chuckled lightly. “You can persist a little longer.”
Xie Shibai swept a glance at him, neither light nor heavy. The phone on the side suddenly vibrated. It was a video call from Assistant Lin. He abruptly pulled his hand out and answered the voice call.
As soon as the video connected, Assistant Lin on the other side spoke very fast, “Brother Xie, the livestream for Bei Shan is about to start. Do you still need me to go over?”
Bei Shan was a suspense movie Xie Shibai filmed before his illness struck. Because something happened to an actor in the same cast, the release was shelved until reshoots were completed, giving it a chance to be released.
“If Lu Dog, ptui, if Lu Ciheng isn’t there, I’ll go over.” Assistant Lin whispered an addition, “Sigh, been rivals for so long, I’m unaccustomed to calling his name all of a sudden. Forget it, I’ll still call him Lu Dog.”
The voice from the phone echoed clearly in the space.
Xie Shibai: “…”
Lu Ciheng smiled, completely disregarding the form of address. He scooted next to Xie Shibai, entering the range of the phone camera. “I’m here.”
Assistant Lin: “…”
Now, whenever he saw Lu Ciheng, he would think of his complaints to Xie Shibai about “whoever marries Lu Ciheng is blind.” He spoke guiltily and fast, “Brother Xie, you must remember to connect to the livestream. I’m hanging up first!”
Damn it! Why does the marriage partner have to be Lu Ciheng! He can’t even surf the internet happily anymore.
When it was time for the Bei Shan promotion livestream, Xie Shibai went to the study. He clicked the link to join the connected livestream. During this time, Cheng Zhe also sent him the flow chart and some precautions.
The livestream room was connecting. Besides him, the director and several important characters would promote it together.
When he connected, the host had just finished greeting the other actors. Noticing Xie Shibai’s camera appear: “Our main character is finally here.”
News of this promotional event had been revealed early on. A large number of fans were already squatting in the livestream room.
[Brother Xie!!]
[Brother Xie, long time no see!]
[Is Brother coming back? There have been a lot of activities recently.]
[Feels like Brother Xie is still indifferent. These are all activities signed before, right?]
[Heaven knows how long I’ve waited for this moment, woo woo woo.]
[White Moonlight returns to the country!]
The other actors in the livestream also greeted him one after another.
Su Xingran smiled very sweetly, greeting him without any strangeness, “Senior Xie.” He didn’t look like they hadn’t seen each other for a year at all.
Su Xingran was an idol-turned-actor who followed the “boy next door” style. His appearance and tone were sweet, attracting fans easily. Because Bei Shan had been shelved for a long time, his popularity was now a huge notch higher than during filming. The livestream room was bustling, and he had many fans.
Xie Shibai greeted them in turn, then began listening to the host conduct interactions according to the flow.
The main purpose of the livestream was to promote Bei Shan. Most of the host’s questions revolved around the plot of Bei Shan. As the lead actor, Xie Shibai was asked the most, from filming insights to understanding the character, and then to the CP being hotly discussed by netizens: True or False.
Xie Shibai hadn’t paid attention to online information recently; he only understood what was going on after Cheng Zhe sent a message.
Starting from the movie trailer, a batch of fans suddenly appeared shipping the CP of him and Su Xingran.
Su Xingran smiled shyly, speaking ambiguously, “Thank you everyone for liking the characters played by Senior Xie and me.”
[Didn’t deny it, could it be true!]
[Isn’t it normal for our Ran Ran to be liked since he’s so beautiful?]
[Ran Ran’s damn charm! Truly the little succubus of C-Ent!]
[Feel like Xie Shibai and our Ran Ran match well too, eh.]
[???? WOK, it’s enough that Lu Dog leeches my brother’s heat—too lazy to scold—but why is there another one?]
[Taking away my brother. Don’t ship blindly. Not suitable. My brother’s ironclad CP is work, okay?]
As the bullet comments gradually led toward the CP topic, the study door quietly pushed open a crack.
Xie Shibai looked up and discovered that what appeared first was the framed marriage certificate, followed by Lu Ciheng holding the frame, standing at the door staring at him.
Keeping up with current events; one look and it was clear he watched the livestream and came to remind him to remember the contract contents.
The director watched with incomprehension. “What CP? Who with whom? No, I filmed a suspense drama.”
Su Xingran’s smile was awkward for a few seconds, but he didn’t give up. “Maybe everyone likes it in a special way.”
[Assistant Lin: WOK, he wants to hype a CP to leech heat.]
[Assistant Lin: Even dare to do this during movie promotion? Crazy. Hyping a CP without saying a word, didn’t even ask for the other person’s opinion. Is he cheap or what?]
Lu Ciheng placed the photo frame on the desk. Clack, the sound was exceptionally obvious.
He moved a chair on his own accord and sat in front of Xie Shibai. After staring with black eyes for a while, he reached out and lightly hooked Xie Shibai’s hand.
Xie Shibai didn’t react in time; previous touches were all prepared for mentally. He glared at Lu Ciheng and shrank his hand back, his tone revealing no emotion: “Can the murderer and the victim also form a CP?”
Su Xingran gave a dry laugh.
[Dying of laughter. Never seen a serial killer fall in love with the person he killed.]
[What kind of cult CP is this?]
[What about ‘loving but can’t have’?]
[Be normal upstairs. How is this called love? This is to the extent of calling the police, right?]
[Anyone who watched the movie can’t ship it.]
The host hurriedly controlled the venue, eager to change the topic. “Everyone can go watch the movie when you have time; I believe you’ll have your own judgment after watching. However, Teacher Xie has been looking off-screen since just now. Did something interesting happen?”
Lu Ciheng propped up his chin, the corner of his lips hooked. He stretched his hand forward a bit, sticking close to touch the back of Xie Shibai’s hand again. The movement was very light, stopping at a touch; it was the twenty percent degree that Xie Shibai had already adapted to.
Although it wouldn’t trigger physical discomfort, the sense of presence was strong.
Xie Shibai swept a cold glance at him. “The dog raised at home.”
Lu Ciheng’s brow peak raised slightly, the tip of his tongue pressing against his canine tooth.
The host gave a dry laugh. “Didn’t expect Teacher Xie to raise a dog.”
Subsequently, the topic gradually returned to the movie.
When the livestream ended, Xie Shibai exited the connection and turned off the stream. Just as he prepared to get up, his fingers were suddenly wrapped by a broad palm.
Lu Ciheng pressed down on Xie Shibai’s hand. While his thinly calloused fingers covered the palm, they ground against the opponent’s protruding wrist bone. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes hiding a teasing glint, his tone lazy: “Honey, am I the dog you raised…?”
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