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The Star Around The Sun

Xia Xingcheng, with average acting skills and appearance, had been a second-rate star in the entertainment industry for six years. But one day, he received an offer from famous director He Zheng to act in a gay movie titled ‘Gradual Distance’ with famous award-winning actor Yang Youming. In the movie, they had a sweet love; outside of it, there was a polite distance. In the movie, they had a sad ending; outside of it, there were ambiguous feelings. The dissociation between the two lives they led often made Xia Xingcheng confused. Under Yang Youming’s guidance, he was able to step into the ranks of actors, but it was also because of Yang Youming that he couldn’t distinguish between the reality and their act. Xia Xingcheng had never expected that the movie would eventually push him into the abyss of pain and happiness. ••• 136 Chapters + 15 Extras Update schedule: one chapter per day

clarysage · Realistic
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40 Chs

Chapter 40

Fang Jianyuan was no longer angry. Only pain remained. It was like a knife was stabbing right into his heart at every moment, everywhere he goes. The wound has already scabbed over time and time again with great difficulty until it finally stopped bleeding, yet Yu Haiyang's every word and every action was like a blade that cut open the wound once more.

Fang Jianyuan didn't cry, but it was clear that the rims of his eyes were brimming with unshed tears. The man in front of him grew blurred with it, leaving only a silhouette that gradually became unfamiliar. He said to Yu Haiyang, "I wish you happiness."

Then Fang Jianyuan turned and continued to run upstairs.

From the camera angle of Yu Haiyang's perspective, in the wake of Fang Jianyuan gradually moving away, Xia Xingcheng's scenes in the studio were finally completed.

When the director called for a stop, he stopped at the top of the stairs and gripped the handrails, unmoving for a long time.

Yang Youming stood in place and looked up at him, but did not come up.

Walking out from behind the monitor, He Zheng came down the stairs and approached Xia Xingcheng, giving him a heavy pat on the shoulder. "Not bad."

It was only then that Yang Youming turned and left.

The tears in Xia Xingcheng's eyes could no longer be held back as they finally fell. Raising his hands to wipe his tears away, he looked at He Zheng with a smile.

Although He Zheng was not as tall as Xia Xingcheng, he hugged Xia Xingcheng's head with his thin arms, letting him lean on his shoulder and patting the top of his head. He said, "Good child."

The nearby crew made hurried preparations for the transition.

The next part of the movie would involve external location filming, and since Yang Youming's scenes were given priority, other scenes wouldn't be filmed until all his scenes have been completely shot.

Most of the location filming was to be done in a remote county town up north, as well as the village next to it.

They couldn't find suitable accommodations in both the town nor neighbouring village, and as a result, the cast and crew would be staying at the city centre which was a two-hour drive from the village. This required them to get up early to rush to the filming site every day.

As the tail end of summer was still upon them, the first scene they shot in the small town was of Fang Jianyuan and Yu Haiyang swimming in a pool.

The small town's indoor swimming pool was built more than a decade ago, but since it hasn't been put to use for many years, in order to film, the production team spent money to clean out the whole pool and fill it with fresh water.

Xia Xingcheng wore a loose long-sleeved t-shirt and trousers over his swimming trunks. It's been a long time since he last went swimming. Standing by the pool, he stretched his arms and feet to warm-up.

Although the pool had been cleaned, there were still many dark stains on the walls and floor that couldn't be scrubbed off. The colour of the window frames and ceiling had also yellowed with age, looking very shabby.

The swimming pool had seeked out a lot of local families to bring their children to act as extras. Unlike the professional extras in the film and tv city, they were constantly curious about Xia Xingcheng and Yang Youming, standing in a circle to watch them before filming began.

At this time, Xia Xingcheng couldn't afford to deal with the eyes of the people around him. From the very beginning, he had been adjusting his emotions. This portion of the location filming was the part where the feelings between Fang Jianyuan and Yu Haiyang entered a sweet period of time, yet internally, he was still immersed in a dense sadness that was hard to pull away from.

He crouched down by the pool, looked at his reflection on the water's surface and smiled at himself.

When he had not yet recovered his smile, he heard the excited cheers of girls around him, so he looked up and turned back. He caught sight of Yang Youming coming from the direction of the dressing room, wearing only a pair of swimming trunks.

Yang Youming's shoulders were wide, his waist narrow. His chest and abdomen had beautiful muscles, and his V-line narrowed down and disappeared into his black swimming trunks. Underneath, his legs were long, straight, and looked firm and powerful.

Xia Xingcheng hadn't not seen Yang Youming's body, yet it wasn't in a brightly lit public place such as here. His face immediately reddened. Turning around, he buried his head on the side of his leg.

Yang Youming walked to the side of the pool, did a simple stretch, then jumped into the pool in a very professional-looking move.

The innocent children in the pool clapped their hands at his beautiful entry into the water.

Yang Youming dived into the water but did not swim forward. Submerging himself, he turned around and suddenly his head emerged from under the water's surface, appearing right in front of Xia Xingcheng, splashing Xia Xingcheng's feet in the process.

As he tread water, he wiped his face with his hand, and then shook his wet hair to fling off water like a wet animal.

Water droplets fell on his face, and Xia Xingcheng subconsciously tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Yang Youming put his arm on the edge of the swimming pool, looked up at Xia Xingcheng and smiled, "Can you swim?"

Xia Xingcheng gazed at his gentle eyes, straight nose, and moist lips, and laughed and exclaimed, "Of course."

Yang Youming said, "Come on, race with me, one lap back and forth."

Xia Xingcheng replied, "Come on." He stood up, and under Yang Youming's gaze, slowly took off his clothes.

When he undressed, his mind was thrown into a slight confusion. He was afraid that Yang Youming would stare, yet also hoped for Yang Youming to watch. He recalled the other day's sex scene and Yang Youming's impulsive physical reaction and surmised that Yang Youming might be interested in his body.

However, as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Xia Xingcheng was not sure what he was thinking nor what he wanted at all. Casting aside his clothes, only a pair of swimming trunks remained on his body. Then, he saw Yang Youming holding out a hand for him.

He was stunned at first, then gave up the idea of entering the water with a chic move. Bending down to hold Yang Youming's hand, he looked like a child as he slowly slid into the water.

His body sank down under, and Yang Youming quickly held his waist. His face rubbed against Yang Youming's chest, and then he kicked up to float on the surface of the water.

Yang Youming let go of his hand, retreated to the neighbouring swimming lane and looked at him, "Shall we start?"

Xia Xingcheng nodded.

They found an extra on the deck to act as the referee, and once they heard a yell to start, Xia Xingcheng instantly swam forward.

He was a pretty skilled swimmer and used to take part in school sports meets on behalf of the faculty when he was still in university.

Therefore, he immediately rushed out at the start of the race, wanting to distance himself from Yang Youming's tail.

But Yang Youming soon caught up, and in a moment, he had already reached Xia Xingcheng's legs. Xia Xingcheng, this youngster, grew competitive and he gritted his teeth as he sped up.

Yang Youming failed to overtake him and was always half a body behind him.

Xia Xingcheng had exhausted all his strength after going all-out, swimming faster than he ever had in the school sports meets. Although he couldn't increase his distance from Yang Youming, he finally returned to the starting point first.

His upper body lay on the edge of the pool as he gasped for breath. He turned his head to look at Yang Youming in the next swimming lane over.

Yang Youming appeared to be more relaxed than him, only panting faintly.

Xia Xingcheng extended his hand to Yang Youming, his palm facing him.

Chuckling, Yang Youming gave him a high-five and said, "Congratulations."

Xia Xingcheng smiled while gasping for breath, sincerely happy to beat Yang Youming.

It wasn't until the day that he saw two citywide swimming trophies at Yang Youming's house which Yang Youming won in high school that he knew that Yang Youming had deliberately lost to him at this time.

But at this time, he was truly in a good mood.

THE TENSION…

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