AAUMOBIP C27

Chapter 27

Giving up his time to…

After leaving the gaming room, Liu He immediately pulled out his phone to watch Yun Jingqiu’s livestream. The moment he heard what Yun-ge was saying, he accidentally choked.

He coughed a few times, set down his water glass, pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and glared at the door of the gaming room, which was still closed.

Yun Jingqiu chatted a bit more with the fans, and then ended the stream.

Liu He sat on the sofa, staring at the gaming room door. When it opened and their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away.

Yun Jingqiu lunged toward him, making exaggerated wolfish growls: “Xiao He, come let me kiss you!”

He really had the acting chops for any role—maybe this wasn’t acting at all, just his true self.

Liu He stretched out a hand, blocking his mouth: “I’m going to shower.”

“Don’t. Let’s shower together.” Yun Jingqiu shamelessly extended the invitation.

Liu He flat-out refused: “No, I’ll wash myself.”

He absolutely didn’t want to relive showering with Yun Jingqiu. Couples’ bath? Impossible!

The mere memory of his sore waist and weak legs from yesterday had Liu He resolutely saying no.

Still, Yun Jingqiu tried several more times, even tempting with his body: “I’ll let Xiao He touch me however you like, really won’t you shower with me?”

Remaining firm, Liu He said: “No, even without showering together I can touch you however I want. So are you going first, or me?”

With regret, Yun Jingqiu clicked his tongue: “You go ahead. I’ll train for a bit.”

He headed into the gym. After sneaking extra food today, there was no slacking off on body management.

After Liu He made his refusal clear, that evening passed peacefully. Yun Jingqiu didn’t make any moves; he simply held Liu He as they slept.

After just a single night, Liu He had already grown used to falling asleep with Yun-ge beside him.

Yawning, Liu He quickly drifted off.

The next day Yun Jingqiu was gone filming all day again.

On the third day, Liu He didn’t go to set with him. Instead, he wandered City A for the afternoon, bought some local specialties, and caught the high-speed rail back to City C at noon.

It was his longing that had driven him to visit Yun Jingqiu in the first place.

Though their time together was short, the desire and yearning inside was eased, if only a little.

Once more, Liu He threw himself into his experiments with high efficiency.

His daily routine remained: doing experiments during the day, and in the evenings video calling Yun Jingqiu, sharing the little stories of daily life.

On holidays, sometimes Yun Jingqiu would come over, or Liu He would head to City A to surprise him.

Time passed slowly in their long-distance relationship.

Filming of Crossing the River went smoothly, and once Yun Jingqiu’s part was over, the crew held a wrap-up banquet. Immediately after, his agent Wang-ge hurriedly packed him off to his next production.

The delightful news was—this new role didn’t require losing weight! He could even put on some.

What a blessing—no need to eat just salad anymore.

His meals followed suit with the new crew: heartier and tastier. Every day he would send photos of his breakfast, lunch, and dinner to Liu He—and often order a luxurious meal for Liu He as well. He called it: “getting fat together.”

By June, the weather was scorching.

Liu He spent considerably less time in the lab.

His major experiments were essentially complete, data mostly collected. Now the focus was on writing up the results.

With less burden, he had far more free time.

So he often searched online for Yun Jingqiu’s news, relaxing at home in the master bedroom of 1801 under the air conditioning.

Dressed in a navy-and-white striped T-shirt, five-point shorts down to the knees, pale legs exposed, eating chilled watermelon in the cool breeze—life couldn’t be more comfortable.

#Yun Jingqiu Golden Taro Ball Nomination#

A trending topic shot to the top. Liu He immediately clicked it.

At first he’d had no interest in entertainment news. But once his boyfriend turned out to be an actor, he gradually began paying attention to this world.

The Golden Taro Ball Awards** was one of the most prestigious film festivals, with enormous credibility.

The highest prize Yun Jingqiu had earned was three years ago, when he won Best Actor at the Golden Rose Film Festival.

After that, his popularity exploded, invitations and offers poured in, and his career soared.

Now, with his role as a stray child in The First World, he had received a Best Actor nomination for the Golden Taro Ball.

If he actually won Best Actor there, his reputation and price would skyrocket—this festival’s weight even surpassed the Golden Rose.

Many were speculating whether Yun Jingqiu could once more take home the Best Actor crown.

Liu He was confident.

It wasn’t bias from love, he told himself—he genuinely believed Yun Jingqiu could do it!

The First World was a tragic film. Yun Jingqiu played a homeless, mentally disabled child.

It was a complete transformation of his image.

Liu He, having gone back to watch Yun Jingqiu’s older works in sequence, could clearly see—this role marked a qualitative leap in his acting skills.

With acting at this level, he surely deserved Best Actor!

【This pretentious fake persona of an actor? His acting’s so awful, how could he possibly get Best Actor? The First World is nonsense. Completely incomprehensible. This garbage film, with that garbage character, should just be awarded in a garbage heap!】

【If you didn’t understand then your IQ is just low】

【Ah, new account. Looks like a paid troll】

【Your parents know you act like this online?】

【Came looking to be cursed out?】

【Even if his acting was bad, it’s still better than you—what are you, crawling out straight from a trash can?】

Liu He joined the curses himself: 【Even a trash heap smells sweeter than your mouth】

With the Best Actor nomination, Yun Jingqiu’s haters were in full outbreak.

Comments like: 【A homosexual doesn’t deserve such an honor. How could someone so highly placed be gay? Won’t this mislead the youth?】

Or: 【Always flaunting how ‘loving’ he is with someone—bet behind the scenes he’s just a ruined mess, trading his d*ck for an award-winning role!】

Liu He couldn’t hold back, cursing them out line by line.

After a round, he reported all those comments on Weibo, feeling refreshed.

He continued tirelessly defending Yun Jingqiu online, right up until his alarm rang reminding him it was time for dinner.

Liu He snapped back to reality.

What kind of takeout would Yun-ge order him tonight?

The thought made him a little excited.

Exiting Weibo, the very next moment Yun Jingqiu’s call came through.

“Why so early today?” Liu He glanced at the clock—it was just after 5:30.

His dinner alarm was set for 5:30. Normally, Yun-ge didn’t call until well past 7.

“There’s a night shoot later. The director let us off early to rest a bit.” Yun Jingqiu yawned, clearly tired.

He was resting in the lounge right now, with a solid dinner in front of him.

“I ordered you takeout. Don’t forget to pick it up.” Even his voice sounded drowsy.

Liu He rarely saw him this exhausted, and felt a little guilty with sympathy, nodding.

In his mind, Yun Jingqiu was always high-energy.

Even when pulled out of bed in the middle of the night, he’d never looked this drained.

Now Yun-ge was practically falling asleep while eating.

“Rest a bit, recover some energy.” Liu He encouraged softly.

Yun Jingqiu chewed slowly, distractedly nodding.

The meal was abundant—usually in production he didn’t get such oily, salty food. Now faced with the feast, halfway through he set down chopsticks, rinsed his mouth, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Even eating was tiring.

His phone was propped on the table stand, never going black.

Liu He could see him shuffle around a bit, then lie down on the sofa, closing his eyes, immediately falling asleep.

He wished his arm could reach through the screen to drape a blanket over him.

Watching Yun Jingqiu sleeping, Liu He placed his own phone on the table stand and continued working while glancing up.

After a while, the property management texted him that the takeout had been left at his door.

He opened the door to collect it, then sat down again before the phone.

If anyone had entered Yun Jingqiu’s lounge now, they would have seen the phone still lit up—exposing just what Yun Jingqiu had been hiding all this time: his secret partner’s face.

But this was, after all, his private lounge.

When Song Zhiyuan came in to tidy things, he saw Yun Jingqiu asleep, and thoughtfully covered him with a blanket. Afterward, he noticed the lit phone on the table—and inside, saw Liu He eating.

Song Zhiyuan: …

This love-brained fool even napped through a video call? Not even locking his phone screen? Doesn’t he worry someone might grab this as dirt?

Liu He also saw Song Zhiyuan, and smiled a little awkwardly back.

Helpless, Song Zhiyuan picked up the phone and carried it into a corner, whispering: “Sister-in-law, I’ll hang up now, Yun-ge didn’t even turn the screen off.”

“Mm.” Liu He replied.

The call ended. Song Zhiyuan shut off the phone and set it aside, waiting until Yun Jingqiu woke up to return it.

All these years in the industry, and Yun-ge still didn’t learn caution.

After dinner, stuffed and drowsy, Liu He lounged on the sofa, casting one of Yun Jingqiu’s movies to the TV, feeling perfectly at ease.

He watched the film while scrolling Weibo, continuing to argue with black fans.

Not bad—his combat strength was strong too!

When Yun-ge texted again, it was already 9 p.m.

【Husband: Just woke up】

【Husband: Xiao Song even took my phone, I searched for ages】

【Husband: Going to set now for night shoot—busy till late, can’t sing your lullaby tonight】

【Husband: Sleep early, don’t stay up】

【Liu He: My body clock’s always accurate】

【Liu He: Filming’s tough work】

【Liu He: You’ve been too worn out lately, health comes first】

【Liu He: I ordered you some tonic for tomorrow morning, remember to take it】

On the takeout app, Liu He had arranged nourishing soups and other health foods for him.

【Husband: I’m not weak】

【Husband: Heading to film now】

【Husband: We’ll talk tomorrow】

【Liu He: [sticker: cute bunny hug]】

Putting his phone away, Liu He yawned, finished the movie, and went to bathe and sleep.

The next morning, he shamelessly lingered in bed. In the afternoon, he planned to head into the lab, enjoying a rare relaxed mood.

The thesis wasn’t urgent—he could sleep soundly first.

After dozing again, he woke refreshed—it was already 10 a.m.

By then, several unread messages had piled up.

【Husband: Goji berry and red date black-bone chicken soup is fine, but what’s with the bull penis soup?****】

【Husband: This early in the day you want me drinking all these tonics?】

【Husband: Liu He, really? Do I look that feeble?】

【Husband: Exactly what part of me are you trying to strengthen?】

【Husband: You’ve never even tried me—how do you know if I’m lacking or not!】

It was clear Yun Jingqiu was actually upset.

Liu He went silent, closed the chat window, and pretended he hadn’t seen.

He lay back down, closed his eyes, and feigned drowsiness, as if he hadn’t woken yet.

Footnotes

** Golden Taro Ball Awards (金芋圆奖 Jīn Yùyuán Jiǎng): A fictional but prestigious international film festival in the novel, modeled after real high-profile awards. “Yuyuan” means “taro ball,” a sweet dessert in Chinese, humorously used as the award’s name.

**** Bull penis soup (牛鞭汤 Niú Biān Tāng): Traditional Chinese tonic made from cattle penis, believed to boost male virility and stamina. Mentioned here humorously, implying Liu He was worried about Yun Jingqiu being overworked.