Chapter 17

Xia Xingcheng felt quite uncomfortable.

Although he had gotten through the latter parts of the shooting without a hitch and He Zheng was currently pleased, his mind was heavily plagued by the many emotions that belonged to Fang Jianyuan.

It was already quite late when that day's filming ended. After taking a bath, he wrapped himself up with a quilt and sat on the bed in a daze.

He Zheng had said that Fang Jianyuan and his own characteristics resembled each other's, yet Xia Xingcheng wasn't sure how they were alike.

Fang Jianyuan was an inwardly quiet person, his emotions wouldn't flow out, and he tended to keep everything in his heart.

As Xia Xingcheng got more and more into the role, he inevitably quietened down –like how he was sitting on the bed right now, thoughts entirely filled with the image of Yang Youming when he was filming today.

He believed that the same was true for Fang Jianyuan, how images of Yu Haiyang and himself slowly took root in his mind and even his heart, and how they couldn't be removed again. He felt awful. Awful for Fang Jianyuan. And awful for himself.

The cellphone that Xia Xingcheng had left by his side suddenly rang.

He turned and saw Wei Zehui's name across the screen, and stared at it blankly for a good while before his hand appeared from under the quilt to answer the call.

The air conditioner in the room made him feel cold.

After the call connected, Wei Zehui's tone was as excited as ever while he called Xia Xingcheng over to play. It seemed that he intended to spend his days at the film and TV studio by going partying every night.

Xia Xingcheng was not at all interested right now. "No thanks."

Wei Zehui found it strange. "Didn't you have a good time yesterday? What's up? That woman didn't satisfy you?"

Xia Xingcheng wasn't willing to waste his time on him and said, "I'm not free these days. I'm really too busy." He hung up in a hurry not long after that.

He cast his cellphone aside and wrapped himself up in the quilt once more, looking over the script to prepare for the scenes that were going to be shot the next day.

Xia Xingcheng had already read through the entire script of 'Gradual Distance' more than once. However, with the ever changing mood, he would feel different each time.

When he gradually became Fang Jianyuan, he was able to imagine the details and tones of Fang Jianyuan's every line. He could feel Fang Jianyuan's happiness, as well as Fang Jianyuan's sadness and anxiety.

He couldn't say whether this state was good for him or not, but at the very least, it was what was currently required.

When he was finished with the script, Xia Xingcheng called his agent Huang Jixin and asked him to find him a few books.

Huang Jixin was puzzled. "What books?"

Xia Xingcheng said, "Just whatever. Anything university students like to read, literature novels they would like."

On the other side, Huang Jixin blanked out for a moment. "Qiong Yao?*"

Xia Xingcheng said weakly, "Although it's been two or three years since I graduated from university, I don't think today's university students would like reading Qiong Yao's books, would they?"

Huang Jixing said, "Not necessarily."

"Don't argue with me," Xia Xingcheng interrupted. "Just look up books on the internet." He paused to wonder about what someone with Fang Jianyuan's disposition might read, and then said, "Like Haruki Murakami or something." He said it casually, recalling that one of the props in Fang Jianyuan's room was a Haruki Murakami book.

Huang Jixin said. "I see. Are you all right?"

Xia Xingcheng said, "I'm fine." With that, he hung up directly.

He let out a drawn out sigh, thinking that Fang Jianyuan was a person who spent so much time all day long wrapped up in his thoughts. If he could be a little more carefree, even as a gay person he'd be able to happily pick up a handsome guy outside, and his life would be much better. It was also unlikely that he'd ever stumble across Yu Haiyang.

Before going to bed, Xia Xingcheng opened Weibo on his cellphone.

He didn't have much interest in Weibo, but as a small celebrity that had recently gained a fanbase, he had no choice but to depend on Weibo to deepen his relationship with his fans.

As soon as he opened Weibo, Xia Xingcheng sensed a peculiar type of commotion among his fans. Then, he discovered that Yang Youming had followed him.

In a split second, Xia Xingcheng's heart abruptly pounded. It was roughly how Fang Jianyuan reacted when he saw Yu Haiyang undress in front of him. He unconsciously clicked on Yang Youming's Weibo page to look at his following list, and found that he wasn't following many people. At most, there were only a few big directors and actors who had worked with him in the past, yet he did not follow every single actor he's ever worked with either.

Xia Xingcheng held his phone and hesitated for a moment, then sent a message to greet his fans before putting aside the device to get ready for bed.

He was secretly happy.

Although that night Yang Youming didn't show a clear difference between his attitude in and outside the film, it didn't affect Yang Youming's place as an idol in his heart in the slightest.

Furthermore, aside from the fact that he was wholly unable to tell the difference between Yu Haiyang and Yang Youming, the line between himself and Fang Jianyuan also became increasingly blurred.