Chapter 38

Yang Youming was very skilled in expressing his lines, his voice was soft and clear, the emotions meticulous and intonations natural.

Facing Xia Xingcheng, he said, "My parents urged me to marry ever since I was 25. Until two years ago, my mother was seriously ill. When she was lying on a hospital bed in a critical condition for the second time, she told me that if she didn't see me get married, she wouldn't die in peace."

Xia Xingcheng said serenely, "So you went and got married?"

"Her health later took a turn for the better and before she was discharged from the hospital, she introduced me to Xu Jia and arranged a blind date. We got married less than three months after we met." Yang Youming was crouching by the bed, looking up at Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng did not meet his eyes from the beginning to the end, saying impatiently, "I don't know what you're trying to say."

Yang Youming wanted to hold Xia Xingcheng's hand to his leg but Xia Xingcheng avoided his touch, so he continued, "Do you know why I got married in less than three months? I don't like her, and she doesn't like me, we're both just looking for someone to marry. That's it. Maybe you can't see, but Xu Jia is actually a year older than me, and she couldn't stand the pressure from her family. At that age, she needed to find a man to marry and whether she wanted to or not doesn't matter."

Xia Xingcheng finally looked into his eyes and said, "Why do you say that she doesn't love you?"

Yang Youming said, "You can feel whether a person loves you or not."

Xia Xingcheng added, "Have you ever slept with her?"

Yang Youming slowly stood up. He leaned against the wall and bowed his head, not answering.

Xia Xingcheng spat out his words in quick succession, his resentment evident, "You don't love her, and she doesn't love you. Then do you want to get divorced?"

Yang Youming was silent for a moment. He said, "Xiao Yuan, there are many things in life that you can't go about as you please. When you reach my age, you'll understand."

Xia Xingcheng grabbed the alarm clock on the bedside table and repeatedly smashed it down on Yang Youming's body, right on the man's lower abdomen. Then it fell to the ground and rolled twice.

Eyebrows wrinkled slightly, Yang Youming subconsciously raised his hand to the place where his lower abdomen was hit.

Stunned, Xia Xingcheng failed to say his lines. He became absent-minded. Not knowing whether to speak to Yang Youming or He Zheng, he said, "I'm sorry." Then he got out of bed and went over to Yang Youming and asked, "Ming ge, are you okay?"

He was aware of how many times he had struck down just now. Although it was only a special prop, Xia Xingcheng was still afraid of hitting Yang Youming.

Yang Youming shook his head and said, "It's fine."

He Zheng stood up from his small stool and looked their way, asking, "Are you injured?"

Yang Youming said to him, "It's nothing, you can continue."

He Zheng glanced at Xia Xingcheng and said to Yang Youming, "Let's take a break and see if you're injured."

When He Zheng ended the shot and sat down, Shen Yan approached him and said, "Xia Xingcheng acted really well. Among actors his age, this is the first time I've seen one so immersed in their role."

He Zheng watched the playback on the monitor, and hearing Shen Yan, he only grabbed his hair and sighed.

Shen Yan added, "Also, there's a tacit understanding between him and Yang Youming."

At this, He Zheng said, "Xiao Xia is good, and Youming can bring him into his role. It's very good."

Xia Xingcheng's gaze was still on Yang Youming, the concern on his face palpable.

Yang Youming smiled and told him, "It's really all right. The alarm clock is light as a feather, it won't hurt anyone."

Xia Xingcheng let out a 'Mm' and said, "I'm sorry."

The smile on Yang Youming's face gradually became a little distorted. "You don't look too good these days," he said.

Xia Xingcheng subconsciously raised his hand and touched his face. "I haven't been sleeping very well recently."

"Insomnia?" Yang Youming asked him.

Xia Xingcheng didn't confirm nor deny. He took the cup handed by Xiao Tang. It contained coffee, but he didn't hurry to drink it. He merely sat down at his bedside and looked up at Yang Youming, asking, "Ming ge, will you be affected by the roles you're acting out?"

Unexpectedly, Yang Youming said, "Of course I will."

Xia Xingcheng silently touched the bottom of the cup with his fingers.

Yang Youming said to him, "However, I will readjust myself after filming. You can't always think about it. The more you think about it, the easier it is to trap yourself in it." With that, he added, "It leads to insomnia too."

Xia Xingcheng lowered his head and slowly took a sip of coffee.

Yang Youming stared at Xia Xingcheng silently. After about half a minute, he looked up and suddenly exclaimed loudly to the people around him, "How's this, I'll treat you all to afternoon tea—coffee, tea, and cake, you're all free to order whatever and I'll take care of the expenses."

He Zheng whistled first, and it was followed by the rest of the staff members' cheers.

Xia Xingcheng still didn't look up. He sipped on his coffee until the cup was empty, then stood up and told He Zheng, "Director He, I can start at any time."

Fang Jianyuan and Yu Haiyang parted on bad terms.

No matter how Yu Haiyang explained his mindset and expressed his feelings for Fang Jianyuan, it all seemed unforgivable to Fang Jianyuan.

At the end of the scene, Xia Xingcheng glared at Yang Youming with red eyes and yelled, "Get lost! You're a liar! Get out of my house! I never want to see you again!"

Yang Youming nodded repeatedly. His eyes were full of helplessness and exhaustion. As he walked outside, he said, "I love you, Xiao Yuan."

•••

In the afternoon, when the on-site manager's assistant approached Xia Xingcheng with his phone and asked Xia Xingcheng what he wanted for afternoon tea, he told the assistant that he didn't need anything. In the end, when the food was delivered, the assistant still came over and brought him chocolate cake.

Xia Xingcheng said, "Didn't I say I didn't need any?"

The assistant clearly didn't understand what was wrong. When she turned to look for someone to ask, Yang Youming took the cake from her and said to Xia Xingcheng, "I asked them to buy it for you."

Xia Xingcheng immediately moved to stand up.

Pressing down on his shoulder to keep him seated, Yang Youming sat next to him. He opened the box containing the cake, took out the small plastic spoon inside and handed it to Xia Xingcheng. "Eating something sweet can make people relax. And since you have insomnia, it's better if you don't drink coffee. "

Xia Xingcheng reached out for the spoon, but the cake was still in Yang Youming's hands.

Yang Youming said, "You're too thin."

Laughing, Xia Xingcheng said, "It's needed for the character, yeah?" He couldn't bear to meet Yang Youming's eyes, so he bowed his head and took a spoonful of cake. Hesitating, he handed the spoon containing the bit of cake to Yang Youming and first asked him, "Do you want to eat it?"

Yang Youming opened his mouth to eat the cake, careful not to touch the spoon. After he swallowed it down, he said, "It tastes good, you should eat a little more."