6.6

A month had passed since Fenhuo Lingyun's release. The numbers in the box office continued to climb up and up until it finally became the highest grossing movie of the year.

There were numerous posts, blogs, and threads that all discussed the movie. Posts discussed the actors' acting, blogs talked about the movie's plot, and threads all over the internet commented the relationship between the two protagonists. There were some posts that talked about the heroine's compatibility with the male lead, and others that talked about the love story between Li Zhongxiu and Qiu Chen. However, most of the posts centered on whether Li Zhongxu and Qiu Chen had truly loved the other and whether or not Li Zhongxiu died.

All the netizens asked for the article writers and editors to step up and give them an answer. However, they couldn't find the screenwriter's name. The hype was at its peak when Xingyu finally released the news that Shu Qichen was the author and caused an uproar.

Qiao Chen was the toast of Fenhuo Lingyun's celebratory party. Everyone drank and poured drinks for him. He was completely hammered by the end of the night. Du Jingnan took it upon himself to send Qiao Chen home. He originally wanted to help Qiao Chen into his room. However, Qiao Chen insisted on sleeping in the living room on the sofa.

Du Jingnan poured a cup of water for Qiao Chen and then passed it to him in a well practiced manner. Then he sat down.

"Thank you." Qiao Chen said. He sat up from the sofa and took a sip from of water.

Du Jingnan watched Qiao Chen drink the water. The light seemed to hit him differently. The flush on Qiao Chen's face looked exceedingly tantalizing…His mouth ran dry, so he got back up and grabbed a glass of water for himself.

"Why don't you go to your room to sleep?" Du Jingnan asked as he returned.

"I don't want to go back to my room anymore. This house is too big now that I live alone. I think I'll move to a smaller house, so it won't feel as lonely." Qiao Chen replied.

Du Jingnan had those nightly discussions that centered on the script with Qiao Chen. He got the feeling that Qiao Chen wrote a lot of his own feelings and experienced into Qiu Chen's character. That was probably why he insisted on playing that role specifically. That also explained why he was able to perform the role so well.

Du Jingnan reviewed the story line and saw a lot of similarities between the two. Both Qiu Chen and Shu Qichen saw their worlds come crashing down. They suddenly lost their loved ones. They both had a deep fear of crippling loneliness, so they would rather die than leave the relationship once they formed an attachment. However, in the movie, Qiu Chen's rock, his psychological support, was Li Zhongxu. Shi Qichen, on the other hand… Who would be Shu Qichen's support? Who would be the rock to ground him, to save him? Du Jingnan felt a sudden discomfort when thought of the possibility that Shu Qichen would find someone that wasn't him to be it.

"I have a place next door to mine. I can let you live there if you want." Du Jingnan offered.

Qiao Chen looked at him, baffled. "The place next to yours? Wouldn't that be a lot bigger than the one I'm living in now? Uh…Why would I move?"

"It's not as big as yours. I live alone and bought the whole floor out over at the Jiangjing apartment complex. I only live in one of them, so all the other ones are empty."

"I thought you lived in a mansion bigger than my villa." Qiao Chen replied.

"My mansion is on a hilltop in the suburbs. It's the estate my parents left me. I don't usually go there." Du Jingnan then asked, "Well? How about it? Want to check it out?"

Qiao Chen thought about it for a bit and then nodded his head, "Sure. I'll check it out with you tomorrow."

"What are you going to do with this place?" Du Jingnan asked.

"Probably leave it. My parents specially chose and bought this house when they got married. I didn't really have much of a choice when I sold it the first time. I can't sell it now, especially since I just bought it back either." Qiao Chen looked around the house and continued, "There's still a lot of memories in this place, even though everyone is gone. I can come back and live here every now and then."

"Do you miss your father?" Du Jingnan asked after he saw Qiao Chen's demeanor darken.

"A bit." Qiao Chen replied. As soon as he finished speaking, the soul downloading process immediately started up. Qiao Chen was at a loss. He had tried all that he could to get Du Jingnan to start falling for him, and it never worked. He had been speaking normally just now, but the soul download immediately started up once he mentioned his father…

Du Jingnan sat next to Qiao Chen. He cupped Qiao Chen's flushed face in one hand and said, "If you miss your dad, then I can be your daddy. I can love you a dearly as your dad did if you want me to."

Qiao Chen's face dropped. What was wrong with this man? Can someone please remind me why he's so obsessed with my daddy for so many lifetimes now?

"Director Du- President Du. Even if you were ten years older than me, you still wouldn't be able to have a son that was my age. You shouldn't want to be my father." Qiao Chen said seriously.

Du Jingnan looked at Qiao Chen's mouth. His lips were so close to his. It was very, very alluring. He cupped Qiao Chen's face and kissed him. Du Jingnan sucked and licked Qiao Chen's lips and tongue.

Qiao Chen didn't struggle or resist the sudden kiss. He let Du Jingnan kiss to his heart's content and then pulled back. Qiao Chen asked, "You just said that you wanted to be my dad, but you still want to do this with me too?"

"I want to hear you call me daddy when we're in bed." Du Jingnan looked at Qiao Chen and replied. His eyes were burning with desire.

"Don't. Even. Dream. Of. It." Qiao Chen deadpanned. Du Jingnan picked Qiao Chen up. Qiao Chen immediately and instinctively held onto Du Jingnan so he wouldn't fall and asked, "What are you doing?"

"We're looking at the house now." Du Jingnan replied. He quickly walked out of Qiao Chen's apartment with Qiao Chen in his arms.

"What house are we looking at right now? At night?" Qiao Chen loudly exclaimed.

"I can't wait until tomorrow." Du Jingnan placed Qiao Chen in his car and then drove to his apartment at top speed. He stopped at a drugstore on the way. Qiao Chen didn't even need to ask. He knew already what Du Jingnan bought.

Du Jingnan lived at the top of the apartment complex. It was a very upscale complex in a luxurious location. It was definitely not cheaper than Qiao Chen's villa. Du Jingnan's apartment had a glass wall that you could see through. There was a great view of the entire river and riverside. This was a special and beautiful scene. Du Jingnan was a man who knew how to enjoy life.

Qiao Chen took a shower. He wore a bathroom that was a bit too big for him as he leaned against the glass wall to watch the night's scene. Du Jingnan interrupted Qiao Chen with a sudden hug. Qiao Chen knew very well what Du Jingnan wanted to do.

Du Jingnan began to reach into Qiao Chen's robe very soon after. Qiao Chen turned around and pushed him away. "Aren't you taking me to see the apartment? Please don't grope me. I'm not that kind of person."

Du Jingnan couldn't help but laugh. "Baby, don't pretend to be a straight edge now. Did you think that I didn't know you've been trying to seduce me?"

"Have not." Qiao Chen turned his face aside and denied.

"Okay, okay. You haven't. It's my imagination that told me you've been seducing me." Du Jingnan joked. Qiao Chen let Du Jingnan take off his robe. Then, Du Jingnan pressed Qiao Chen against the glass wall. Once Qiao Chen was firmly against the wall, he began to slowly kiss Qiao Chen. Du Jingnan started from Qiao Chen's neck. Then Du Jingnan traveled all the way down and began sucking on Qiao Chen..

"Unn~ Hnnn~" Qiao Chen moaned. He held on to Du Jingnan's dead as his legs trembled from the pleasure.

Qiao Chen was weak from the pleasure. His legs felt like jelly. Du Jingnan carried his naked body to the bed. He spread Qiao Chen across the bed. Then Du Jingnan took out the stuff he had bought from the drug store. He squirted some onto Qiao Chen's entrance. Qiao Chen felt the cold liquid and squirmed from the discomfort. He twisted his waist in protest.

Du Jingnan leaned over and kissed Qiao Chen to distract him from the discomfort. Then he separated Qiao Chen's legs…

..................

Qiao Chen was asleep deep into the night when he woke up. He suddenly had the urge to pee. He sat up and felt a soreness in his lower waist. He was about to get out the bed, when Du Jingnan suddenly woke up. His strong arm wrapped around Qiao Chen's waist as he asked, "Where are you going?"

"Toilet. I need to pee." Qiao Chen replied. He pushed Du Jingnan's arm off his waist, but it didn't budge.

Du Jingnan let go. He got out of bed and picked Qiao Chen up. "Daddy will take you to go pee."

Qiao Chen was too lazy to argue with him anymore. He had no more strength. He was teased half to death until he called the man 'daddy' several times. Qiao Chen decided to give in and satisfy this daddy thing he had.

However, Du Jingnan not only helped him take his pants off, but he even held little Qiao Chen and aimed for him. Qiao Chen couldn't take it anymore. He pushed Du Jingnan's hand off and said, "Fuck off. How can I pee with you standing here?"

"I'm scared you can stand up steadily, so I decided to help you." Du Jingnan put his arm around Qiao Chen's waist and refused to let go.

"You're looking for things that aren't there. You haven't gotten me to the point that I can't even walk. Go away."

"Oh?" Du Jingnan raised his brows and hugged Qiao Chen.

"What are you doing? I didn't pee yet." Qiao Chen shouted and struggled.

"Hold it in. You can't pee until I've gotten you to the point that you can't even walk." Du Jingnan laughed evilly. He was unyielding as he pushed Qiao Chen back into bed.

"Ahn~ Ahhnnnn~ Why aren't you done yet? It's the middle of the night already." Qiao Chen wanted to cry. He felt that he shouldn't have provoked Du Jingnan. He would have let the man hold little Qiao Chen to pee as long as he wanted if he knew he wouldn't be able to pee anymore.

......…

Du Jingnan helped Qiao Chen move the next day. The apartment next door was already fully furnished. Other than adding some extra furniture here and there, Qiao Chen didn't have to move much. He brought his clothes and some everyday items and then officially moved next door to Du Jingnan. The two appeared to be neighbors who lived in their own apartments. However, they slept in the same bed at night. Qiao Chen thought that Du Jingnan really was the one stop shop of the entertainment world. The man could act, direct, or even produce. He really deserved all the accolades and praised.

The major award ceremonies were held at the end of the year. Qiao Chen won the award for Best Supporting Actor and for the Best Screenplay. The Fenghuo Lingyun crew nearly swept all the major awards under their belt.

Qiao Chen delivered his acceptance speech on the grand stage. He first thanked Du Jingnan and Xingyu for giving him the opportunity to reach new limits. He also thanked the people who spared no effort when they discredited and sullied his reputation before the movie. He proclaimed that he hadn't even had the time to mourn the loss of his dearest and nearest father when the people he was closest to abandoned him. Qiao Chen continued to say that he was able to do this all because these people wanted to completely burn him. However, he rose from the ashes and begun anew. Qiao Chen promised that they would never be able to topple him again. He said that when he was seen as a loser, nobody believed him. He had no voice. That was why now; he would no longer care about how others judged him. He declared that his work would speak for him and that time would allow him to prove everything.

The most regrettable thing for him now was that his father wasn't there. His father wasn't able to see him win the first prize he had ever won in his acting life. Qiao Chen emotionally said that it seemed like the price for this breakthrough was to lose the last family he had left. He said that he would rather give up his passion and love for acting. Qiao Chen continued to say with conviction that his father had already left the world. Therefore, he only wanted to comfort his father's soul in heaven with his best performances and a successful life.

Qiao Chen lost his composure and choked up several times throughout his speech. This moved both the audience in the building and the viewers at home. Their opinions and views on him changed a lot. Many fans started to doubt the truthfulness of Shu Qichen's black history. They were even beginning to suspect that Weidian Entertainment purposefully ran a smear campaign against Shu Qichen, so that they would be able to terminate their contract with him without consequence.

Shu Qichen's past assistants began coming out of the wood work. They shared their past experiences with him to the public. They had all said that Shu Qichen was a very good-natured individual and never put up any air of arrogance or false pretenses. They all expressed that if Shu Qichen knew that they were going through any bumps in life that he would immediately reach his hand out to help them. He wasn't bad tempered nor had a bad character like those rumors had claimed.

Some netizens naturally questioned why these people didn't speak out before, when the story had just broke. The assistants then shared the evidence showing the true situation to the reporter. However, it was never published, and their posts were very quickly deleted. They figured that someone was working in the dark to smear Shu Qichen. Because he didn't have anyone to support or back him up, Shu Qichen had quickly fallen into the mire.

Although all those assistants never said specifically who had been secretly targeting Shu Qichen while he was down, the evidence all pointed to Weidian Entertainment.

This made the fans upset. They thought that it was absolutely shameful for Weidian Ent. to terminate Shu Qichen's contract immediately after his father's death.

—–

After Qiao Chen shot right into fame, he kept receiving invitations. It was constant, and his phone rang from the morning until the evening. Finally, Qiao Chen couldn't take it anymore. He just shut his phone off and stayed at home. Du Jingnan decided to accompany Qiao Chen as he laid low. As long as there weren't any particularly important matters, he was at Qiao Chen's apartment. They were living their lives like two old husbands. They had a warm and comfortable atmosphere even when they didn't talk to each other as they sat side by side on the sofa.

Qiao Chen had been paying close attention to Weidian's new movie throughout his time at home. Xu Mingjie had already invested so much time and effort into it. Wasn't it clear for everyone to see that this movie was his chance to propel himself into great fame and fortune? It was quite clear to Qiao Chen, but how could he let Xu Mingjie succeed so easily?

Qiao Chen was sure that Xu Mingjie wasn't able to secure the movie's funding, so the movie was probably being delayed. Qiao Chen took out his cell phone and finally turned it back on. He opened it up and saw hundreds of missed calls. He scrolled through the missed-calls list and, sure enough, he saw Liu Yi's name pop up. Qiao Chen smiled at his cell phone. It looked like everything was in place. Qiao Chen was ready give them everything they had given him.

Qiao Che ngot up and was about to grab a glass of water. However, he suddenly fell back down the second he stood up. Du Jingnan had been seated next to Qiao Chen. He immediately extended his arms and caught Qiao Chen.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Du Jingnan asked nervously as he held Qiao Chen.