After breakfast, Jiang Yu tidied up his floor bedding and went out to finish his schedule. It was already night when he returned.
Yu Shiqing came out of the bathroom and saw Jiang Yu carrying his bedding again, heading toward the bed.
“Go back to your room,” Yu Shiqing said. “It doesn’t look right for you to keep sleeping here.”
Jiang Yu replied, “I can’t fall asleep if I go back.”
Yu Shiqing looked at him deeply. “And you can sleep here?”
Jiang Yu simply said, “Better than going back.”
Yu Shiqing walked over and pulled him up from the floor. “Jiang Yu, don’t mess with your health.”
Jiang Yu’s schedule was packed every day. Being able to come back at all already meant he was squeezing out time. If he couldn’t rest properly at night, one could only imagine what state he’d be in during the day.
“I’m not messing around,” Jiang Yu looked away slightly. “I just want a good night’s sleep. Is that so wrong?”
Yu Shiqing looked at him, full of helplessness. Jiang Yu’s insomnia might be real or fake, but regardless, one night of pushing boundaries was enough it couldn’t go on every night.
“I’ll sleep on the floor. I won’t come near you, and I won’t bother you,” Jiang Yu added. “Once the lights are off, you won’t see me. Just pretend I’m not here.”
He pulled Yu Shiqing’s hand and sat him by the bed. “You haven’t done your rehab exercises today. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can rest.”
Yu Shiqing didn’t respond and just let it go.
By bedtime, they lay down one on the bed, one on the floor.
Who knows how long had passed when Yu Shiqing heard Jiang Yu gently shifting on the floor again. He slowly opened his eyes under the dim nightlight.
After a while, he said, “Jiang Yu.”
Hearing his voice, Jiang Yu turned his face slightly and softly said, “I’m just turning over this once, you—”
Before he finished, Yu Shiqing’s next words came quickly.
“Come up.”
Jiang Yu froze for a moment at those three words, then moved faster than he could think. He sat up, lifting the blanket.
Facing Yu Shiqing’s gaze, he paused, then slowly and calmly got up from the floor and sat on the edge of the bed.
Yu Shiqing watched his every move, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Jiang Yu tried to appear calm. “Are you sure?”
But before Yu Shiqing could reply, he lay down directly, letting his presence fill the bed.
“You said it,” he added.
Yu Shiqing shifted aside and closed his eyes as Jiang Yu spoke.
Lying on the warm side of the bed, Jiang Yu tried to suppress the satisfaction on his lips. He turned to face Yu Shiqing. “By the way, I didn’t get to ask earlier.”
Yu Shiqing didn’t look at him. “Hmm?”
Jiang Yu moved a little closer. “Have you thought about it?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “Not really.”
Using the dim light, Jiang Yu traced his profile with his eyes, lingering over his brows and lips.
“There’s something else,” Jiang Yu whispered, breaking the quiet again. “Something I haven’t done today.”
He leaned in and moved to kiss Yu Shiqing’s lips.
But Yu Shiqing stopped him just in time.
He raised his hand to grip Jiang Yu’s jaw, pressing his thumb to Jiang Yu’s lips to stop him.
Jiang Yu looked at him and protested, twisting the facts, “We agreed one kiss a day.”
Yu Shiqing replied, “You agreed to that on your own.”
Jiang Yu retreated a little. As soon as Yu Shiqing let go, he lay down right next to him, leaving no space between them.
Yu Shiqing looked at him.
Jiang Yu closed his eyes. “I’m sleeping.”
“Jiang Yu, you should think carefully during this time,” Yu Shiqing said. “Are your feelings real, or are they just impulsive? You need to know that doing this will only cloud your judgment.”
Jiang Yu pretended to fall asleep instantly, his breathing deliberately even and slow.
Seeing this, Yu Shiqing didn’t expose him and closed his eyes too.
That night, both of them slept until morning.
When Yu Shiqing opened his eyes, he was met with Jiang Yu’s gaze.
The redness in Jiang Yu’s eyes was gone, and he looked alert. He must have been awake for a while and only got up when Yu Shiqing did.
“Meng Chen is waiting downstairs. I won’t eat at home today,” Jiang Yu said as he walked toward the bathroom.
Yu Shiqing watched his back and got up from the bed.
Jiang Yu instinctively squeezed some toothpaste for him and set it aside. “I’ll be back tonight. Make sure you eat on time.”
When Yu Shiqing approached, Jiang Yu remembered his hand was already healed. Raising an eyebrow, he teased, “It took this long to form the habit, how long will it take to break it?”
Yu Shiqing replied calmly, “One day. I’ll move out.”
Jiang Yu: “…”
He shoved the toothbrush straight into Yu Shiqing’s mouth.
After washing up, Jiang Yu changed clothes and headed out. At the door, he paused and turned around to look at Yu Shiqing.
“Why do you want to work behind the scenes?”
The question came suddenly. Yu Shiqing looked at him. “It’s just a thought.”
“No reason?” Jiang Yu asked.
Ren Bai had said more than once that acting was the only thing Yu Shiqing truly cared about—whether it was in film or on stage, performing a complete story was his passion.
Now that he had ended his contract with Huaze and had the freedom to choose good scripts, why the sudden change?
After four years of stage plays and just two films after returning, had Yu Shiqing lost interest?
“No reason,” Yu Shiqing said.
Jiang Yu stood still, repeating, “No reason, or is that your objective judgment?”
Yu Shiqing simply said, “Don’t overthink it.”
Jiang Yu looked at him, his eyes dark like a deep pool.
“Alright. I won’t overthink,” he replied, then changed the subject. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful on the road,” Yu Shiqing said.
After Jiang Yu left, Yu Shiqing returned to the study. Seeing the documents on the desk, he glanced at his now healed arm, then walked to the window.
He saw Meng Chen waiting by the car downstairs and stood still for a while.
When he saw Jiang Yu come out the door, he looked away, went back to the desk, and resumed reading.
That night, Jiang Yu moved his toiletries from the master bedroom to the guest room—but not his bedding.
After his shower, he walked to the bed under Yu Shiqing’s gaze, sat down, then lay down.
Yu Shiqing stayed silent.
“What?” Jiang Yu asked.
After all that, it ended up like this again. Yu Shiqing didn’t stop him.
And that’s how it was again the next night.
On the way to the new filming location of A Trip on a Whim, Ren Bai noticed something odd.
“Why aren’t you two sitting together today?” he asked. The car was unusually quiet, and it took him a while to realize it was because the two of them hadn’t spoken since boarding.
Jiang Yu looked at Yu Shiqing and replied, “Mr. Yu is currently evaluating me.”
“Evaluating?” Ren Bai was confused. “What kind of evaluation?”
“You’ll have to ask him,” Jiang Yu said. “If he tells me what he’s unhappy about or what he doesn’t like, I can fix it and pass.”
Yu Shiqing looked up from his documents. “Nonsense.”
Jiang Yu smiled. “Isn’t that the truth?”
Ren Bai had no idea what was going on. It didn’t seem like they fought, but the vibe was definitely off.
What kind of “evaluation” was this?
He pondered all the way but couldn’t figure it out. And since Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu clearly weren’t planning to explain, he had no choice but to let it go.
After splitting up with Ren Bai, the two boarded their flight quickly.
After landing, the crew came to pick them up. Coincidentally, Wu Luo was on the same flight, so the three traveled to the filming location together.
They sat in the back of the van. Wu Luo deliberately waited until the two sat down before choosing a seat, thinking they would sit together as always. But this time, they didn’t.
Yu Shiqing took the single seat by the door. Jiang Yu frowned and glanced at him, then sat across the aisle.
Seeing Jiang Yu’s empty seat next to him, Wu Luo hesitated for a second before cautiously moving over.
Jiang Yu turned to Yu Shiqing. “The livestream is about to start. Do you want the viewers to notice your so-called evaluation?”
Yu Shiqing checked his watch. “It hasn’t started yet.”
Wu Luo asked curiously, “Senior, what evaluation?”
“Nothing,” Jiang Yu replied casually, then leaned back and changed the subject. “Did you put on perfume?”
“Yeah.” Wu Luo blushed. Jiang Yu had never commented on that before. “If you don’t like it, I can wash it off after check-in.”
“No need,” Jiang Yu said.
He didn’t want to bring up anything personal in front of others, so once Wu Luo was distracted, he stopped talking.
Wu Luo tried to chat a few more times, and the car ride continued with scattered small talk until they arrived.
Jiang Yu tapped his fingers on his knee, clearly a bit irritated.
When the van door finally opened and Yu Shiqing put away his files, Jiang Yu interrupted Wu Luo mid-sentence, got up, and followed behind Yu Shiqing.
They stepped out of the car exactly at five o’clock.
The livestream started.
Since it was already the eighth episode, the production team didn’t hide the behind-the-scenes setup. The cameras even showed the staff helping the guests put on mics.
Jiang Yu took the equipment from the staff with one hand and put it on while walking toward Yu Shiqing.
But Ji Chen and the others arrived early and came over to say hello.
Yu Shiqing greeted them all one by one.
Jiang Yu waited patiently through all the greetings. Wu Luo also waited, then suddenly gasped.
“Senior, look! The view here is amazing!” He pointed to a tall mountain in the distance and turned to speak again only to find Jiang Yu already gone.
He looked around and saw Jiang Yu walking toward Yu Shiqing again.
The cameraman in the corner caught the moment.
The audience laughed as soon as the show started.
“He’s heading straight for Yu Shiqing again. These two Pisces really can’t be separated for a second.”
“Jiang Yu is such a direct alpha! If he wasn’t handsome and talented, he’d be doomed to stay single forever, haha!”
“Congrats to our new Film Emperor Jiang and Best Supporting Actor Yu! If you haven’t seen the awards show yet, go watch it! You’ll understand why #YuGuoTianQing is forever!!”
On camera, Jiang Yu had already reached Yu Shiqing.
As soon as he got close, he asked directly, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
There were cameras all around, so Yu Shiqing said nothing.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “Let’s go. It’s time to gather.”
Then, as if nothing happened, he reached out, grabbed Yu Shiqing’s hand, and turned toward Wei Yuanju.15
