Category: Surrender 2 (Page 4 of 5)

       When Zhuo Yue came to his senses the next day, he was already lying on the bed in his apartment. The memory of last night was blurred into disjointed images, and some passages could not be remembered at all. In the following weeks, Zhuo Yue did not see Fang Mingyan again. He started professional physical training according to Shen Luo’s arrangements. Not only did he exercise his muscle lines, but he also hired a dance teacher from the company to train the flexibility of his limbs. At his request, the company arranged English-speaking courses and language expression courses for him. During the gap period after filming the movie, he kept working hard to recharge himself every day, which was quite fulfilling.

       That afternoon, Lin Hui came over with a beaming face, “Yue ge, there is an announcement tomorrow afternoon. KF TV’s ‘Starlight Brilliance’ program has invited the director and several creators, and you are also going.”

       Zhuo Yue knew why he was happy. The ‘Starlight Brilliance’ was a program that revolved around the interaction between the hosts and celebrity guests through games. Occasionally, there were some attention-grabbing side stories. It was one of the top-rated variety shows in the country, usually featuring well-known celebrities. Zhuo Yue hadn’t been in the public eye for a while, so this was a chance for him to make a comeback. However, program invitations were not typically extended in such a hurry, and opportunities for supporting actors like him to appear were usually minimal. With these thoughts in mind, he asked, “Did Chief Shen mention why she wants me to go?”

       “She only said that this opportunity was obtained by the company and asked you to take advantage of it.” Lin Hui replied.

       Zhuo Yue didn’t ask any more questions and carefully read the program flow that was passed on. Then he crammed in his homework by watching all the recent ‘Starlight Brilliance’ programs and arrived at the TV station early the next afternoon.

       The director, the best actors, and the actresses had separate lounges, while the supporting actors were all arranged in a large room for makeup. Zhuo Yue didn’t see Zhong Cheng, which surprised him. While on his way to the restroom, he coincidentally ran into Jiang Yan coming out from one of the individual rooms, and the two made eye contact.

       Jiang Yan wore a white lace dress today and applied delicate light makeup, looking pure and beautiful. She looked Zhuo Yue up and down for a while, then raised her lips and said, “I didn’t expect you to be a ruthless person as well.”

       The hidden meaning in Jiang Yan’s words left Zhuo Yue feeling a little confused. He looked at her with a bewildered expression. Jiang Yan, the lead actress, smiled meaningfully and walked away without explaining further.

       During the rehearsal, Lu Chenyang stood next to him and asked, “Is the injury on your back feeling better?”

       “It’s fine.” Zhuo Yue was not so distant from him, and he was much more relaxed when he spoke, “Thank you for asking your assistant to send me the ointment. The effect is very good, and the scars are almost invisible.”

       “Did you make that return gift yourself?” The Best Actor Lu smiled, “It tastes very good.”

       He smiled sheepishly, “I don’t know what you like. I heard from the assistant that you have been staying up late filming, so I made a pot of chicken soup for you.”

       “As soon as the thermos bucket was opened, the fragrance made the people on the crew drool. If I hadn’t been quick, someone would have snatched it away.”

       “You’re exaggerating. Who dares to rob you?” Zhuo Yue couldn’t help but smile. His smile was as bright as the sunshine in March, seemingly radiating from his elegant face.

       Lu Chenyang’s expression softened, and warmth oozed from the corners of his brows and eyes, “That’s right, what’s in my hands, I won’t let others snatch it away.”

       He spoke very slowly, his eyes fixed on Zhu Yue as if he were speaking to him seriously. Zhuo Yue suddenly felt a little embarrassed and changed the topic, “Zhong Cheng didn’t come.”

       Lu Chenyang curled his lips, “He did want to come.”

       “What happened to him?”

       “Can’t get out of bed.”

       “So serious?” Zhuo Yue was a little surprised, “What’s wrong with him?”

       Lu Chenyang looked a little odd. He stopped talking for a moment, turned his head, lowered his voice, and said, “He was hooking up with a certain director a while ago, and Chairman Luo from Chongyuan Real Estate found out about it. I heard that he got a bruise on his nose and face. He couldn’t get out of bed for several days, and all the announcements were postponed.”

       Zhuo Yue didn’t know what to say and sighed, “I see. I only have this opportunity because he cannot come.”

       “You will appear here no matter what. The position Huasheng wants cannot be occupied by little Zhongcheng.” Lu Chenyang’s words were full of meaning.

       He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly his pupils shrank, and he suddenly realized, “Could it be that Zhong Cheng was beaten because…”

       Lu Chenyang smiled and said nothing.

       Zhuo Yue’s heart was pounding for a long time, but he finally understood the situation. Given Zhong Cheng’s cautious nature, engaging in an affair would undoubtedly be done discreetly. The fact that it smoothly reached the ears of the benefactor suggested someone was leaking information. It was likely that Fang Mingyan, the well-informed person, was the one orchestrating it. With this move, not only did Zhong Cheng receive a severe reprimand, but Zhuo Yue also found himself on a program he had no chance to appear on. It was truly killing two birds with one stone. Now he knew why Jiang Yan said such things. She saw through the little actions and assumed it was him.

       Zhuo Yue really couldn’t explain this misunderstanding. He was not that pedantic in nature. More than a year of frustration made him understand this circle’s cruel fighting situation. Since Fang Mingyan had created such an opportunity for him, he would do his best to seize it.

       He was very serious during the whole filming process. He interacted with the hosts, actively participated in the games, behaved in a polite manner, and tried his best to show his best side to the audience by taking others’ feelings into consideration when he spoke.

       In fact, after the program was officially aired, Zhuo Yue really caused quite a stir on the internet and instantly attracted a large number of fans.

       Because of a still photo from the show that was released for the first time.

       He jumped up from the water; his upper body was naked, and the crystal clear water droplets were thrown out by his slightly raised head. His half-lidded eyes were full of seduction that made people’s hearts flutter.

       A mere silhouette had captivated millions of people.

       The entertainment industry was like a huge casino, where being popular or not was just a matter of thought.

       As the poster spread overwhelmingly on the internet, Zhuo Yue, who had been silent for a whole year, suddenly became a hot topic on major internet platforms. His never-before-seen semi-nudity breaks the mould of his former dandy self, and his ambiguous and bold homosexual role shatters his conservative image, bringing him back to the public eye in a whole new light. His sexy silhouette, bewitching eyes and handsome face instantly ignited the hearts of countless young girls. Within 24 hours after the ‘Starlight Brilliance’ program was broadcast, Zhuo Yue’s silent Weibo account soared to nearly two million followers, occupying the top of the daily search charts and even outshining the duo of the movie star and the queen of the film.

       The driving force behind this was naturally Fang Mingyan. He had always had a knack for controlling the public eye, and his push this time was also very effective, causing huge waves in an instant.

       Director Xie naturally would not let go of this favourable wave. Soon, the official film promotion account posted a short clip, the content of which was, of course, the kissing scene between Lu Chenyang and Zhuo Yue. The kiss was edited so beautifully and touchingly that one couldn’t help but blush and heart beating just by looking at it.

       After the trailer was released, it caused an uproar on the internet. Some netizens accused the film studio of deliberately selling something rotten¹usually refers to gay stories as a lot of BL/danmei fans named themselves as rotten, while others fought back hard. The war situation quickly escalated to a level of support for gays and anti-discrimination, and the movie was already highly hyped before it was released, earning a lot of attention. Lu Chenyang’s cryptic message on Weibo that night, ‘Good night, Flower Boy’, added fuel to the fire. A large number of fans screamed with excitement, completely bringing Lin Xiu and Hua Zhan in the movie to reality, shouting ‘Linhua CP’ and making the two of them into a pair. The nickname ‘Flower Boy’ also took root and became exclusive to Zhuo Yue.

       The purpose of the publicity has been achieved, and who cared how much hype was involved when an outdated artist was made famous again?  Xie Anqing and Fang Mingyan, who were far apart, looked at the glowing computer screen and showed similar smiles at the same time.

       The film’s release date was set for Valentine’s Day. At the premiere, standing to the right of Lu Chenyang was the heroine Jiang Yan, and to the left was Zhuo Yue in a white suit. The second male lead, Zhong Cheng, was pushed to the side, and he was so angry that his expression was dark.

       A reporter asked Zhuo Yue, “It is said that you played the protagonist’s gay friend in this movie. What is your personal view on homosexuality?”

       Zhuo Yue thought for a while and replied, “I think this is just a way of love. There is no right or wrong way. I hope people can treat them with a more tolerant attitude.”

       The reporter continued to ask, “There is a kissing scene between you and Lu Chenyang in the trailer. Do you feel awkward when performing this scene?”

       “We are all professional actors. To meet the needs of the film, we will do our best to portray our characters well.” Zhuo Yue avoided the important point easily.

       Another reporter jumped in and asked, “Mr. Zhuo Yue, fans paired you and Lu Chenyang and named them ‘Linhua CP’. What do you want to say?”

       He smiled helplessly, “This is just the relationship between the characters in the film, and fans are just making fun of us.”

       “It wouldn’t be bad to make a couple.” At this moment, Best Actor Lu, who was standing next to him, suddenly interrupted. He put his arm on Zhuo Yue’s shoulders very naturally, looked at the black camera with a smile and said, “We are actually a good match.”

       Zhuo Yue was startled and didn’t say anything. Jiang Yan raised her eyebrows and pretended to be angry, “You two don’t take me as the female lead seriously. Forget about the premiere. Just release the trailer.”

       Her words relieved the situation without leaving a trace. Lu Chenyang laughed and turned around to apologize, “I was wrong. Please forgive me, goddess.”

       A famous director was in charge, movie kings and movie queens co-starred, and the wealthy Golden Eagle funded it; the audience liked it very much. This light romantic comedy was a hit on Valentine’s Day and achieved impressive box-office success. Zhuo Yue’s performance in it could be said to be the icing on the cake. He finally stepped from the shadows of obscurity into the spotlight and began to receive invitations from advertisements and TV series.

       At the same time, because of Lu Chenyang’s ambiguous statement, “It’s a good match”, their relationship became a target for all kinds of media to spread their thoughts. News such as ‘Linhua’s CP is actually real? The actor said the two are a perfect match’ and ‘The male protagonist does not love the female protagonist, but loves the male co-star’ on the internet attracted a large number of fans to view, complain and make comments.

       This movie brought Zhuo Yue back to the public eye with great momentum. Shen Luo had accepted some commercials for him and was selecting some variety shows for him in order to extend his exposure time. The programme ‘The Right Time to Fall in Love’ has just been launched, produced by KF TV. It had a good team and a lot of attention. The film crew strongly invited Zhu Yue, and Shen Luo wanted him to participate but was hesitant because of his awkward status.

       The show ‘The Right Time to Fall in Love’, as one could tell from the name, was about romantic relationships. It featured two celebrities, a male and a female, playing house on the show and talking about love for the audience, using ambiguous or romantic scenes to touch people’s hearts. Zhuo Yue was an airborne soldier signed by the boss himself, and the two even lived together for a while. Now, it seemed that they had broken up, and Fang Mingyan basically ignored him, but when it came to creating public opinion for Zhuo Yue, he spent a lot of money without batting an eyelid. The person who was very stingy and haggled over one cent was now so generous that it was difficult for people not to speculate on the relationship between the two. Shen Luo was afraid if she made her own decisions and let Zhuo Yue go, she would make the boss unhappy by seeing him being intimate with a woman on the screen, so she simply sent a report to ask for instructions and let Fang Mingyan make a decision on his own.

       Not a moment later, there was a response.

       A simple sentence.

       “If I have to take care of such a trivial matter. What do I hire you for?”

       Shen Luo was so choked by this question that she asked her assistant to reply to the film crew with a gloomy expression and then dialled Zhuo Yue’s phone.

       Zhuo Yue was shooting a magazine cover and didn’t speak for a long time after hearing the news.

       Shen Luo said out of thin air, “This is what Chairman Fang means.”

       He lowered his eyes and said softly, “I know.”

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       After staying in the apartment for a week, the injuries on his body were almost healed.

       At the end of the year, the company’s annual meeting was scheduled two weeks before the Chinese New Year. Huasheng had a large number of artists under its umbrella, and the annual meeting was like a grand awards ceremony. The female stars walked on the long red carpet, each trying to outshine the others, while the male stars displayed various levels of sophistication. The artists had already made appointments with each other, entering the venue in pairs, leaving Zhuo Yue, who was alone, looking somewhat solitary.

       He vaguely heard someone calling him. Zhuo Yue turned around and saw Lu Chenyang in a silver-grey suit walking towards him. He said with a smile, “Coincidentally, I don’t have a companion either. Shall we go in together?”

       Zhuo Yue nodded. Lu Chenyang had a mild personality and was very considerate, and he always took good care of him. After working together, the relationship between the two became closer. On the red carpet, he smiled and teasingly said, “It would be a bit embarrassing if word got out that the prestigious Best Actor doesn’t have a female companion.”

       Lu Chenyang smiled and said, “The male companion saves much trouble than the female companion. At least he can walk faster.”

       Both of them had outstanding looks and tall bodies, and they were very eye-catching when walking together. Zhuo Yue himself was not used to socializing with others, and on such occasions, his whole body tensed up, and the smile on his face froze. Fortunately, Lu Chenyang was around to help him out.

       On the small stage in the centre of the large banquet hall, four big boys were sweating and singing hard to warm up the show. They were a newly debuted band and were said to be very popular. After the singing and dancing, the company’s top executives took the stage to deliver a speech. Fang Mingyan, the president of the company, walked up slowly, looked around, said some words of encouragement and thanks, then walked down and sat at the same table with the company’s major shareholders. The venue was noisy again, singing, dancing, and drinking glasses.

       Zhuo Yue was about to hide out from the crowd but was pulled into a toast by Lu Chenyang. Before he could finish the sentence ‘I’m a bad drinker…’, he was already dragged to the table of directors. When he met Fang Mingyan’s gaze, he froze.

       Ordinary artists were not qualified to come and toast. Lu Chenyang was an A-list actor and made a lot of money for the company in a year. He was naturally comfortable in front of these people. He brought Zhuo Yue here to get him closer to these directors. He admired Zhu Yue’s acting skills and felt that he should have more room for development.

       However, there were rules for toasting. Starting from the main seat, one by one goes around in a circle to toast one cup at a time, and every cup must be drunk. Zhuo Yue was not a big drinker, so he only poured a small layer of red wine into his glass, following Lu Chenyang’s example.

       Fang Mingyan, who was sitting in the main seat, casually touched the goblet in his hand to him without saying anything. Arriving in front of a man in a white suit, the man glanced at the wine in his glass and curled his lips, “Such a small amount of wine, that’s not very sincere. I won’t drink with this kind of toast.”

       “I’m not a good drinker. I’ll lose my temper if I drink too much. Please forgive me.” Zhuo Yue said sincerely.

       Lu Chenyang also helped him out and said, “Young Master Zhang, he really can’t drink well…”

       “It’s a rare night to get together and have a good time, so don’t be so formal.” The man looked at him sideways, “If you don’t want to refill the wine, do you want me to pour it for you myself?”

       Zhuo Yue could feel Fang Mingyan’s eyes looking at him. He recalled the coping strategies he learned in Hanguan, forcing a smile and retreating to take advantage of the situation, “I will do it myself.” He took a bottle of red wine and wanted to pour a little symbolically into the cup as a token of appreciation. Unexpectedly, Young Master Zhang pressed down the slender mouth of the bottle, and the red liquid filled the tall glass to two-thirds before he released.

       How could anyone drink red wine like this? It’s obvious he was deliberately trying to force him to drink.

       Lu Chenyang furrowed his brow. This Young Master Zhang, whose full name was Zhang Qinzhou, was notorious for his bad behavior in high society circles. A year ago, when his scandalous photos with a female star were exposed by the media, his father was so angry that he suffered a heart attack and passed away. As a result, five percent of Huasheng’s shares fell into his hands. Zhang Qinzhou was known for his promiscuity, especially with attractive artists. There were rumors that he had played a role in landing a newly debuted artist in the hospital. His behavior today clearly indicated that he had set his sights on Zhuo Yue. Lu Chenyang picked up the glass and said, “Zhuo Yue got quite drunk from just half a cup last time. Today is a rare gathering, and if he gets too intoxicated, he might miss out on a lot of good moments. How about I drink this wine on his behalf?”

       “Put it down.” Zhang Qinzhou said coldly, “When did it become your turn to make the decision at this table?”

       He said this in a way that did not even give him any face, and the atmosphere was a bit stiff for a while.

       Zhuo Yue looked at Fang Mingyan again. He could not help but look at the man. Their eyes crossed each other, and there was some playfulness in the other man’s eyes as if he was watching an interesting drama without any intention of intervening. Zhuo Yue felt a little stuffy in his heart. He picked up the cup and said to Zhang Qinzhou, “Your Master Zhang, I offer you this toast.” After saying that, he raised his head and drank the glass of wine in one gulp.

       “Hey… why did you drink so fast?” the man said, shaking the wine glass in his hand. “Is it considered a toast if you are not even clinking the glasses?”

       “In that case, I’ll give you another toast.” Zhuo Yue took the cup and filled it himself, touched it with him, raised his neck again, and drank it all. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you satisfied, Young Master Zhang?”

       The somewhat arrogant and cold look between his eyebrows made Zhang Qinzhou’s heart beat wildly, and he curled his lips and said, “Satisfied, of course, I am satisfied.”

       He drank these two glasses of wine fast and hard. The soreness in his throat and discomfort in his stomach made Zhuo Yue uncomfortable. He said, “Excuse me,” and left. Lu Chenyang exchanged pleasantries with the people at the table and then went to find him. After walking around the venue, he finally saw Zhuo Yue’s figure. They forcibly pulled him onto the stage as a guest for the lucky draw, causing a commotion. When the excitement settled, Zhuo Yue was nowhere to be found.

       Zhuo Yue felt hot all over as he was drunk, so he simply went to the balcony to enjoy the air alone.

       The New Year was approaching, and thousands of lights were scattered among the tall buildings, warming the city on cold winter nights. Zhuo Yue looked at those lights and felt empty in his heart. He didn’t like such family-friendly festivals, as it reminded him of what it meant to be alone. He turned around and looked through the glass door at the excitement and noises that did not belong to him, sipping the c0cktail in the glass.

       “What are you doing hiding here?” a man’s voice sounded.

       Zhuo Yue turned his head and looked at Zhang Qinzhou, who was standing beside him, without saying anything. He hated the greasy feeling emanating from this man’s body.

       “You’re not a good drinker, yet you drank so quickly. It must be hard.” Zhang Qinzhou pretended to be concerned and put his hand on his shoulder.

       Zhuo Yue took a step back quietly, avoiding his hand, “My stomach feels uncomfortable, Young Master Zhang. You’d better stay away from me lest I vomit on you.”

       “Want to vomit? Let me help you go to the bathroom.” Zhang Qinzhou had been looking for him since just now. Now that he got the opportunity to be alone with him, he would not let it go, so he simply came over and hugged him.

       Zhuo Yue didn’t expect that he would dare to do something so blatantly, so he broke away suddenly in surprise. He was dizzy after drinking and couldn’t control his strength. He hit the wall and felt a dull pain in the injury on his back.

       “Tsk, look, where did you get hit?” The man came closer and put his hand on his chest.

       Zhuo Yue endured it hard and said with a pale face: “Young Master Zhang, this is an annual meeting, and there are people outside.”

       “How interesting,” Zhang Qinzhou grinned. “Why don’t you try shouting? Tomorrow, news of you seducing me will spread from the mouths of your celebrity friends to all the media outlets. I know quite a few directors. If I ask, I can make you the lead actor. Give it some thought.” With that, he reached up and caressed Zhuo Yue’s face, leaning in close to his ear. “I have connections,” he continued, licking his earlobe provocatively.

       The sticky and disgusting feeling made Zhu Yue’s psychological structure completely collapse. He couldn’t deal with it any longer. He pushed the man away and said angrily, “I am not the kind of artist who sleeps around.”

       Zhang Qinzhou sneered, “Don’t put on this virtuous act in front of me. Do you think I can’t see the subtle exchanges between you and Fang Mingyan? He’s willing to spend money on you just because you’re good in bed, right? I advise you not to waste your efforts. He changes bed partners faster than he changes clothes. Did he even acknowledge you when you were just pitifully staring at him earlier?”

       Zhuo Yue was so angry that he tried to leave, but the man grabbed his arm and pushed him against the wall.

       “Being polite to you is just a courtesy. Don’t push your luck.” Zhang Qinzhou pressed him tightly and gritted his teeth. “I’m going to r4p3 you here today, and no one dares to stop me.”

       “Let go!” Zhuo Yue punched him in the face with the help of alcohol.

       Zhang Qinzhou received the punch without any precautions, and his face hurt. Now, he was completely irritated. He pounced on Zhu Yue like a hungry tiger and roughly tore open Zhu Yue’s clothes, causing the buttons to fall to the ground.

       Zhuo Yue’s head was dizzy, and he couldn’t use much strength, so he pressed his hands firmly against the opponent. At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind, “Young Master Zhang, it doesn’t seem appropriate to do this kind of thing at the annual meeting.

       Zhang Qinzhou was stunned, turned around, and saw Fang Mingyan standing on the balcony. He let go of his hand and smiled nonchalantly, “We deliberately found a secluded place to cultivate our relationship, and Chairman Fang bumped into us.” This implied that the relationship between him and Zhuo Yue was nothing more than a consensual and passionate affair, and Fang Minyan was the one interrupting them.

       Zhuo Yue said nothing, grabbing the torn front with his hands as he stared at Fang Mingyan with a pair of mist-stained eyes.

       Seeing that the other party did not deny his statement, Zhang Qinzhou was secretly happy and said, “Zhuo Yue drank too much. I’ll send him back.” He grabbed his wrist.

       “I’m afraid not.” Fang Mingyan’s dark eyes were like a bottomless abyss with incomprehensible emotions, but there was a cold smile on the corner of his mouth, “He is mine.”

       Zhang Qinzhou’s expression changed. He let go of his hand and said with a smile, “It turned out he was Chairman Fang’s people; it seems I was rude. Zhuo Yue didn’t explain it to me when we got close just now, Chairman Fang, please don’t be offended.”

       “I don’t blame those who don’t know.” Fang Mingyan smiled, but his eyes were filled with a cold dark light, “But in the future, Young Master Zhang, please keep a distance from him. I am a petty person, and I can easily lose control when I get jealous.”

       This warning sounded more like a blatant threat.

       Zhang Qinzhou froze and laughed dryly, “If it’s Chairman Fang’s people, I naturally know my limits.” With that, he quickly excused himself, saying, “I won’t disturb you two,” and hastily left.

       There were only two people left on the balcony.

       The dishevelled Zhuo Yue lowered his eyes, lowered his long eyelashes, and showed a pale smile, “I have studied for so long and still haven’t learned anything. I am really a failure of a student.”

       “That kind of person is indeed a bit tricky.” Fang Mingyan took off his suit and covered him, “He probably won’t attack you in the future.”

       Zhuo Yue looked at him quietly for a while and smiled slowly with a hint of drunkenness. In that smile, there was actually some incomprehensible sadness, which was so thick that it was hard to get rid of it in his eyes. His pitch-black yet bright eyes seemed like stars falling from the celestial dome or a lake mirroring the lights, intertwining gloominess and brilliance as if harboring numerous unspoken emotions. He spoke softly, “Chairman Fang’s acting skills are too good. Not only did he deceive him, but he almost fooled me as well…”

       Fang Mingyan was startled.

       At that moment, a huge fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky, and the sparkling light illuminated the faces of the two people. Then rounds of fireworks appeared alternately, lighting up the sky. The light of the fireworks flickered in their eyes, reflecting pure black into brilliant colours. The noisy sound in the hall flooded this corner like a tide.

       “I’m leaving…” Zhuo Yue murmured, stumbled forward, and was embraced in a warm embrace.

       In a daze, the familiar scent of the man’s body allowed him to settle down and let his exhausted spirit drift off to sleep.

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       A few days later, Zhuo Yue officially joined the cast for filming, and there was no further contact with Fang Mingyan.

       The hierarchy among actors was very clear, and directors usually accommodated the schedules of big names. Under similar circumstances, the scenes featuring the main characters were usually shot first. Zhuo Yue had few scenes, but he had scenes with both the male and female leads. Jiang Yan was cold and indifferent in private and didn’t pay much attention to anyone except chatting and laughing with the director. Probably because they were in the same company, Lu Chenyang took good care of him and sometimes let Zhuo Yue share his resting room.

       There was a night scene in a bar that night. Hua Zhan accompanied the male protagonist, Lin Xiu, to the bar to find the goddess Dong Xue, but found that the other party was dancing with the rich and handsome Li Haofeng. The diva Jiang Yan was out of shape today, and a dozen shots of a drunken and passionate scene were not good enough, so Zhuo Yue could only sit aside and wait. As the clock passes two, he grows weary from waiting, wraps himself in a blanket, and curls up on the sofa, falling asleep.

       “Hey, make way.” A sharp female voice rang.

       Zhuo Yue woke up in a daze, opened his eyes and looked at the group of people standing around him. It took him a moment to realise that they were the agent, makeup artist and assistants of the second male lead, Zhong Cheng. Lin Hui, who was dozing nearby, woke up when he heard the noise and asked, “What are you doing?”

       The female agent raised her eyebrows and said, “Zhong Cheng wants to use this sofa, please make way.”

       Lin Hui frowned, “Isn’t he still filming? Besides, there are so many sofas around; why can’t he sleep on any one of them?”

       “He doesn’t like the warm air from the air conditioner blowing directly on him. This position is just right.” Zhong Cheng’s young female assistant said.

       “Yue ge has been using this sofa. So there should be a first-come, first-served order, right?” Lin Hui couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.

       “First come, first served?” The female manager sneered, The female agent snorted, “Please get it straight, Zhong Cheng is the second male lead. When it comes to taking turns, this sofa isn’t in line for you guys.”

       “Ah¹A Chinese prefix used with a shortened form of peoples’ given names to express familiarity, roughly equivalent to Mister or Miss. Hui.” Zhuo Yue stopped him, stood up, rolled up the quilt and said, “Let’s change places.” After that, he walked to another sofa and sat down. Seeing him like this, Lin Hui had no choice but to hold back his anger and move his costume over.

       He then heard some sarcastic comments from the other side of the room.

       “Quite sensible.”

       “The former No.1 in TV dramas now has to wait for others to do his acting, how miserable, haha…”

       “It’s really a turn of events. Zhong Cheng even acted as a male supporting actor for him in a TV series before. At that time, he was very popular. Fenglan’s Sheng Haofeng doted on him like nothing, and he didn’t give a damn about anyone. Now look, Huasheng assigned a young boy like him as his assistant.”

       “I don’t know which bosses this outdated actor somehow managed to curry favour with and got a small supporting role. What’s the use of just looking good? Among the male actors in this crew, who doesn’t look good? With his weak appearance, Zhong Cheng could easily crush him into pieces in no time.”

       The voice was neither loud nor quiet, just enough for the two of them to hear clearly. Lin Hui gritted his teeth in anger. Zhuo Yue patted his shoulder with a calm expression and said softly, “It’s a shame for you to follow me.”

       “Ge, what are you talking about…don’t take those words to heart.”

       While the two were talking, Zhong Cheng came over to rest between filming. The manager came up to him and said something. He looked over here, curled his lips and smiled contemptuously, then lay down and rested his long legs comfortably on the armrest of the sofa.

       There’s a grudge between Zhong Cheng and Zhuo Yue. Back when the widely popular ‘Conquest of Mountains and Rivers’ was initially casting its male lead, it was supposed to be him. However, Zhuo Yue took over the role, and he had to swallow his dissatisfaction and play the second male lead. At that time, he often mocked and ridiculed Zhuo Yue. Now that they met again, Zhuo Yue was no longer as famous as before, while Zhong Cheng was thriving. Naturally, he didn’t show much favour towards Zhuo Yue.

       After Jiang Yan finally passed the bar, the fight scene between the three men officially began. In the alley behind the bar door, Lu Chenyang and Zhuo Yue were surrounded by bodyguards summoned by Zhong Cheng, who played the role of a rich and handsome man.

       In the movie, the fight scenes were just for show, but Zhuo Yue had some real skills, clearing two sequences effortlessly. In the final scene, Zhong Cheng kicked Lu Chenyang, and Zhuo Yue rushed in to take the blow for him. Coordinating the interactions between the three proved challenging. The timing was off, expressions weren’t right, and movements were too stiff—five or six takes went by without success. As the night grew late, everyone became fatigued, and tensions rose. On this try, Zhong Cheng adjusted his position a bit forward and kicked Zhuo Yue squarely in the chest, unexpectedly using full force. Zhuo Yue stumbled backwards, crashing into a pile of props behind him, creating a loud crash.

       Everyone was shocked and gathered around him. Lin Hui ran over in a panic, “Yue ge! How are you?”

       During the filming of the action scenes, he wore very little clothing for the convenience of movement. This collision was real. Zhuo Yue felt severe pain in his chest and back, and his eyesight went dark. He managed to speak, “…it’s okay, help me up.”

       “Oh, are you okay? It’s my fault that I didn’t control my strength well.” Zhong Cheng pretended to be concerned.

       “Can’t you control, or did you just not control at all?” Lin Hui’s eyes were on the verge of bursting into flames.

       Zhong Cheng’s face turned gloomy, and he sneered, “It’s normal to accidentally get a few skin injuries while playing. Besides, I’ve already apologized. Zhuo Yue, take care of your dog and don’t let it bark at people.”

       Lu Chenyang, who came over to help Zhu Yue, frowned and said, “His assistant is a dog? Then what are those people following behind you?”

       Zhong Cheng looked embarrassed, didn’t dare to say anything, and walked away angrily.

       The doctor from the production team rushed over, checked the injuries on his body, and said, “The back is swollen, and we need to take an X-ray to determine if there is anything wrong with the bones.”

       Upon seeing this, Xie Anqing hurriedly asked someone to prepare a car to take Zhuo Yue to the hospital. It was almost four o’clock when the examination was completed. Fortunately, the bones were fine, but the bruise on the back looked a bit scary.

       Zhuo Yue rushed back to the set overnight and asked Lin Hui to apply some wound medicine to him. Seeing that the sky was already getting brighter, he simply didn’t sleep. He sat by the window for a while, drank a few sips of soy milk, and then went to put on makeup for the morning show. There was a scene between him and Lu Chenyang in the morning.

       After spending so much time together, Xie Anqing had a good impression of the introverted and quiet Zhuo Yue. Seeing him come here on time despite being injured, he couldn’t help but feel a little distressed. He also couldn’t stand the arrogant and domineering Zhong Cheng; choosing him as the second male lead was just to give face to Luo Yuan, the boss of Chongyuan Real Estate. With someone like Luo Yuan as his backing, Zhong Cheng usually looked down on everyone else, except for a few protagonists. Yesterday, it was clear that it was intentional, but no one could accuse him of doing it intentionally without any evidence. They could only watch as Zhuo Yue took the fall silently. Xie Anqing couldn’t help but sigh and say, “There are some people that we have to be on guard against.”

       Seeing Xie Anqing reminding him, Zhuo Yue felt grateful and said softly, “I understand.”

       Most of the scene was dialogue, so Lu Chenyang proposed changing the script and letting Zhuo Yue sit down and act. The director agreed, and the two worked together smoothly, with almost no NG.

       He saw that night was approaching and that he had to shoot that action scene again. Zhuo Yue was feeling depressed. Zhong Cheng came over and said, “Yo, is everything okay? I thought I might have kicked you a bit too hard there. Heard you’ve been tight on cash lately. Do you need me to cover the medical expenses?”

       Zhuo Yue raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze was cold. He was sitting so quietly, which gave him a bit of a cold and compelling aura. Zhong Cheng was already feeling bad, but he felt cold all over when he looked at him, so he dropped a couple of sarcastic remarks and left.

       While the lighting and scenery were being adjusted, several people came over, and the one in the middle was Fang Mingyan. He was wearing a long dark coat, his hands casually in his pockets.

       When Xie Anqing saw him coming, he stood up and greeted him warmly, “What a rare guest, Chairman Fang is actually free to come and visit us today.”

       With a smile on his face, Fang Mingyan said, “I heard there is a night filming tonight, so I stopped by to give you some midnight snacks.” Chen Li and his assistant who were following behind, immediately distributed the packaged abalone porridge to everyone.

       Xie Anqing glanced at Zhuo Yue, who was silent on the side, smiled and said, “Chairman Fang is considerate.”

       Zhuo Yue held the script in his hand, looked up, saw the person coming, and was slightly startled. Their eyes met, and those deep black eyes seemed to suck his gaze in, and his heart beat faster unconsciously. He stood up and said awkwardly, “Chairman Fang.”

       “En. How are the injuries on your body?” The man obviously already knew the news about his injuries.

       Since that snowy night, Zhuo Yue had not had any contact with him for almost a month. Standing in front of him at this moment felt a little unnatural, and said softly, “It’s just a little scr4p3. It’ll heal after a while.”

       “You will soon have a scene that requires you to be topless. If you are injured, you should avoid it.” Fang Mingyan took a separate lunch box from the secretary and gave it to him. Zhuo Yue took it and opened it. Inside was white porridge with side dishes.

       He pursed his lips and said, “Thank you, Chairman Fang.”

       At this moment, a horrified scream was heard, and everyone looked over there.

       The wooden shelf that was originally used as a background was abandoned and placed next to the wall. Now it fell down for some reason, and Zhong Cheng was pinned underneath it. Everyone hurriedly moved the shelves away. Fortunately, the wooden frame was neither strong nor heavy, so it didn’t cause any serious injuries. The only wounds on his back and arms were the wooden thorns that pricked the skin and caused blood. The doctor wiped the wound with disinfectant. Zhong Cheng yelled that it hurt and he couldn’t bear it.

       Xie Anqing walked over, wearing a somewhat uneasy smile as he said to Fang Mingyan, “Chairman Fang, Zhong Cheng still has scenes tonight.”

       The man chuckled nonchalantly, “It’s best to have some filming, but I’m afraid there won’t be any.”

       Director Xie sighed helplessly. It was evident that Fang Mingyan was taking action to teach Zhong Cheng a lesson. With incidents like this happening one after another in the crew, it was bound to attract public attention, and it required careful management. Compared to the real estate tycoon Luo Yuan, Fang Mingyan, who had a finger in both black and white world, was even more formidable. Being caught in the middle of this situation was indeed awkward for him.

       Zhuo Yue was still in a daze, and Lu Chenyang, who was beside him, bumped him with his elbow and said with a smile, “The porridge has gone cold. It’s rare for the boss to deliver it personally. Eat it quickly. After finishing, we can go check on Zhong Cheng,”

       He looked up at Fang Mingyan, lowered his head and took a sip.

       It was warm, and he felt all the way down your throat to your heart.

       After sitting for a short while, Boss Fang was ready to leave. Zhuo Yue and Lu Chenyang escorted him to the car. Whenever their eyes met, Zhuo Yue always managed to look away after a moment. Fang Mingyan smiled slightly and left without saying much.

       Zhong Cheng yelled that he didn’t want to film any more scenes, saying that he would need to be nursed for at least a week. The cost of renting a venue was very high, and a week off was a lot of money. Xie Anqing was offended by his pretentiousness, so he temporarily changed the script, deleted his action scenes with a stroke of a pen, and replaced them all with bodyguards. The next day, after shooting the remaining scenes, they let him leave the crew.

       In the next few days, the crew moved to the swimming pool. The wound on Zhuo Yue’s body had not healed much yet. The makeup artist wanted to cover the bruise with thick foundation. Lu Chenyang frowned and objected, “It is already bad enough to have the injuries soaked in the water. These chemicals are even more harmful to the wound. Once inflammation develops and the wound begins to fester, something serious will happen.”

       Xie Anqing thought for a while and agreed, “Then we’ll fix it in post-production.”

       This scene showed the male protagonist coming to the swimming pool to find Hua Zhan, and Hua Zhan comes out of the water. Zhuo Yue’s fitness efforts have begun to show results, with more defined lines on his body. The moment he straightened up from the swimming pool, his slowly opening eyes under his wet long eyelashes were as bright as obsidian. The water droplets dripping from the tips of the hair streaked across the wet chest, which had a fatal attraction that people couldn’t take their eyes away from. It was as if he was a male mermaid leaping from the sea, with every feature carrying an enchanting allure, leading humanity step by step into an irretrievable abyss of the deep sea.

       At that moment, the audience was extremely quiet, and Lu Chenyang was also stunned. The award-winning actor forgot the next words for a moment.

       Zhuo Yue looked at him awkwardly and said softly, “Chenyang?”

       Lu Chenyang recovered and smiled, “Sorry, I forgot the words. Sorry, sorry.”

       The first few moments went smoothly, and then it was the kiss between the two of them.

       Lu Chenyang had rehearsed the kiss with him before, but now, when their gaze met, they felt a different emotion from the last time; Zhuo Yue’s eyes were filled with a quiet clamour, as if countless hesitant words had turned into lingering emotions, lingering in those dark eyes, making him fall into that gaze unknowingly. In the blink of an eye, the kiss that should have been anticipated came suddenly. The perfectly balanced intensity and delicate restraint infused this brief kiss with even more profound emotions. In an instant, Lu Chenyang’s heartbeat unexpectedly quickened beyond his control.

       When he heard the director shouting to stop, Zhuo Yue put on the bath towel handed by Lin Hui and asked, “Is it passed?”

       “Excellent!” Xie Anqing praised with a smile after watching the replay, “Zhuo Yue performed well, and Chenyang’s surprise was very natural.”

       Lu Chenyang looked at the people beside him, lowered his eyes and smiled softly.

       In that moment just now, his attention was effortlessly diverted, his movements were restrained, and the rhythm was controlled. This captivating merman seemed to possess a truly enchanting power, causing him to lose control for the first time in his performance. The bewilderment in that moment was not an act; he genuinely became entranced by Zhuo Yue.

       “Mint flavoured,” he said.

       Zhuo Yue didn’t hear clearly and saw him tapping his lips, blushing, and said a little embarrassedly, “Ah Hui only has this flavor of chewing gum…”

       Lu Chenyang smiled and reached out to help him put the slipped bath towel on his shoulders. His eyes were gentle, “Go take a hot shower. You must be chilly being all wet.”

       Zhuo Yue nodded. After that, he had no further roles and left the crew the next day.

---

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       Early the next morning, Zhuo Yue left the house.

       Lin Hui took him to see the apartment, and after just looking at the first one, he said it was acceptable.

       “Yue ge, there are a few other places that are also good. Should we take a look again?” Lin Hui asked in a low voice. He was two years younger than Zhuo Yue, so he called him ‘ge’ to show his closeness.

       This hotel-style high-rise apartment had a very good environment, with a suitable size, and it was ready to move in with just a suitcase. The community comes with a well-equipped gym and a swimming pool. There were no other shortcomings except that the location was slightly off. Zhuo Yue stood by the window, looking at the rows of tall buildings in the distance and smiling lightly. “Compared with my previous residence, this place is already very good. I don’t have any other requirements besides tranquillity.”

       “Alright then, ge, take a look at the contract, and I’ll go talk to the agent.” Lin Hui handed him the lease contract. After a while, he came back and saw that Zhuo Yue was still sitting on the chair reading the contract; he waited quietly for a while and realised that something was wrong. Zhuo Yue’s gaze was fixed on the paper without moving at all. If his gaze had been so hot, it would have burned through the paper. He was not looking at the contract, he was clearly distracted.

       Lin Hui coughed lightly and asked, “Yue ge, have you finished reading? Do you have any questions?”

       Zhuo Yue came back to his senses, scribbled through it, signed it, handed it to him, and asked, “Are you free this afternoon?”

       “Yes, what’s the matter?”

       “I have some things stored in Hanguan, and I want to move them here directly.”

       Lin Hui was stunned, “What’s the hurry? Does Chairman Fang know about this?” When he saw the embarrassment on Zhu Yue’s face, he knew that he had made a mistake and immediately said, “I don’t mean something else… Then, Yue ge, I’ll find a few people to move the stuff over this afternoon.”

       “No need to call anyone. I don’t have big things, and it only takes two travel bags to pack.” Zhuo Yue said, “Please help me get it together.”

       “It’s all within the scope of my duties, ge. No need to be so polite.” Lin Hui scratched his head.

       Choosing to move in the afternoon when Fang Mingyan was not around felt a bit sneaky. After Zhuo Yue had moved all his belongings to the new place and sat on the sofa, he contemplated and felt that his actions were quite inappropriate. After all, Fang Mingyan had kindly taken him in, and leaving without even saying goodbye was impolite. Moreover, it was he who had inexplicably ended up on the fourth floor doing what he did last night. Apart from helping him achieve a certain ‘pleasure’, Fang Mingyan hadn’t done anything out of line. It was his own fault, and he couldn’t blame others. Regardless of emotion or reason, he should have at least given a heads-up.

       Zhuo Yue thought for a while and decided to send a text message. This short sentence was typed, deleted, and revised several times.

       “I’ve found an apartment, and I’m moving in today. Thank you, Chairman Fang, for taking care of me, and I’ll buy you dinner some other time.”

       It was formal, polite and cautious, like an official diplomatic statement.

       After sending it out, he became even more nervous. Every time the screen of his mobile phone lit up, his breathing would become involuntarily short. As a result, Zhuo Yue spent the whole afternoon restless because the other party didn’t reply.

       By dinner time, the doorbell rang. He thought it was Lin Hui coming to deliver the meal, but when he opened the door he found Fang Mingyan standing outside the door, and he was stunned.

       “Why? Am I not welcome?” The man in a dark gray woolen coat looked at him with a smirk.

       “No…” Zhuo Yue came back to his senses. His face turned red, and he stepped aside, “Please come in.”

       Fang Mingyan looked round and commented, “Not bad.”

       Ever since what happened last night, Zhuo Yue would feel a little embarrassed every time he looked at him. This time, he lowered his head and poured water for him, saying, “I haven’t bought tea, just water.”

       The man took the cup, “After you move here, your whereabouts must be known to Lin Hui. This is a rule stipulated in the contract, and it is also to protect your safety, do you understand?”

       “Understood.”

       “Alright. Change your clothes, and let’s go eat.”

       Zhuo Yue was startled. He raised his gaze and saw a faint smile in Fang Mingyan’s bright eyes, “Didn’t you say you wanted to treat me to dinner? I happen to be free tonight.”

       When it was time to order, Zhuo Yue regretted even more why he had so stupidly added the phrase, “I’ll buy you dinner some other time.”

       It was a renowned high-end restaurant famous for its French cuisine. The expensive prices listed on the menu, adorned with golden edges, almost made Zhuo Yue unable to sit still. He had been to this place once before, and an investor in the same field footed the bill. At that time, he had money and didn’t care about the prices. Now, it seemed incredibly extravagant. In his current destitute state, even the rent was paid in advance by the company, and the few thousand yuan he had on him would probably just about cover today’s meal.

       The man had no intention of saving him any money. He ordered everything from foie gras to truffles, duck breast to lamb saddle steak, and even ordered a bottle of red wine. Finally, he asked Zhuo Yue his opinion in a very gentlemanly manner, “What else would you like to eat?”

       “No, I’m fine.” Zhuo Yue had no choice but to ask Lin Hui for help via text message, hoping to borrow some money to pay for the meal in advance, but there was no reply for a long time.

       The dishes came one after another, and Fang Mingyan ate slowly, with a fleeting joking flashing in his eyes, “Why, you don’t have an appetite to eat with me?”

       “…It’s not like that.” Zhuo Yue lowered his head and fiddled with the food on the plate. He had always been thin-skinned. Since he agreed to the treat, he couldn’t say anything if he couldn’t pay the bill, so he had to perfunctorily clink his glasses with the man. Drinking more than a thousand yuan of red wine felt like drinking Chinese medicine in his mouth; it tasted bitter and astringent.

       After finally making it to the end of the meal, Zhuo Yue could no longer calm down, so he quietly went to the front desk to check out, using the excuse of going to the bathroom. As expected, the amount was well beyond his ability to pay. In desperation, Zhuo Yue had no choice but to discuss it with the other party, “I forgot to bring my wallet, and I don’t have enough. Can I leave my phone here temporarily? I’ll come back to retrieve it once I get the money.”

       The girl at the cashier smiled apologetically, “Sir, I’m sorry, we don’t have the right to collect collateral. Could you please consider asking your friend to send the wallet over or ask your companion to pay for it first?”

       Zhuo Yue had no choice but to return to his original position and sit down. The man across from him casually swirled his wine glass, and his deep eyes emitted an inscrutable glint. As their gazes met, Zhuo Yue’s eyes flickered for a moment, ultimately lowering them in the end.

       During their time together, Zhuo Yue had gained a certain level of understanding about Fang Mingyan. This man possessed a kind of profound control, a control that stemmed from innate charisma and cultivated observational skills. This blend allowed him to quickly discern lies, needs, and various attitudes from people’s microexpressions. Zhuo Yue absolutely did not believe that someone as adept at reading people as him hadn’t noticed his predicament and discomfort. To him, there was only one possibility: Fang Mingyan was intentionally ignoring it.

       Allowing Zhuo Yue to move out without any hindrance, Fang Mingyan stood by casually, setting aside text messages. The sudden extravagant dinner… Fang Mingyan effortlessly held Zhuo Yue in the palm of his hand, watching him anxiously and helplessly without a hint of emotion. Like a puppet master toying with hearts, he took pleasure in the situation while revealing nothing.

       Zhuo Yue felt like a monkey being played with. However, when it came to moving out, he couldn’t justify his actions of sneaking away without consulting the master. So he even lost the reason to be angry and had no choice but to endure.

       “Can you… pay for it first?” Zhuo Yue, who was forced into a desperate situation, finally had to speak with a blushing face.

       The curvature of Fang Mingyan’s lips became a little wider.

       Of course, he did it on purpose.

       The day Fang Mingyan accidentally bumped into Zhuo Yue at the entrance of the cage was an interesting surprise. He never expected that this shy and easily blushable guy would be stirred by desire. He found himself intrigued by Zhuo Yue’s frightened yet oddly sensual expression, so he decided to lend a ‘helping hand’. He thought it would lead to an awkward situation at most, but he didn’t anticipate that Zhuo Yue would quietly escape without a word.

       This act of assertiveness provoked Fang Mingyan’s desire for control as a Dom. So he took action to teach Zhuo Yue, who was trying to escape control, a small lesson. This mentality of ‘You don’t like to say it, but I’m going to make you say it’ was really a little bit funny.

       He always liked this kind of game.

       “Hm?” The man made an upward nasal sound as if he was confused.

       Zhuo Yue hated Fang Mingyan’s deliberate probing, and his face blushed even more. He pitted himself a bit and said, “I don’t have enough money to settle the bill at the moment, so… can you cover it first? I’ll pay you back later.”

       “That’s quite a predicament,” the man said, tilting his head and looking at him with a smirk. “You said you were treating, so I didn’t bring my wallet.”

       Zhuo Yue pursed his lips, sat silently for a moment, and said softly, “It’s my fault that I moved out without saying anything to you. I’m sorry.”

       Fang Mingyan looked at the person sitting in front of him with his head slightly lowered and silently raised the corners of his lips. Then he called the waiter and said, “Put the cost of today’s meal on my bill.”

       “Understood, Chairman Fang.” The waitress smiled and bowed. Fang Mingyan was one of the shareholders of this restaurant; how could she not know it?

       When they walked out of the hotel, there was fine snow falling in the night sky. The snowflakes swirled and fell, falling on Zhuo Yue’s black hair, and slowly melted. “There must be a lot of traffic at this time. It’s not that far anyway. I can just walk back,” he said.

       Fang Mingyan closed the car door that was opened for him and said, “Okay, let’s go.” After that, he walked forward. Zhuo Yue was stunned for a moment, then followed up and said, “Actually, you don’t have to go out of your way to escort me back.”

       The man looked at him and said, “Cherish this moment, there will not be many opportunities like this in the future.

       Hearing this, Zhuo Yue took a breath, and his cheeks instantly became hot.

       Fang Mingyan explained nonchalantly, “What I mean is, in the future, when you become famous, leisurely strolls on the street like today might not be so easy.”

       Zhuo Yue knew that he was teasing him again, so he raised his eyebrows coldly and said, “Are you so sure that I can become popular?”

       The man curled his lips, “It’s impossible for the person I sing praises not to be popular.”

       His tone was determined, with unquestionable strength and confidence.

       Zhuo Yue looked into those dark eyes; he felt moved, and his feet paused.

       Fang Mingyan stopped, took off his scarf, and tied it carefully around his neck, “Your filming is about to start, so pay special attention to your body during this period of time, and don’t catch a cold.”

       The thick cashmere plaid scarf still carries the body temperature of that person, making it soft and warm. Zhuo Yue didn’t refuse and just said ‘En’ in a low voice.

       The snow started falling heavily, each flake resembling elves in the night, silently drifting down to the earth, coating the world in a layer of frosty white.

       The two walked side by side, waiting for the light to turn green, then crossed the zebra crossing and walked down to the apartment building.

       “It’s here.” Zhuo Yue attempted to remove his scarf, but his hand was gently held by the other. What followed was the warmth of the palm, which made him feel astonished. It was probably because winter was too cold that made people particularly mindful of such warmth. The heat seemed to be transmitted from the back of the hand directly to the heart, accelerating the heartbeat.

       “Xie Anqing is a relatively upright person, he won’t allow his actors to engage in such devious behaviour. But think twice about everything. I’ve taught you that.” The man said.

       Zhuo Yue nodded, “I understand.”

       “Pay attention to safety when filming. If there’s anything you can’t solve, you can call me directly. This is considered a privilege I’m giving you.” He smiled, “As for this scarf, return it to me when you become popular. Act well, and don’t let me down.”

       His lips moved, but nothing came out. There seemed to be countless emotions entangled in his heart that couldn’t be untangled. In the end, Zhuo Yue just responded in a low voice and then watched Fang Mingyan get into the car that was waiting for him, disappearing from sight.

       The snow fell silently, burying someone’s thoughts beneath its layers.

---

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       The days passed by quietly. Zhuo Yue spent every day in Hanguan very fulfillingly. He worked out, watched movies, memorised scripts, and practised acting, and Fang Mingyan would often give him some tips and guidance.

       Zhuo Yue went out for a jog that night. When he came back, he found an unfamiliar pair of men’s shoes in the hallway.

       He went up to the third floor and looked up at the corner of the stairs. The light in the corridor on the fourth floor was on. Apparently, Fang Mingyan was ‘entertaining’ his guests in the cage.

       Zhuo Yue didn’t know anything about BDSM before, and he didn’t know what it was until he met Fang Mingyan. The man had many different subs, and Zhuo Yue had seen at least five in the time he had lived here. Fang Mingyan’s attitude towards them was respectful and rigorous. For example, one of the subs was unwilling to show his face, so when he came, the man would ask Zhuo Yue to avoid him. Similarly, their attitude towards Fang Mingyan was as submissive and humble as slaves. Every ‘Master’ word that they said came from the bottom of their hearts, and every look in their eyes was full of adoration. Sometimes, Zhuo Yue didn’t even feel like they were playing a game; the characters and themselves seemed to have become one. He couldn’t understand this relationship, but he had always been tolerant of others, and this tolerance also included accepting different interests and lifestyles. Therefore, he had no particular objection or resistance to Fang Mingyan’s hobbies. Zhuo Yue had never gone upstairs to peep since he caught a cold after taking a cold shower after seeing that unconventional sexual act last time. Subconsciously, he was afraid that he would react in such a way that would make him feel that he was abnormal.

       But Zhuo Yue, who was stopped at the stairs today, couldn’t help but look up with his face raised. He couldn’t explain why, but something in his body seemed to be restless, urging him to go up step by step as if he was possessed by poison and couldn’t control himself. When he came to his senses, he was already standing on the last step of the fourth floor, with the closed black door in front of him.

       Because of its special way of use, the ‘cage’ was designed with sound insulation in mind. The closed door at this moment separated the two worlds, and no sound could be heard. However, just by looking at it, many erotic and lustful images would appear in Zhuo Yue’s mind, such as the tied body, the red whip marks on the naked skin, and the mottled mucus…

       He could seem to hear sounds in my ears, unbearable gasping, ambiguous moans, cries when the climax comes…

       The brain involuntarily fabricated everything. The desire for sensory stimulation occupied the entire world, blurring the boundaries between reality and illusion.

       Hot.

       The blood seemed to boil out of thin air, flowing through the body and stirring up desires that were gradually awakening. He let out a long breath as his hand touched his swollen lower abdomen. The last bit of reason was swallowed up, and he was dragged by the devil into the quagmire of desire. The texture of the sweatpants was soft, and the friction between the palms of the fabric gradually increased, and the breathing became more and more rapid. Just as the thirst for desire clamoured to take over his entire body, the door in front of him suddenly opened without warning.

       Fang Mingyan, who was pushing out the door, was startled when he saw Zhuo Yue standing by the stairs. His eyes stayed on the flushed face for a few seconds, then went down, landing on the awkward part blocked by his hand. He understood the situation somewhat and closed the door behind him.

       His sudden appearance made Zhuo Yue freeze on the spot. Panic and shame made him turn around and run away like a frightened deer. At this moment, he was so confused that he could not remember that he was already standing on the edge of the stairs. He stepped on the empty void with his right foot, lost his balance and was about to fall. At that moment, a big hand grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him into his arms.

       Hanguan, wrapped in the night, was brightly lit. In the corridor on the fourth floor, Zhuo Yue, who was still in shock, was held in Fang Mingyan’s arms.

       Close to each other, face to face.

       “Always so careless,” the man’s low voice whispered into Zhuo Yue’s ear, like the deep tones of a nocturne, captivating and melodious. It sounded like reprimand yet carried a hint of indulgent intimacy.

       Zhuo Yue felt that the heat was steaming again as if being roasted by a slow fire, and a fine layer of sweat formed on his back. He looked up awkwardly. Fang Mingyan’s eyes were deep and dark, and under the straight bridge of his nose, his thin lips seemed to always have a vague smile, making it difficult for people to see through.

       “Lust is a necessity of life.” The man held Zhu Yue’s waist, changed the angle and pressed him against the wall, whispering in a low voice, “How to get pleasure from desire is my area of expertise. So, I can help you.”

       “No need…I…” Zhuo Yue’s dry refusal was blocked by the hand that covered his lower abdomen; his body shivered, and a gasp escaped from his parched throat.

       The other man’s hand covered the raised part between his legs through soft sweatpants. Zhuo Yue’s face turned bright red. Breathing became difficult, and his heartbeat easily fell out of rhythm in the resonance between them.

       “Don’t… Let it go…” He tried to push the other person away, but his lower body was shaken by the pain from the other person’s strong grip, “Ah─”

       “Don’t move.” Fang Mingyan’s deep voice had a bewitching tone, “You don’t need to do anything. Just leave everything to me.”

       With his most vulnerable part being held in someone’s hands, Zhuo Yue did not dare to struggle anymore and could only beg for mercy, “Let me go. This is wrong. I don’t need you to help me do this kind of thing… Nhg…” When the man’s hand began to stroke up and down, his body trembled, and he let out a suppressed nasal sound uncontrollably. The sound was soft and gentle, like a cat’s meowing.

       As a top Dom, Fang Mingyan’s control over Sub was absolutely outstanding. He knew how to arouse desire and make the other person feel pleasure. The loose sweatpants had already slipped to the ground. The friction between the gentle and sometimes heavy movements and the underwear made Zhuo Yue twist his waist impatiently, “Fang Mingyan, stop it… let go…”

       “It’s getting harder and harder.” The man chuckled and put his hand into his underwear, wrapped his sac with his palm, then slowly moved it upward and used his fingertips to scratch the small hole exposed at the top of his genitals, and he got what he wanted. He heard the other party’s rapid breathing.

       Zhuo Yue, who was completely aroused by Fang Mingyan’s desire, lost the ability to think. All his feelings were concentrated on the place where the man’s palm touched, like a lonely ship lost in the stars and unable to find its way back. All that remained of his sanity was the inescapable sense of shame. He closed his eyes tightly, bit his lips until they were blood red, and tried his best to control himself, not wanting to let out a shameful moan.

       “Don’t hold it back.” Fang Mingyan changed the angle, letting him lean against the wall, and calmed his emotions softly, “I am the only one here. No one else will hear you. Relax.”

       “Hngh ngh…” As the speed of his strokes increased, Zhuo Yue finally let out a moan that sounded like a cry. There was a thin layer of mist in his eyes, and his rose-coloured lips were open, panting like a fish out of water. His head was thrown back as if he couldn’t bear it and wanted more. Zhuo Yue, who was in the throes of passion, was so seductive that the colour of the man’s eyes deepened, and the movements of his hands became more and more intense. Zhuo Yue, who rarely masturbated, couldn’t stand his teasing like this. He yelled and ejaculated and fell limply in his arms while trembling. It took a while for him to recover from the afterglow of his climax. He was very embarrassed and wanted to break away, but Fang Mingyan firmly trapped Zhuo Ye between him and the wall.

       “Do you feel good?” the man asked.

       Zhuo Yue’s cheeks were red, and he stared at him with his watery eyes without saying anything. His slender neck was exposed from the loose collar, his hair was messed up, and his Adam’s apple was trembling. This man with an ascetic temperament exuded a unique and alluring aura at this moment, which made Fang Mingyan lose his concentration. He stared at the person in his arms, frowned slightly, and slowly moved his head downward.

       The originally tight distance became even closer.

       It was so close that it was disconcerting.

       Zhuo Yue couldn’t tell whose heart was beating non-stop. He felt as if the oxygen around him had been drained, and it became increasingly difficult to breathe. His mind was in chaos, and he couldn’t say a word. However, there seemed to be a crack somewhere in the bottom of his heart, and a thin and soft light shone through.

       Time froze, and everything stood still. Only the tiny airflow brought by the man’s warm breath intertwined and lingered between his breaths. The eyelashes fluttered down, covering his eyes.

       Just when he was about to close his eyes, the other party laughed softly and asked, “Do you need another round?”

       Zhuo Yue froze, lowered his head, and pushed him away hard. He then went downstairs in three steps at a time.

       The man standing at the top of the stairs looked at his back, his eyes deep and did not move for a long time.

       When Zhuo Yue returned to the room, he immersed himself in the bathtub as if he wanted to use the water to block out the unbearable reality. However, the body faithfully remembered the absurd and exciting interaction just now.

       The warmth of being wrapped, the pleasure of being rubbed… This should have been the most private secret, but because of another person’s intervention, it brought unprecedented stimulation and pleasure. At this moment, he was shamelessly thinking about everything just now.

       At that time, the moment before the climax, the only person who appeared in his mind…

       The name he almost called out…

       Zhuo Yue, who was about to suffocate, suddenly stood up from his sitting position and breathed in panic.

       He was like a drowning man, clinging to the edge of the bathtub and hanging his head.

       It’s wrong… there must be something wrong.

       This must not continue.

---

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       Since that conversation, the relationship between the two became more natural.

       Fang Mingyan was a person who distinguished between public and private affairs clearly. When at home, he rarely discussed work and treated Zhuo Yue more like a friend than a boss. He considered issues very carefully, fully respecting the other person’s thoughts. Once he made a decision, however, he rarely changed it, demonstrating a strong sense of control in his personality.

       For example, the matter of Zhuo Yue moving.

       His assistant, Lin Hui, found an apartment for Zhuo Yue. Zhuo Ye talked to Fang Mingyan about moving there, but the other party put it on hold saying, ‘It will wait until he recovers’. Two weeks had passed, and Zhuo Yue’s cold had improved a lot. He was planning to bring it up tonight, but the owner of the house had not come back yet.

       The hour hand moved to ten o’clock, and the driver, Chen Li, called back with a very anxious tone. Fang Mingyan had three places to socialize in the evening. He had already drunk a lot at the first two places, and the last stop was Lost City. He was supposed to come out in half an hour, but the driver ended up waiting for more than an hour with no one in sight. His phone went straight to voicemail. Afraid that Fang Mingyan might have drunk too much and encountered an accident, and without a membership card to enter, Chen Li waited anxiously outside.

       Zhou Chi tried several times, but his phone was still turned off. He said worriedly, “It doesn’t usually happen like this…”

       Zhuo Yue asked, “Whose social gatherings is it?”

       Zhou Chi sighed, “Zhang Jing, the third young master of Fengchi Group. Probably, he made an appointment with some bosses in the film and television industry.”

       Zhuo Yue frowned. He had heard of the name of this third young master. He was an uneducated playboy who used his father’s money to open a film and television investment company. He frequented various entertainment venues every night and had affairs with many artists. Rumour had it that he indulged in all sorts of extravagant activities without discrimination between men and women. Fang Mingyan hadn’t come out for a long time, and he was probably drunk.

       He looked up at the clock and said, “I have the membership card there. Let me go check it out.”

       Zhou Chi hesitated for a moment but agreed. He personally drove and dropped Zhuo Ye off to the downstairs of Lost City. He repeatedly instructed him to bring Fang Mingyan out after entering and not to linger inside the private room. Zhuo Yue nodded and followed the waiter upstairs.

       The moment he pushed the door open, the warm and sultry air hit his face, making Zhu Yue’s throat dry. There were quite a few people in the spacious private room. The vibrant and flickering lights blurred the contours, and the music carried intermittent ambiguous whispers. The first thing that caught his eye was the two almost naked women on the small stage, entwining their bodies in sync with the silver pole. On the sofas facing the stage sat six or seven guests, each accompanied by some scantily dressed young men and women, some kneeling, some sitting, and some boldly flirting, even straddling the guests with their thighs open.

       Zhuo Yue had never seen such a situation before and felt goosebumps all over his body. The light in the sofa area was too dark. He looked around and couldn’t identify Fang Mingyan. He was hesitating whether to get closer and look closer when a long-drawn-out female voice sounded from behind, “Hey, whose distinguished guest is this?”

       Her voice attracted the attention of many people. Zhuo Yue didn’t want to cause trouble, so he immediately explained his purpose, “I’m here to see Chairman Fang, Fang Mingyan.”

       “This face looks familiar…” The man sitting in the middle of the sofa looked him up and down, raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you an artist from his company?”

       “Yes.”

       “Look, this guy Mingyan keeps all the good stuff for himself.” The man curled his lips and smiled ambiguously, “Come and sit here.”

       Zhuo Yue stood still.

       “You didn’t have ears, huh? Third Young Master asked you to come over and sit down. Why are you still standing there?” said a fat man with a sinister face.

       Only then did Zhuo Yue realise that the person who had just spoken to him was Zhang Jing, and said sternly, “Thank you, Third Young Master. Since Chairman Fang is not here, I won’t bother you.”

       “I actually quite like this kind of tone.” Zhang Jing looked at him with a smile, “It sounds so serious. It tickles people’s hearts.” The crowd suddenly burst into ambiguous and flattering laughter. Those sticky glances swept over him as if looking at a naked body through his clothes.

       Zhuo Yue felt disgusted, turned around and left, but was grabbed by someone.

       It was the fat man who made the move. He grabbed Zhuo Yue’s wrist and pulled it towards the sofa. While pulling, he said, “Okay, stop your act and spend time with Third Young Master. If Third Young Master is happy, you will be popular.”

       The fat man had a strong grip, and Zhuo Yue couldn’t shake him off. In a panic, he struggled harder. The fat man’s body swayed and he hit his leg on the coffee table, knocking over a table full of wine glasses. The fat man was in pain and yelled angrily, “Damn it! I’m giving you face, and you still don’t appreciate it!”

       The entire private room fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat depressing.

       “Tsk, that’s interesting.” A look of ferocity flashed in the eyes of Third Young Master Zhang, who was sitting in the middle, and the woman clinging to him immediately and carefully stepped away. He stared at Zhuo Yue and slowly raised the corners of his lips, “Today, I want to see if my invitation, Zhang Jing, can move a Buddha like you.”

       Zhuo Yue felt cold, turned around, and ran towards the door, but he was grabbed by the wrist by the two people who surrounded him. This time, he used a lot of strength, yet he couldn’t break free at all.

       At this moment, the door was pushed open.

       Fang Mingyan, wearing a black coat, walked in, laughing with the people around him.

       Fang Mingyan’s gaze fell on the frightened Zhuo Yue. He paused slightly, halting his steps. The two individuals who were holding onto Zhuo Yue released him awkwardly upon seeing Fang Mingyan enter. One of them explained, “Young Master Ming, this person came in looking for you. Third Young Master asked him to sit, but he suddenly lost his temper and even injured Hua ge…”

       The moment he saw the man, Zhuo Yue’s heart calmed down inexplicably. He was about to explain the whole story when he heard Zhang Jing say, “Mingyan, your artist has quite the attitude; he doesn’t even regard me seriously.”

       Fang Mingyan glanced at the broken cup on the ground and curled his lips at Zhang Jing, “I didn’t teach him well. I’ve been too indulgent and spoiled him recently. He doesn’t even understand the rules. Don’t be offended, Third Young Master.” After speaking, he turned around and looked at Zhuo Yue. He then said coldly, “Go and apologise to Third Young Master!”

       This sentence was structured as a command, carrying a strong sense of oppression that sent shivers down Zhuo Yue’s spine.

       He looked at the man in front of him in disbelief.

       Embarrassment, confusion, discomfort, and grievance surged from the bottom of his heart. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he forcefully held them back.

       When their eyes met, Fang Mingyan’s dark eyes glowed with an undeniable cold light, carrying calm composure and unquestionable majesty.

       After standing still for a moment, Zhuo Yue pursed his lips, walked up to Zhang Jing, and said, “Third Young Master, I was wrong.” Zhuo Ye maintained a respectful attitude but did not act subservient. In his gestures and movements, there was a unique demeanour. Zhang Jing, who had always liked handsome young men, couldn’t help but feel an itch in his heart when he saw Zhuo Yue at a close distance. However, after mingling in the entertainment industry for many years, he could still distinguish between trivial and significant matters.

       Fang Mingyan was not someone to be messed with.

       In the words, whether ‘indulgent’ or ‘spoiled’, they all showed his affiliation and told him in detail that the two of them had a close relationship. The act of asking Zhuo Yue to apologise also gave him enough face. If he continued to pester him now, he would not only appear to be petty-minded but also be suspected of stealing someone’s lover. For a businessperson, connections were the most important. There were plenty of handsome male artists in the circle, so he certainly wouldn’t jeopardise his relationship for someone as insignificant as Zhuo Yue.

       Zhang Jing swept away the gloom on his face and said with a smile, “Mingyan’s companion is of course considered to be one of his own people, so how could I be concerned about such a small matter?” He raised his hand, “Since we are here, let’s sit down together and have a good time.”

       “Okay, let’s continue drinking.” Fang Mingyan also smiled and sat down on the sofa.

       The private area suddenly became lively again.

       Fang Mingyan didn’t even look at Zhuo Yue again, leaving him standing alone and helpless. Zhuo Yue hesitated for a while and finally walked around to the man and sat down. The two men were talking about business, chatting and laughing very harmoniously. He didn’t understand, so he just sat quietly and sent text messages to the driver and Zhou Chi. After sending the message, he leaned back and felt something strange, and then he realised that Fang Mingyan had put his arm on the back of the sofa. He had a very strange feeling when he leaned against him like this, as if he was being held by him, placing himself within this man’s sphere of influence.

       “Pour the wine.” Fang Mingyan handed him the empty glass, and Zhuo Yue poured half a glass for him and handed it over.

       The man tightened his arms and held Zhuo Yue in his arms. His words were full of alcohol-tinged ambiguity, “I remember teaching you how to accompany someone for a drink. Have you forgotten all about it?”

       Zhuo Yue froze and looked up. There was a warning in Fang Mingyan’s slightly narrowed eyes, and he pressed the cup to his lips teasingly, “Try it, this wine is good.”

       He took a sip, and before the cold wine warmed up in his mouth, he was already covered in a kiss full of heat. Zhuo Yue was startled and put his hands on the man’s chest, trying to retreat. Fang Mingyan didn’t give him this chance. He held the back of his head with one hand and hooked his waist with the other, forcing the kiss to deepen. After Zhuo Yue swallowed every drop of the drink, he got a chance to breathe again.

       “It’s very sweet.” The man rubbed his fingers on his lips and said frivolously, “You came all the way here because you can’t sleep without me, eh?”

       After being forcibly kissed, Zhuo Yue’s mind was in chaos until he caught a glimpse of Zhang Jing looking at him out of the corner of his eye and it finally became clear. He looked at the man in front of him, his eyes moved, and then he slowly leaned over, rested his head on the man’s chest, and said softly, “I miss you.”

       There was a slight smile on Fang Mingyan’s lips, and he rubbed his hair lovingly, then turned to Zhang Jing and said helplessly, “I’m afraid I have to go first.”

       “What’s the rush? We’re all on the same side. Feel free to do whatever you want.” Zhang Jing’s smooth eyes flicked back and forth on Zhuo Yue.

       Zhuo Yue trembled slightly, unconsciously grabbing Fang Mingyan’s arm and burying his head a little further.

       “He tends to be shy in front of others, and I can’t have the best time. Why don’t we get together some other time when we have free time.” The man smiled, stood up and waved to the others, “Everyone, enjoy yourselves. Tonight’s bills are on me.” After saying that, he put his arms around Zhuo Yue’s waist and walked out.

       Zhuo Yue allowed Fang Mingyan to hold him in his arms, but his steps quickened unknowingly as if he were escaping in a hurry.

       Outside the door, the cold winter night wind blew into his face and into his collar, blowing away all the heat from my body. Zhuo Yue stood silently, his chest heaving under his thick coat as if he wanted to spit out all the dirty breath in his chest.

       Chen Li saw them coming out and immediately came over to open the car door.

       The black car drove smoothly on the road, and the reversing street lights cast a faint light on their faces, flickering on and off. Zhuo Yue hadn’t completely relaxed until this moment, quietly looking out the window in the back seat.

       “Why are you here?” A man’s deep voice sounded next to him.

       If you were scared, why did you go in?

       Zhuo Yue was silent for a while and said, “I couldn’t reach you, and I was afraid that something might have happened to you.”

       “Whether something happens to me or not, if you go into a place like that, it’s the same as throwing yourself into a trap.”

       “I want… to find you.” Zhuo Yue sat with his eyes lowered, and his voice was very soft.

       Between light and darkness, Fang Mingyan’s eyes softened for a moment, and he slowly said, “How do you think things would end up if I were to confront Zhang Jing for you, damaging our relationship?”

       Zhuo Yue was stunned; his lips moved, but no sound came out.

       “In this industry, many things are beyond one’s control,” Fang Mingyan looked at him, “It’s like I know Zhang Jing is a scumbag, but for the sake of business, I still have to maintain a facade of camaraderie with him. Some matters don’t necessarily have to be resolved through direct confrontation.” He paused, “I don’t mean to ask you to sell your body to please others. I just want to tell you that you should learn how to deal with such things skillfully alone. I can protect you once or twice, but I can’t be by your side all the time. Zhuo Yue, after the ups and downs you’ve experienced, you should understand that every edge will be worn down through trials and tribulations. If you insist on being tough, you’ll only end up hurting yourself more.”

       Zhuo Yue was silent for a long time and asked, “In this situation, would it be better for me to sit down and drink with him?”

       Seeing his serious expression, the smile in the man’s eyes grew thicker, and he said nonchalantly, “There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from drinking. Seeing that you went deep into the tiger’s den to save me today, I will reluctantly teach you once.”

       Zhuo Yue had a smile on his lips and said, “Okay.”

---

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       Zhuo Yue did not reject the idea of homosexuality and thought it was just another form of love, but he did not consider himself homosexual. He had a girlfriend when he was studying at drama school. Although they didn’t have a substantial relationship, he did feel something during the kisses. That impulse stemmed from the instinct of a man.

       But at this moment, he had the same impulse from witnessing the SM behaviour of two men. That desire grew wildly like weeds in the spring breeze. When he found that he had started caressing his genitals without knowing, he trembled all over, got up and rushed into the bathroom.

       Because masturbating for this kind of thing was really hard for him to accept. He doused himself with cold water and finally suppressed the evil fire with a trembling body. When he woke up the next day, his head was groggy, and his breathing was heavy and blocked.

       He obviously…caught a cold.

       Zhuo Yue struggled to get up, washed briefly and then went downstairs to have breakfast. When he saw Fang Mingyan, his face turned red. He said, “Morning” and looked away.

       “You look so bad. You didn’t sleep well?” the man asked while drinking coffee.

       “…Yeah.” He responded softly, drank a small bowl of porridge, and then returned to the room to recite his lines.

       Fang Mingyan raised his lips silently at his back. Today he had some work matters to deal with, so he went to the company after breakfast. When he came back in the afternoon, the butler Zhou Chi said, “Young Master Ming, Mr. Zhuo barely had anything to eat at noon, and he said there was no need to call him for dinner. So can you…”

       “I’ll go up and have a look.”

       The man stood outside the guest room door and knocked, but there was no movement. He pushed the door open and entered, the room was dark with no lights on. He looked around and saw no one. He was stunned for a moment, and then he noticed a pile of quilts on the single sofa by the window. He took a closer look and saw Zhu Yue was curled up in a ball under the quilt. He tilted his head like a rice dumpling and fell asleep, holding a book in his hand.

       “Zhuo Yue?” Fang Mingyan called softly.

       The other party’s eyebrows moved. He woke up in a daze, and his black and white eyes looked at him confusedly.

       “It’s time to eat.”

       “Yeah, coming.” His voice was muffled.

       The man noticed something strange and raised his hand to turn on the light. He found that the man huddled under the quilt was listless, and his face was abnormally red. He put his hand on his forehead and frowned, “You have a fever.” He said. Then he removed the quilt and said, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

       Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Zhu Yue grabbed the quilt tighter, like a snail shrinking into its shell, and refused, “I’m not going.”

       Fang Mingyan was puzzled by his stubborn attitude, “Why?”

       “It’s just a cold. I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep…” He was breathing hard and had a heavy nasal voice.

       “Whether it’s a cold or not, that needs a doctor to determine.”

       “I won’t go.”

       The man shook his head helplessly and simply picked him up with the quilt on his side and placed him on the bed. Then he came in with a medicine box and took his ear temperature with a thermometer. “Thirty-eight point five degrees. Zhuo Yue, the temperature in the room is constant. Why do you catch a cold?”

       He lay there with a bit of embarrassment in his eyes and said nothing.

       “Do you want to answer the question, or do you want me to roll you up in a quilt and take you to the hospital?”

       He turned his head slightly and whispered, “I took a cold shower yesterday.”

       A trace of surprise flashed in Fang Mingyan’s eyes, and then he curled his lips in understanding and did not continue to ask. After a while, a middle-aged man in his forties came to see a doctor in a white coat. He confirmed it was just a common cold and fever, prescribed some medicine and left. The man forced him to eat a few mouthfuls of hot porridge, then took fever-reducing medicine. The man put a small ice pack on his forehead to cool down and joked, “Taking a cold bath. You are very self-restraint.”

       Zhuo Yue was so groggy that he didn’t hear clearly what he said, so he just sighed, closed his eyes and fell asleep. The distant and indifferent gaze in his eyes was covered, making him look a little more gentle. The eyelashes quivered gently between breaths, like the wings of a small insect.

       Fang Mingyan looked at the sleeping face sunken into the soft pillow, smiled lightly, and reached out to tuck him in.

       In order for the master to have a comprehensive understanding of the slave’s behaviour, numerous prisms at different angles were embedded in the walls of the cage. Zhuo Yue’s whereabouts were revealed the moment he appeared at the stairs that night. What surprised the man was that his eyes did not show disgust or rejection when he looked at their behaviour. Instead, his eyes turned from shock to shame, and finally, he ran away quietly. It now appeared that he had developed a desire, and instead of masturbating, he took a cold shower.

       This approach fits his personality very well and was very interesting.

       Zhuo Yue’s constitution was not very good to begin with. Recently, he was pursued for debts, narrowly avoided a compromising situation, and was stressed about auditions. All of this left him physically and mentally exhausted. Finally, he relaxed a little under Fang Mingyan’s wings, but his vitality hadn’t fully recovered. The ordeal with the cold was quite severe, with a fluctuating fever persisting for three days before the temperature finally subsided.

       He opened his eyes and looked at the man leaning on the bedside reading the report. The other party personally took care of him patiently and meticulously for three days. He was so grateful for the patience and care he had received, but he didn’t know how to say it.

       The room was very quiet. Fang Mingyan felt his gaze, lowered his head and asked, “You’re awake, are you thirsty?”

       Zhuo Yue shook his head and said with some embarrassment, “I’m sorry for causing trouble to you these days.”

       The man smiled and naturally stretched out his hand to touch his head, “If you feel sorry, please get better soon.”

       A cold like this was easy to get rid of and sometimes lasted for ten days and half a month. Fang Mingyan cared about everything for him and asked the chef to prepare nutritious meals for him without showing any signs of inconvenience. Zhuo Yue, though grateful, was not adept at expressing his feelings eloquently. He just took the initiative to make him a cup of tea or cut some fruits and silently did the trivial things he could. Fang Mingyan never acted like a boss towards him. Ever since he discovered Zhuo Yue’s tendency to blush, he often teased him deliberately. After getting along for a period of time, Zhuo Yue, who was cautious at the beginning, gradually adapted to the situation and became familiar with each other’s styles.

       That night, the two had dinner. Zhuo Yue made black tea and handed it to Fang Mingyan.

       “Sit down.” The man stopped him.

       A variety show was playing on the TV, and a popular girl group sang and danced happily on the brightly lit stage.

       “What do you think?” Fang Mingyan asked.

       Zhuo Yue looked at it for a while and said, “It’s pretty good.”

       “If you could pick someone to be your girlfriend, who would you choose?”

       He was stunned and asked, “Are you going to create a scandal?”

       Fang Mingyan smiled faintly and did not respond.

       Since there was already an agreement to hand over oneself to the other party, Zhuo Yue stopped asking, looked at it again and said, “The second one from the left.”

       “Reason?”

       “Looks relatively gentle and not very scheming.”

       The man curled his lips while looking at the TV, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, “This kind of scheming heart, if it’s noticeable to others, indicates a low level of sophistication. In the entertainment industry, there was no such thing as true unity or peaceful coexistence. If you observe carefully, you will find that the person you chose answered the host’s questions at least twice and deliberately fell down to steal the spotlight in the game. It’s just that she did it more naturally, without any obvious signs of intent,” He glanced at Zhuo Yue and said, “Your insight is terrible, but your choice is correct. If you want to stir up sex scandals, it is best to choose such a useful and smart girl.”

       “No matter what the company arranges, I will cooperate.”

       Such a serious and rigid attitude amused Fang Mingyan, who leaned on the sofa and looked at him with half-squinted eyes.

       Zhuo Yue felt uncomfortable and asked awkwardly, “What’s wrong?”

       “When you are serious.” The man’s lips curved into a smile, “You do exude a restrained charm.”

       “…it’s called boring.”

       “Then let’s talk about something that’s not boring.” Fang Mingyan changed the subject, “For example, why do you resist going to the hospital?”

       Zhuo Yue was stunned. He was silent for a moment, and said, “The atmosphere in the hospital feels very depressing.”

       “You know I can tell if you’re lying.” The man’s eyes were as clear as cold stars.

       Zhuo Yue’s gaze shifted, turning towards the teacup in his hand, and slowly said, “My biological mother suffered from gastric cancer. When it was discovered, it was already in the late stage, and she eventually passed away in a hospital bed. She was extremely thin in those last days. I was very young at that time and couldn’t do anything except cry. When she was in intense pain, she would bite the pillow and her own arm, and her mouth would be filled with blood. I didn’t dare to sleep every night because I was afraid that if I fell asleep and woke up again, she would… be gone.” He paused for a moment and continued, “Later, she died, and I couldn’t contact any relatives, so I stayed in the morgue for two days. Later, several kind-hearted neighbours helped organize the funeral, and she was cremated. I don’t like going to the hospital; it gives me a sense of fear.” These words were spoken very slowly, without any embellishments on past events, yet they conveyed the desolation and despair of a six-year-old child at that time. Many years had passed, but he still harboured a fear of the place that took his mother away.

       Seeing him showing his vulnerability to himself without reservation, Fang Mingyan felt a little unbearable, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ask these things.”

       “It’s been a long time.” Zhuo Yue smiled at him and suddenly said, “If Chairman Fang feels sorry, why not tell me something you’re afraid of in exchange.”

       The man was startled for a moment, then smiled like a spring breeze, “Cat.”

       “You’re afraid of cats?” Zhuo Yue opened his eyes wide.

       Fang Mingyan saw his surprised look and smiled, “You look like you’ve discovered a new world.”

       “Why are you afraid of cats?”

       “I won’t tell you.”

       Zhuo Yue raised his eyebrows and smiled. His handsome face was like a white plum blossom reflecting the snow, as beautiful as a painting.

---

Notes:
Sorry for not updating this for so long… I was rather pre-occupied with other series *cough*
I will try to keep a 1x/week update at the very least

---

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       What Zhuo Yue didn’t expect was that he would soon have the opportunity to have close contact with BDSM.

       That night, he was watching TV downstairs, and Fang Mingyan went back to the room to take a shower after working out. The phone rang for a while, and Zhuo Yue picked it up. It was the doorman who called, saying that a guest came to see Mr. Fang in Building No.15. Zhuo Yue didn’t recognise the man on the screen, and he was afraid the man was an important visitor, so he asked the guard to send him in first.

       Soon, a man of about twenty-five years old appeared at the door. He had chestnut hair and a slightly boyish appearance. The silver earring on his right ear shimmered under the lamp. The coat on his body was very thin, and his body was slightly hunched up. When he saw Zhuo Yue opening the door, his eyes showed deep disappointment after the initial surprise.

       “He is taking a bath. Please come in and sit for a while.” Zhuo Yue said.

       The man bit his lip and didn’t move.

       Zhuo Yue felt strange and wanted to say something, but he heard a low and cold voice from behind, “Why are you here?” He turned around and saw Fang Mingyan coming down from upstairs. The water on his hair was not yet dry, and there was a bit of chill in his slightly squinted eyes.

       When the young man standing outside the door saw him, his eyes suddenly brightened a little, and he spoke with some restraint, “Sir… I’m here because… I want to see you…”

       The deliberate use of honorifics in the conversation made Zhuo Yue feel a bit uncomfortable. He stepped aside from the door and explained to Fang Mingyan, “The phone rang just now, and the doorman said he was your guest. I was afraid you had an important appointment, so I asked them to send him in first.”

       “Okay.” The man responded with a faint look at the person outside the door and said, “I don’t recall allowing you to come over today, Nick.”

       “I wanted to see you, I miss you so much…” The man named Nick had a pleading look in his eyes, and his voice trembled a little from the cold.

       “Since when is my time at your mercy?” Fang Mingyan’s voice was low and icy, and the slowed pace brought a strong sense of oppression. Even Zhuo Yue, who was standing beside him, could feel it.

       “Sir…” Nick’s eyes were full of panic. He knelt down on the steps outside the door and begged, “I was wrong… Please, please don’t be angry…”

       Zhuo Yue opened his eyes wide and looked at everything in front of him in disbelief. He vaguely guessed the relationship between the two, but he didn’t expect Nick to kneel down.

       The man, however, was not moved at all. He said, “Go back” coldly and closed the door, leaving Nick outside.

       This kind of Fang Mingyan made Zhuo Yue a little uncomfortable. To be fair, although the man’s words were sometimes frivolous, his attitude towards him had always been gentle and tolerant. The current icy and dominant aura, the cold and almost ruthless rejection, made Zhuo Yue feel unfamiliar.

       Seeing Zhuo Yue standing awkwardly, the man said, “Do you think I’m being unreasonable?”

       Zhuo Yue didn’t know what to say for a moment and glanced out the window worriedly. As expected, Nick was still kneeling outside.

       Fang Mingyan took out a carton of milk from the refrigerator and heated it in the microwave. “He is my slave, and correspondingly, I am his master. These two roles are derivatives of Dom and Sub. After the master-slave relationship is established, the slave is completely obedient to the master. Behaviours like intruding into the master’s home without consent are not allowed.”

       Zhuo Yue felt that these words were completely beyond his understanding and asked in confusion, “Does the slave have to obey all the master’s demands completely?”

       “In principle, yes. However, it is the master’s task to ensure the safety of the slave. The master will not give orders to the slave that will cause physical or psychological harm to him.” Fang Mingyan explained patiently, “There are many Sub that like a certain degree of humiliation and pain, which will make them feel owned and arouse their desires, but too strong physical stimulation will cause harm to the body. Moreover, if a Dom insults a Sub’s personality without skill, it may lead to the Sub doubting and denying themselves, resulting in a psychological breakdown. Therefore, as a master, it’s important to understand the physical acceptance and psychological endurance of the slave and ensure their safety during interactions.”

       After this explanation, he seemed to understand a little bit and said, “Dom requires strong control.”

       The man put on anti-scalding gloves and took out the heated milk cup, “Dom is like a director, designing the script, controlling the interaction, controlling the behaviour of the Sub, and getting feedback from the Sub.”

       “It’s in line with your profession.” Zhuo Yue said, glancing out the window with some reluctance, “He’s still kneeling…”

       There was a hint of a smile in Fang Mingyan’s eyes, “You want him to come in?”

       He looked away in embarrassment and said, “…Didn’t you say you would ensure the slave’s safety? On such a cold day, with him dressed so lightly, kneeling down like that will surely make him freeze.”

       The man smiled, turned up the temperature of the room and opened the door.

       “Sir…” The voice of the man kneeling at the door trembled as he looked at him sadly.

       “Come in.” He said in a commanding tone.

       Nick got up and went into the house, where the warm environment helped him relax. His eyes glanced at Zhuo Yue in the kitchen; he hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and quickly unbuttoned his coat. The clothes were taken off one by one, followed by the pants. After he took off all his clothes, he quietly knelt down at the entrance. His knees were slightly open, his waist straight, his hands behind his back, and he looked up at his master.

       This situation caught Zhuo Yue off guard, and he was completely frozen. He turned away, not knowing where to look.

       “Slave, because you appeared on your own initiative, you caused inconvenience to my guests.” Fang Mingyan looked at Nick condescendingly, “I ask you to apologise to him.”

       “I’m sorry, Mr. Guest.” Nick said softly, lowering his head.

       “…It’s okay.” Zhuo Yue responded uncomfortably.

       “Come and drink the milk on the table, and then go and stay in the cage.” Fang Mingyan’s order was concise and clear.

       “Yes, Master.” Nick changed the way he addressed him. He acted very obediently, perhaps because of his shyness, and his naked body had a slightly reddish colour.

       Zhuo Yue turned completely away from the window. After Nick finished drinking the milk and went upstairs, he was still staring at the trees in the yard in a daze.

       “You’re the one who let him in, and now you find it awkward?” Fang Mingyan asked.

       He glared at the man in embarrassment, “You didn’t say he would take off his clothes.”

       “What, are you shy about seeing him naked?”

       Zhuo Yue’s face turned red, and he said stiffly, “What do I have to be shy of?”

       Fang Mingyan said with a chuckle, “I will train him on the fourth floor. You can use the area below as you like. Of course, if you are interested, you can come up and observe. Nick is fine with a third person being present.”

       “…I’m not interested.” Zhuo Yue’s face was hot, and he went upstairs to his room.

       He was in the room reading the script that had been passed to him. The title of the play was ‘The Goddess Strategy’. As a romantic light comedy that was intended for Valentine’s Day, the name was appropriately cheesy.

       The plot was also the usual cliché. The spare wheel, Lin Xiu had been secretly in love with the goddess Dong Xue for many years, but he never dared to confess his feelings. When he saw that the goddess was about to be seduced by the rich and handsome Li Haofeng, he was anxious and asked his friend Hua Zhan to help him plan how to catch the goddess. After making a lot of jokes, he finally got his wish and got the beauty back in his arms. This drama would have been a flop at the box office if it were in anyone else’s hands, but the combination of A-list actor Lu Chenyang, popular queen Jiang Yan and gold medal director Xie Anqing still had great box office appeal.

       Hua Zhan was the role Zhuo Yue was going to play—a gay who had been secretly in love with Lin Xiu for many years. As Fang Mingyan expected, among the few scenes he had, the kiss scene was the most important. Zhuo Yue looked at the script and suddenly remembered the kiss between him and Fang Mingyan, and his face gradually turned red. He shook his head and tried to concentrate on reciting the lines, but he couldn’t calm down for some reason. He remembered a short dialogue in bits and pieces and finally lay on his back on the bed and stared at the ceiling in frustration.

       What were they doing in that room upstairs?

       Although he said he was not interested, his curiosity still drove him to step onto the stairs. The black door on the fourth floor was wide open, and the bright light was enough for him standing far away at the top of the stairs to see everything inside clearly.

       Nick was being hung on a metal execution rack. The wrists that were fastened to the horizontal bar of the rack could not bear the weight of the body for a long time, but the height was cunningly controlled at a distance where it was difficult for the feet to touch the ground normally. Only by trying to stand on tiptoe could the ground be barely touched. His whole body was glowing with a faint blush, and he was trembling slightly. The high-spirited genitals between the legs were tightly wrapped with a bright red ribbon and tied with a bow in a playful manner. Nick gasped and begged, “Master… Ngh… Please…”

       Fang Mingyan, who was sitting on the sofa directly opposite, ignored him and pressed the thing in his hand. He then heard the other party scream in surprise, and the other party’s body shook even harder. The moans in his mouth turned into vague whimpering. After struggling a few times, a short vibrator from between the buttocks fell to the ground, buzzing in the carpet, rotating and twisting.

       After that moment, Nick turned pale, looked at his master in panic, and begged, “Master, I didn’t mean it… Please forgive me…”

       “Don’t want this? Okay.” Fang Mingyan stood up, took another electric toy from the cabinet, and put it against Nick’s lips, “Lick it wet.”

       The di-do was thick and long, and its shaft was covered with many protrusions. Nick’s eyes were full of panic; he shrank back and said, “Master… please, I can’t stand this… uh──” Before he could finish his words, the thing had roughly invaded his mouth.

       The man raised his chin to force him to swallow the shaft deeper, with a cold look on his face, “Slave, I don’t remember giving you the right to refuse.”

       The thick and long foreign object occupied his mouth, and Nick’s eyes were watery. He resignedly tried his best to swallow and lick the thing that was about to make him want to die and occasionally made a vague guttural sound. After the surface of the di-do was thoroughly wet, Fang Mingyan took it out, moved it around to the back, and inserted it into the empty asshole bit by bit.

       The sphincter and mucous membrane were completely stretched. Nick tried his best to relax, but he still felt the discomfort of being expanded to the limit. He did not dare to move, so he could only freeze his body and let the man handle him as he moaned with a crying sound, “Uh-ngh… it’s too much… It’s so big, ah──Master…” After being completely thrust in, Fang Mingyan pressed the mouth of the hole, causing him to shiver.

       “Clamp it tightly. If it falls out again, I will replace it with a thicker one.” The man took a red soft whip, stood in front of him, and said in a deep voice, “Tonight, I will give you twelve lashes as punishment for your unauthorised appearance. Slave, during the punishment, I want you to clearly state each number and admit your mistake. If you struggle or dodge, the count of twelve lashes starts over. Do you understand?”

       “…Understood, Master.” Nick looked at him in awe and responded softly.

       “Very well.” Fang Mingyan took a few steps back, raised his hand and swung the whip. The slender red whip tail broke through the air and struck Nick’s naked chest.

       Zhuo Yue, who was standing in the darkness of the stairs, did not expect that he would take action without warning. He took a breath in surprise. Fortunately, his voice was very soft and did not attract the attention of the two people in the room.

       Nick was whipped hard and suppressed a muffled grunt, then endured the pain and said, “One. Master, I was wrong. Please forgive me…”

       Then came the second lash, the third lash… After finishing the four lashes on the chest, the man untied the red ribbon that bound his genitals, then turned on the vibrating di-do in his back hole and gave the order, “The remaining eight lashes will fall on the back, no cumming until it’s over or you’ll have to do it all over again.”

       Nick tensed up, struggling to suppress the desire surging in his body. When he received the tenth lash, the tears in his eyes couldn’t help but fall down. He cried and counted, then admitted his mistake, like a lost child who was afraid but did not dare to leave the place.

       The moment the twelfth whip was finished, he cried and ejaculated. His whole body lost strength and slid down, and he was held tightly in Fang Mingyan’s arms. Bright red marks appeared on his fair body. It was as if the red on the whip had dyed the body, was engraved on it, and became a gorgeous totem. Nick, who was gradually recovering from the afterglow of his orga-m, gasped for air, his hoarse voice full of sorrow, and cried over and over again, “Master, I don’t dare anymore, I don’t dare anymore…”

       “Look at me, slave.” The man untied his restraints and held him in his arms. There was a calming gentleness in his voice, “Good boy, look at me and relax.”

       After a while, Nick finally stopped crying and became quiet.

       Fang Mingyan wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingers and asked, “You know what we just did, right?”

       Nick was stunned and nodded.

       “Very good.” The man stroked his naked back, “Our interaction is built on the foundation of equality. My rights as a master come from your trust and consent, and I won’t harm you. During the training process, you are safe, and after the training is over, you are free.”

       “I’m sorry, I was too nervous just now…” Nick blushed and whispered.

       “It is my responsibility to ensure your safety.” Fang Mingyan chuckled, “I will guide your psychological fluctuations back on track. Next time you feel overly panicked, you can use a safe word.”

       Nick nodded and put his head on his shoulder, like a bird returning to its nest, full of attachment. He asked softly, “Master, can you forgive me?”

       “Just this once. This kind of uninvited visit will not be allowed to happen again, do you understand?”

       “Yes, Master.”

       Zhuo Yue stood stiffly in the shadow on the side of the stairs, looking at the two people in the room, feeling hot all over his body. He tiptoed downstairs and slipped back into his room quietly, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. All he could think of was the image of Nick, who had just been bound, crying and ejaculating.

       He lay on his back and discovered, to his horror and shame in the darkness, that he had an erection.

---

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       Under Fang Mingyan’s ‘personal’ guidance, Zhuo Yue’s audition went very smoothly. The A-list actor Lu Chenyang, who played the male lead, happened to be there that afternoon and even offered to perform with him. The relationship between the two was very good. After the performance, director Xie Anqing, who had been sullen because there was no suitable candidate for the third male lead, finally showed a smile, patted him on the shoulder and said ‘not bad’ twice.

       Zhuo Yue was also very happy. When he saw that Lu Chenyang was leaving, he hurriedly went over to thank him.

       “You’re welcome. We are in the same company now, so we should help each other.” The other party said with a smile, “Looking at Director Xie’s attitude shows that he is very satisfied with you. The film will start shooting soon, so I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation by then.”

       Only then did Zhuo Yue realise that he was also an artist from Huasheng, and he smiled sheepishly, “If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal.”

       “It’s a deal.” When Lu Chenyang smiled, his eyebrows curved into a beautiful arc, handsome and gentle.

       The reply came quickly. Zhuo Yue was packing his things in the rental house that afternoon when he received a call from Shen Luo—it was confirmed that he would play the third male lead. After calling his adoptive parents, who were far away in the countryside, he sat by the window and stared blankly for a while, then went downstairs carrying some necessities he had packed.

       “Just this one bag?” Lin Hui, the assistant waiting downstairs, asked in surprise.

       “Yeah.” Zhuo Yue took a few steps and turned to look at the old house on the sixth floor where he had rented. He left many things there, including the trophies he won.

       As dusk approached, the sky turned bright red as if the clouds were about to burst into flames.

       There was a voice in his heart, speaking softly.

       ──Let’s start over, Zhuo Yue.

       When he returned to Hanguan No.15, Fang Mingyan had not returned yet. After greeting the butler and the cook, Zhuo Yue took a newspaper and went upstairs to read it. He originally lived in the guest room at the left end of the corridor on the third floor. Now, he was focusing on reading Lu Chenyang’s scandal in the newspaper. When he raised his eyes, he realised that he had unknowingly reached the fourth floor. When he was about to turn around to go down, his eyes swept across the half-open dark door, and there seemed to be something reflecting the dazzling golden light. He stopped and hesitated for a moment, then walked over curiously.

       When he gently opened the door and saw the furnishings in the room, Zhuo Yue felt a chill down his body.

       The light of the setting sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows and the transparent roof, casting a golden glow on the execution frame in the room, which was somewhat dazzling. Huge hooks and metal shackles hung from the ceiling’s sturdy steel beams. Three different types of massage tables were placed together. On the right side, there was a huge display cabinet covering the entire wall, neatly hanging various whips and paddles made of different materials in three rows. On the opposite wall, bundles of various ropes, some of them knotted, hung. On the left side, against the wall, there was a row of cabinets with glass doors reflecting a shimmering yellow under the sunlight, making it difficult to see clearly. In the centre of the room was a single black leather sofa, giving off a somewhat chilly vibe.

       Zhuo Yue felt his heart beating uncontrollably as if he had accidentally stepped into some terrible secret. There was a suffocating fear, but he wanted to go deeper because of curiosity, which was dangerous and enchanting.

       He walked slowly to the left. The thick light brown carpet made no sound when he stepped on it. A wide variety of sex toys were placed in the row of huge cabinets similar to disinfection cabinets, some of which were soaked in transparent liquid. This dazzling array of things made Zhuo Yue blush just by looking at them. There were many that he had never seen before and could not guess their uses.

       Why was there a room like this?

       What was Fang Mingyan going to do with these things?

       He fled from the room in a hurry. His whole body was cold. He hid in the guest room, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. In Zhuo Yue’s heart, Fang Mingyan was the benefactor who saved him from despair, his boss, and a friend he could trust. But now, what he saw disrupted all these original impressions.

       Zhuo Yue didn’t know what kind of person he was hiding under that elegant and majestic appearance.

       Shackles, chains, whips, those horrible and obscene instruments…each of them made him feel panicked. He began to doubt the man’s original intention of letting him live here and even imagined himself being hung in that room with his hands and feet tied, being beaten and tortured.

       He wanted to escape. But he had nowhere to go, and even the rental house was vacated in the afternoon. Just as he was pacing the room anxiously, there was a knock on the door. It was the butler, Zhou Chi, who came to tell him to eat.

       Zhuo Yue went downstairs and saw Fang Mingyan sitting at the dining table. With a smile on his face, he took the initiative to greet, “You are back.”

       He had only one idea. To pretend everything was normal until he found a house and moved out. He was an actor, and acting was his talent.

       “I heard you got the role.” The man picked up the chopsticks at hand and put a piece of ribs in his bowl. “I had Shen Luo arrange a fitness plan for you. You’re too thin, and if there are shots that require a bare upper body, it won’t look good.”

       “I’ll do my best.” Zhuo Yue mouthed the reply, and his gaze lingered on his bony hands. The thought of the whips crossed his mind, and he immediately lowered his head to focus on his meal, making the entire dinner quiet. After eating, he went back to his room to hide on the pretext that he wanted to review the new script sent by his assistant. After a while, feeling thirsty, he went to get water, coincidentally finding Fang Mingyan also pouring water in the kitchen. Unable to retreat, Zhuo Yue had to go over with a forced expression. After pouring a glass of water, he was about to return to his room when his arm was suddenly grabbed. Fear surged within him, and he jerked his hand away, causing the glass to harshly collide with the countertop, producing a crisp sound as shattered fragments scattered.

       This outcome startled him as well. He froze in place and looked at the other party with a pale face.

       Fang Mingyan’s slender eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze became deeper, staring at the panicked man in front of him.

       “…My hand accidentally slipped.” Zhuo Yue tried his best to round everything up and smiled awkwardly, “I will clean it up and buy a similar cup back. Sorry.”

       “What are you afraid of?” A dark light flowed in the man’s abyssal eyes.

       This sentence made Zhu Yue’s heart tremble, but his face remained calm as he said, “I was just careless…I didn’t do anything bad, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

       Fang Mingyan’s eyes swept across the broken pieces of the glass and then landed on him. “A good director should always pay attention to the actor’s condition and grasp every subtle expression of his.” The man stretched out his hand to lift his chin and smiled lightly, “Even though you didn’t hide away, the tension in your body and the momentary unnatural flicker in your eyes still reflect your true feelings. You dislike my touch.”

       Zhuo Yue’s lips moved, but he didn’t say what he wanted to say.

       “This was not the case. During the rehearsal of the kissing scene last night, there was no such reaction. Within almost a day of our limited interactions, you’ve developed a sense of aversion, even fear, towards me. There are few paths that could lead to such an effect. Perhaps you’ve heard some dreadful rumours about me, but merely hearing wouldn’t be enough to provoke such a strong resistance from you.” The man analysed the details in a calm voice, “Then it would have to be that you’ve seen something that scares you, and that belongs to me.” He paused, “Let’s say a room on the fourth floor.”

       Zhuo Yue felt a gloomy chill all over his body. He tried his best to hide the panic in his eyes and said, “I don’t understand what you mean. What’s there in the room on the fourth floor?”

       Fang Mingyan slowly raised the corners of his lips, “Want to go up and have a look?”

       Zhuo Yue’s hands and feet were cold, and he quickly glanced around. There was no one else in this huge room except the two of them. He was so panicked that he took half a step back, approached the knives placed in the kitchen, and said in a dry voice, “Fang Mingyan… I admit I went to the fourth floor, but it was unintentional… I can act like I don’t know anything; just let me go…”

       “What if I’m not letting go?” The man approached him, held his hand that was going to get the knife, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said slowly and gloomily, “You saw what’s in that room, so let’s try it all the same, shall we?”

       “No…” Zhuo Yue could no longer maintain his composure; his eyes turned red, and he begged in panic, “You can’t…”

       Watching him tremble in fear, Fang Mingyan’s facial expression gradually changed, and the curve of his lips grew wider until he burst into laughter. Releasing him, he leaned against the bar and asked, “In your imagination, am I the kind of pervert who ties people at home and subjects them to various forms of torture?”

       Zhuo Yue huddled in a corner of the kitchen, looking at him warily with dark pupils, obviously acquiescing.

       “You entered areas you shouldn’t have entered without my permission, snooped into my privacy, and distorted my character based on imagination without understanding the situation. Mr. Zhuo Yue, don’t you think your actions are highly inappropriate?”

       “It’s my fault for entering without permission.” He stood awkwardly by the refrigerator, “But those things…”

       “Those are training tools.” The man openly confessed, “I am a dom, or in simple terms, training teacher. BDSM is my hobby.” Looking at the other person’s confused expression, he smiled and said, “You know SM?”

       Zhuo Yue nodded.

       “Some individuals find it challenging to achieve the desired pleasure through conventional sexual activities, so they turn to more intense means, and SM is one of them. The dominant party derives satisfaction through exerting control, while the submissive party gains pleasure from being subjected to various forms of stimulation. BDSM is a collective term for these behaviours, encompassing bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. It’s a rather unconventional form of sexual expression. In this dynamic, the Dom, as the dominant partner, issues commands and maintains control, while the Sub, as the submissive partner, complies with the commands. This kind of relationship is built on voluntary participation, rather than the forced and abusive scenario you might imagine.”

       “Are you saying they willingly get beaten, willingly get tied up and suspended, willingly take on the submissive role?” Zhuo Yue asked with a frown.

       “Certainly.”

       “…” He felt it was unbelievable, and his eyebrows tightened, “Can you get the so-called ‘more intense’ pleasure in this way?”

       Fang Mingyan raised his lips and looked at him with a half-smile, “Want to give it a try?”

       The voice was full of temptation, like a blooming poppy exuding an alluring fragrance or like a feather falling on the lake, gently creating waves in his heart.

       Zhuo Yue was startled and turned away, “I don’t want to.”

       The man smiled, poured another glass of water and handed it over again, “Drink.”

       He finally relaxed, took the cup, and took a sip.

---

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       Fang Mingyan’s ability to make the usually aloof Zhuo Yue bow his head to ask for advice naturally indicated his skills.

       In terms of family background, Fang Mingyan could be regarded as a true second-generation star. He was the only son of the great director Fang Zihe, and his mother was Xiao Mei, an actress who was very popular at the time. On one hand, he inherited his father’s artistic beauty, and on the other hand, he inherited his mother’s looks. The first movie he directed, ‘Daytime Carnival’, won Asia’s Best New Director Award in one fell swoop and made famous the then-unknown male and female protagonists Wang Chen and Qiu Zining. Then, his second movie, ‘Season of Snowfall’ was released. Although the film missed the Silver Star Award, it earned him widespread acclaim and praise, along with a considerable box office success. Qiu Zining even won the Best Actress award for this work and became a popular actress. Just when his directorial career was flourishing, Fang Mingyan unexpectedly retired from the entertainment industry and started his own entertainment company. With his connections and capital, he signed many A-listers, gradually nurtured new talent, and became a behind-the-scenes boss.

       His movies were known for their delicacy and visually stunning scenes, and he was very talented in grasping the emotions and rhythm of the actors. In ‘Season of Snowfall’, the scene where Qiu Zining dressed in a red dress and ran crying in the white snow garnered praises from netizens such as ‘every frame is as beautiful as a painting’ and ‘watching her tears fall slowly from the camera makes you want to cry’, ‘It’s so beautiful that it doesn’t look like a something from the earth’.

       Zhuo Yue knew his strength, so he asked him for advice.

       Fang Mingyan glanced at the script a few times, threw it aside, and said, “Let’s get started.”

       Zhuo Yue was stunned. After all, it was not easy to memorise all the lines in such a short time. He sat down next to the man, adjusted his state slightly, raised his face to look at the other person and said, “Confessing your feelings is not that complicated if you master three key elements. Firstly, sincerity – you have to let the girl see your sincerity. Secondly, confidence – speak without stuttering; you want to move her. The most crucial point is the timing. Seize the opportunity to kiss her, and if she doesn’t reject you, consider it a success.”

       “But if she refuses, I will never have a chance again.” Fang Mingyan frowned, looking worried.

       “If you don’t fight for it, you’ll have no chance. Do you want to watch her being taken away by that man?” Zhuo Yue paused and asked, “100% impossible or 1% possible chance–which one do you choose?”

       “But, I can’t confess… I get nervous when she looks at me, and I can’t speak.” Fang Mingyan’s state of being in the play was very real. He completely shed the handsome and wealthy aura, appearing like a troubled and gloomy figure, much like an introverted individual with a downcast expression.

       “I’ll practice it with you once. That should work, right?” Zhuo Yue grabbed his arm helplessly, “Come on, think of me as her, give it a try and say it.”

       The man took a few deep breaths and said in a serious tone, “I… like you very much. I want… um, to live my whole life with you seriously. I will never cheat on you or bully you… I will…beat up anyone who bullies you… Are you willing to be with me?”

       He really memorised all the lines, and Zhuo Yue was secretly surprised. According to the script, he needed to stretch out his hand and lift Fang Mingyan’s chin, “You don’t even look at other people’s faces when you speak. How would you know their expressions? Look me in the eyes and say it carefully.”

       “I like you very much.” The man’s voice suddenly became low, and his deep black eyes seemed to contain many indescribable emotions, making Zhu Yue lose his mind for a moment. By the time he reacted, the other party had already finished his lines.

       As a professional actor, he actually got distracted during the scene. Zhuo Yue’s face felt hot, and he quickly made up for it: “Much better; the next step is to seize the opportunity to kiss her. You…can pull her into your arms when you see that she is very touched.”

       “Is this so?” Fang Mingyan stretched out his arms and pulled him into his arms.

       The warmth on his solid chest spread through the thin shirt. Zhuo Yue quickly backed away like he was shocked by an electric shock and said, “Why are you acting like you are robbing a peasant girl? Make your moves a bit more charming, natural, and gentle.”

       The man tentatively put his arm around his shoulders and said, “Is this better?”

       “Yes, I think it’s a good idea.” He was a little nervous for some reason and said, “The next step is the crucial step. You must seize the opportunity to kiss her.”

       “Kiss her…” The man approached as if he was determined yet timidly hesitant.

       At this time, according to the plot, Zhuo Yue should take the initiative to kiss the other party, but…

       They were so close to each other.

       The man lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze seemed to become deeper, and Zhuo Yue could clearly see his reflection in the other person’s eyes.

       Zhuo Yue’s hesitation made everything seem more ambiguous. His throat felt dry. As soon as he closed his eyes, he stretched his neck and pressed his lips against those beautiful thin lips. Originally, he was the one who initiated the scene, but when that strong hand clasped the back of his neck, everything went out of its original direction.

       The hot and wet tongue rolled around in his mouth, easily taking away his breath as if carrying an irresistible desire, drawing in his essence, anticipating his response. Eventually, it retreated in the midst of his bewildered struggles.

       “You…” Zhuo Yue’s breath was confused; his face turned red, and he stared at Fang Mingyan in disbelief.

       The man looked at him calmly and asked, “What’s the difference between when you take the initiative and when I take the initiative?”

       Zhuo Yue was startled, and it took him a moment to realise that the other person was giving guidance. Somewhat embarrassed, he said, “The intensity was different. I was… too hasty just now, and the speed was too fast.”

       Different from his subtle movements, Fang Mingyan’s kiss was rough, yet it carried a restrained tenderness. It seemed eager to delve deeper but stopped short, ultimately pulling away when met with resistance. A careful analysis of that kiss revealed it to be laden with emotions—love, restraint, sadness, and an indescribable hint of despair—completely aligned with the emotional state of the male character.

       “An actor must be fully committed to the role when performing. I shouldn’t need to teach you this. Zhuo Yue, to be honest, your performance disappointed me. This kiss should be your most important role in the play. However, from the performance just now, I didn’t see any of your feelings for me. From the dialogue to the actions, it was stiff, perfunctory, and ridiculous, as if you couldn’t wait to push me away. You didn’t try to integrate yourself into this role but regard it as a task that must be completed.” The man stood up and concluded clearly, “Since you are so resistant to this role, you don’t have to go to the audition tomorrow.”

       These words caused Zhuo Yue’s face to heat up. He knew very well that every criticism from Fang Mingyan was an indication of his failure to do what he wanted. Looking back, the performance just now felt bad even to him. He was about to lose his chance to act, and in a moment of desperation, he shouted in the direction of the staircase, “Chairman Fang!

       Fang Mingyan turned back to look at him.

       “Can I… try again?”

       “Being your boss involves clearing debts, providing room and board, and even practising kissing scenes. Isn’t my sacrifice a bit too significant?” the man retorted.

       Zhuo Yue was thin-skinned and was not used to asking for help, so he immediately retreated in embarrassment, “If you are not willing to do so, then…”

       “Okay, come on.” Fang Mingyan interrupted him neatly, “I’ll give you three minutes. Skip ahead and start directly with the kiss.”

       Zhuo Yue walked up to him and silently brewed his emotions. His black eyes gradually became filled with strong and forbearing emotions, glowing obscurely under the lamp. The man in front of him was about five centimetres taller than him. He reached out and hooked his neck, then raised his face and kissed him without hesitation.

       He took the initiative and took control of the whole area. He kissed the other person’s lips with an open mouth, then reached into the wet and hot mouth to wrap around the unmoved tongue. His movements were enthusiastic but cautious, like a moth flying into a flame and like a devout believer who wanted to risk his life but did not dare to do anything wrong. The slightly frowned eyebrows and tightly closed eyes vividly displayed the ambivalence. The control of emotions was even more delicate than Fang Mingyan’s demonstration just now.

       The kiss lingered, and Zhuo Yue, who was supposed to be pushed away, waited without sensing any movement from the other person. He opened his eyes, feeling a bit perplexed.

       The man’s slightly lowered eyes were filled with some unpredictable emotions. In such close proximity, Zhuo Yue could even feel the rise and fall of the other person’s chest and the feeling of the gradually hardening part of his crotch pressing against his lower abdomen. He stiffened all over and stepped back in a panic. However, there was a sofa behind him. As he leaned backwards, he sat on the armrest of the sofa.

       The man standing in place seemed very straightforward, “I am a homosexual, and if you kiss me like this, I will naturally have a physiological reaction.”

       Zhuo Yue was extremely embarrassed and didn’t know what to say, so he had to apologise, “I’m sorry.”

       “Just because I have a reaction doesn’t mean I will do anything to you. Don’t be so nervous.” Fang Mingyan curled his lips and changed into a frivolous and joking tone, “You are so red. Are you shy?”

       Zhuo Yue’s face flushed even more when Fang Mingyan spoke, and he was speechless.

       The man laughed, “Okay, go to bed early and act well tomorrow.”

       His eyes lit up, and he asked, “Can I go tomorrow?”

       “You’re barely qualified. Don’t embarrass me then.”

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