SM Chapter 16
by VolareBefore the official recording, there’s a rehearsal. Ye Lai doesn’s have many segments in the program, so he spends most of the time waiting backstage, sharing a dressing room with Fang Lichen.
This is a one-episode thing of creating a “couple” vibe, nothing more than taking care of each other during the game segments to increase their chemistry and intimacy. Ye Lai was wondering if he should find a topic to chat about with Fang Lichen to get to know him better. Although they had worked together before, they hadn’t had any contact after the wrap-up, so he didn’t know Fang Lichen very well.
But Fang Lichen just sat in his seat, head down, playing on his phone, seemingly uninterested in talking to him. Ye Lai gave up on trying to find a topic. As for how things would go during the recording, he’d just improvise then.
This was the kind of situation Ye Lai wanted anyway; it was good to not bother each other behind the scenes.
Sheng Mingqian had said he would come along, and Ye Lai thought Sheng Mingqian would ride in his car, but in the end, Lin Han drove him over.
Now Sheng Mingqian was in the director’s office next door. Ye Lai had gone to the bathroom a few times just now and had glimpsed Sheng Mingqian wearing sunglasses through the crack in the door. It seemed he was having a good chat with the director.
Ye Lai had heard Lin Han say that Zhang Chunming, the director of this variety show, had previously been Sheng Mingqian’s Assistant director, and the two had a good relationship in private. Sheng Mingqian’s excuse for coming was to catch up.
After getting his makeup done, Ye Lai was distracted, ears perked toward the director’s office on the other side of the wall. But the soundproofing was too good, and all he could hear was the sound of Fang Lichen’s fingers constantly pressing on his screen.
Fang Lichen, who had been looking down at his phone, suddenly looked up: “I heard that Director Sheng is here too?”
Fang Lichen hadn’t said a word, and now his first words were about Sheng Mingqian, catching Ye Lai off guard.
Fang Lichen glanced in the direction of the next room: “He seems to be in the director’s office. I saw him when I went out just now, wearing sunglasses. It looks like his eyes are really injured.”
Ye Lai vaguely replied, “Director Sheng should be here, I didn’t even know.”
Fang Lichen smiled at Ye Lai, said only that, and then continued to look down at his phone, with no intention of continuing the conversation.
After the afternoon rehearsal, the official recording began in the evening. The staff delivered box lunches. The box lunches were greasy, and Ye Lai didn’t have much of an appetite. He kept thinking about Sheng Mingqian next door. He was supposed to eat lightly now and couldn’t eat greasy, unhealthy things, and he couldn’t see. He wondered how he would manage if he wanted to go to the bathroom.
Ye Lai didn’t eat much before going out. He walked to the door of the director’s office and hesitated for a long time before knocking.
After three knocks, Zhang Chunming’s voice came from inside, “Come in.”
Ye Lai twisted the doorknob, pushed open the door, and walked in. He immediately saw Sheng Mingqian sitting at the round dining table. Across from him was Zhang Chunming, and the two were eating.
His worries were unnecessary. Sheng Mingqian and Zhang Chunming’s lunchboxes were different from theirs. Sheng Mingqian’s lunchbox contained light and healthy food, and the box was printed with the name of a hotel he had eaten at before. The food there was pretty good.
Ye Lai stood at the door and nodded: “Director Zhang, Director Sheng…”
“Ye Lai, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?” Zhang Chunming wasn’t old, but he was on the heavier side, and when he smiled, he looked a bit festive, like a glazed meatball.
Ye Lai had already thought of a reason and said frankly, “I heard that Director Sheng is here. I saw on Weibo that Director Sheng said his eyes were injured, so I came to see how he was doing.”
Sheng Mingqian put down the chopsticks in his hand and faced the direction of the voice: “Ye Lai? Thank you for your concern. I’m fine.”
Zhang Chunming also remembered that they had worked together on a movie before, and he slapped his forehead: “That’s right, that’s right, look at my memory, you guys worked together on a movie before.”
“It’s good that Director Sheng is okay. It’s inconvenient for you to do anything with your eyes injured. If you need anything, you can call me at any time. I’m in the dressing room next door.”
To play the “unfamiliar” act well, Ye Lai pretended to take out his cell phone: “Director Sheng, what’s your phone number? I’ll save it, and you can call me directly if you need anything.”
Sheng Mingqian subtly raised his lips: “No need.”
Ye Lai put away his phone, and Zhang Chunming spoke up at the right time, buttering him up: “Director Sheng rarely comes to see me, Ye Lai, don’t steal my job. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Director Sheng.”
After Ye Lai left, Zhang Chunming continued to say, “Ye Lai is not bad, he seems to be quite nostalgic, and he even knows to come and ask about you. Speaking of which, how many years has it been since you last worked together? Five or six years, right?”
“Four years and seven months.”
“Director Sheng has a good memory. I feel that Ye Lai’s acting is very good, but his resources are a bit lacking. You can give him more opportunities.”
Zhang Chunming didn’t expect Sheng Mingqian to come, Lin Han had called him a day in advance, saying that Sheng Mingqian was bored at home and wanted to come over and get some fresh air.
Zhang Chunming had been working in the industry for many years and had seen everything. He was a clever fellow, and he pondered Lin Han’s words in his mind and understood the general idea. Sheng Mingqian wasn’t just bored. Although they usually had a good relationship, Sheng Mingqian rarely came over when he was working, unless something big had happened. Moreover, Sheng Mingqian’s eyes were injured. So, his sudden visit must have a reason.
As for what that reason was, Zhang Chunming never figured it out. In short, this was the most peaceful episode he had ever recorded. It wouldn’t be bad if everyone wasn’t made to feel awkward, and that “someone” would definitely be taken care of.
Ye Lai recorded the smoothest variety show episode in his history. Some of the prank segments from the rehearsal didn’t appear during the official recording. As for Fang Lichen’s talk of creating a “couple” vibe, Fang Lichen hadn’t made any deliberate moves from the rehearsal to the official recording, nor had he tried to get close to him. The two of them were just ordinary friends who knew each other.
As the show was about to end, the Assistant ran over to tell Zhang Chunming that Sheng Mingqian had finally said he was leaving, and Lin Han was coming to pick him up.
Zhang Chunming’s eyes swept over the dozen or so people on the stage, and he secretly clicked his tongue.
–
–
As soon as the show ended, Ye Lai heard Zhang Chunming say that Sheng Mingqian had already left. He didn’t stay and drove straight home.
The lights in the Living Room were still on, and the bedroom door was half-closed.
Ye Lai quickly changed into slippers and went into the bedroom. Sheng Mingqian was already in bed, had already taken a shower and changed into his pajamas, and was holding the air conditioner remote control in his hand, adjusting the temperature.
“Mingqian, I’m back,” Ye Lai walked to the bed and touched the back of his neck, which still had water droplets on it. “Did you shower by yourself? Let me see if the gauze on your eyes got wet.”
Fortunately, the gauze was dry and hadn’t gotten wet.
Ye Lai turned around and opened the closet door, found his pajamas, and sat back on the bed with the clothes in his hand: “Did Han drive you back tonight?”
“Yeah.”
Ye Lai tentatively asked, “Today’s show went very smoothly. Did you tell Director Zhang to go easy on me?”
“Did Director Zhang go easy on you?” Sheng Mingqian raised his chin.
“Yes, very obvious,” Ye Lai said. “But he went easy on everyone, maybe he’s just in a good mood today.”
“Maybe,” Sheng Mingqian pressed the remote control a few times and asked Ye Lai, “What’s the air conditioner temperature now?”
“27 degrees, just right.” Ye Lai took the remote control from Sheng Mingqian’s hand and put it on the bedside table, wrapped his arms around his neck, and kissed his chin.
Sheng Mingqian pressed his palm against his waist: “Tomorrow is Thursday, do you have any plans?”
Tomorrow was Thursday again. Ye Lai silently repeated it in his mind before saying, “Tomorrow morning I’ll rest, in the afternoon I have an advertisement to shoot. After the shoot, I’ll go to Hao’s house to see Xin Xin. Han doesn’t have work tomorrow, he said he’d come over. Tomorrow night… I might be back a little late.”
Sheng Mingqian withdrew his hand from Ye Lai’s waist: “When did Lin Han tell you he was coming?”
“I called him on the way back, he said he was free tomorrow,” Ye Lai replied.
Sheng Mingqian didn’t say anything else, and Ye Lai took his clothes and went into the bathroom.
As soon as he got into bed after showering, Ye Lai felt that Sheng Mingqian was in a bad mood. Five years had long trained Ye Lai to have the most acute sensory system.
Of course, this acquired system was only related to Sheng Mingqian, his eyes, his movements, his expressions, and even his breathing.
The most important thing that Ye Lai couldn’t ignore was Sheng Mingqian’s elusive mood at the moment.
Ye Lai turned off the lights and lay down next to Sheng Mingqian, turned over and hugged Sheng Mingqian’s waist from behind, his cheek against his broad back. The elegant scent of Sheng Mingqian’s shower gel mixed with the faint smell of disinfectant, and the subtle strands of scent kept tugging at Ye Lai’s nerves.
His body was very tired, but his brain felt like it had been splashed with cold water, and Ye Lai couldn’t fall asleep for a long time while hugging Sheng Mingqian.
“Mingqian, why are you unhappy?” Ye Lai rubbed the corner of his eye against Sheng Mingqian’s back and finally asked.
As before, Ye Lai’s question went unanswered, and all that responded to him was steady breathing.
“Good night, Mingqian.”
Just as Ye Lai finished speaking, Sheng Mingqian’s body moved, and suddenly he turned over and pressed down on Ye Lai, clamping Ye Lai’s wrist and pressing it above his head.
The breath that fell was extremely heavy, and Sheng Mingqian rubbed the tip of his nose against Ye Lai’s. Ye Lai thought he would kiss him, but Sheng Mingqian lowered his head and bit his shoulder below his neck, hard.
“Hiss…” Ye Lai pushed Sheng Mingqian away, “Mingqian, it hurts…”
He couldn’t push Sheng Mingqian, so he could only grit his teeth and endure until he smelled the raw, metallic scent of rust in his nose.
His heart skipped a beat. Ye Lai didn’t like this smell. The smell of blood would make him think of death, and a slow sense of decay.
Sheng Mingqian listened to Ye Lai’s muffled pain that was difficult to endure in his nasal cavity before letting go. A clear, cold voice echoed in the room from the thick darkness, a dangerous signal: “Ye Lai, is there anything you want to tell me?”
There was a buzzing in his head, and Ye Lai gasped for a few breaths. Sheng Mingqian’s bite on his shoulder was like a hook with barbs, piercing into his skin and quickly arousing the pain factors in his body. Even the soft gauze rubbing against his shoulder felt like a sharp blade.
Besides the pain, there was only pain. Sweat dripped from his forehead along his cheeks onto the pillow, and Ye Lai could only open his mouth and breathe deeply to avoid suffocating.
“Mingqian, I’m in pain, my body hurts…” Ye Lai curled up, his cheek pressed against Sheng Mingqian’s chest, but he couldn’t find the safe haven he used to find. He trembled again and pressed his face against the pillow, whimpering like an injured beast.
Sheng Mingqian’s voice finally pierced through the darkness, through Ye Lai’s heavy breathing and floated into his body: “Ye Lai, Zhang Chunming was right, you’re a good actor.”