TSBDRA 50: I Want to Ask You a Question Too

Xu Xishuang was filming the post-credits scene for the finale, which would be shown at the end of the last episode. Viewers who were used to skipping the credits might miss this brilliant twist.

Just as Yan Zheng predicted in the show, Chen Muzhou didn’t actually die. He had planned everything before his escape—even the car explosion was part of his design.

When the car veered off course, he had already changed into diving gear and slipped into the water right before the explosion, escaping the pursuit of the Special Operations Bureau. He boarded a plane he had arranged in advance and fled abroad.

His smuggling operation was vast. Smuggling one person was a piece of cake. He had even prepared a foreign identity for himself long ago—as the godson of a very wealthy single tycoon. This tycoon had recently passed away, and Chen Muzhou would inherit all his assets and connections, making a comeback even more formidable than before.

The book Yan Zheng found was the clue Chen Muzhou left behind—a taunt, a hint that he was still alive. If it had been before Yan Zheng caught him slipping, Chen Muzhou would never have done something so reckless that could reveal his identity. But after being cornered and nearly having his whole plan ruined, Chen Muzhou finally saw this once-ridiculous policeman in a new light—and felt rare irritation, wanting to win back some ground.

This part of the story didn’t require detailed filming. It’s just a few quick flashback scenes to explain how Chen Muzhou escaped. What Cheng Tianwen was filming in detail now was the scene of Chen Muzhou attending the tycoon’s funeral abroad. 

For that, Cheng Tianwen had invited several foreign friends to act as extras. They looked like university students from nearby and were very excited to be on set for the first time, whispering among themselves and frequently sneaking glances at Xu Xishuang.

Xu Xishuang vaguely caught the word “pretty,” raised his eyebrows slightly, but said nothing and didn’t pay much attention, silently letting the makeup artist continue working on his face.

With winter approaching, it got dark earlier. By  around five in the afternoon, the sky had already begun to dim. It was a cloudy day and had even started to drizzle slightly, perfectly matching the atmosphere of the scene. They didn’t even need to use the sprinkler truck.

Worried that the drizzle might stop at any moment, Cheng Tianwen quickly called Xu Xishuang over to start filming.

Xu Xishuang had already changed into costume and had his makeup done. He was wearing a loose black suit, a white rose pinned to his collar, and holding a black umbrella—standard funeral attire.

Completely different from the feeling Yan Yushan gave in black clothing, Xu Xishuang was wrapped entirely in deep black, cold and fragile. His skin was extraordinarily pale, as beautiful as the white rose on his chest, with an almost ghostly translucence.

He stood in the rain, holding his umbrella, looking over with an air of nonchalance and detachment. But his eyes seemed to have tiny hooks that drew everyone’s attention. Almost all eyes on set were glued to him. Even Cheng Tianwen was momentarily stunned before raising his hand and calling out, “Ready!”

The actors stood on a small patch of barren land. The gravestone was an easy prop. It was just foam painted to look like stone and placed there. The foreign extras cried in front of the fake gravestone. Lacking experience, they couldn’t really cry, so the makeup artist had to apply eye drops. They were now dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, barely passing the crying scene.

Xu Xishuang stood at the edge of this “cemetery.” He had already fully entered the role of Chen Muzhou, coldly watching the others mourn the deceased tycoon. Whether their grief was real was unclear. He simply stood there. Even though everyone knew he was the tycoon’s godson and would inherit everything, no one dared speak to him. They all kept their distance and left the cemetery.

The rain intensified.

A seasoned foreign actor playing the tycoon’s butler stepped forward, impeccably dressed. He gave a slight bow to Xu Xishuang and fluently said in Chinese, “All of the Master’s inheritance will go to you. Everything is at your disposal.”

The camera moved in close. Xu Xishuang looked toward it, slowly curling his lips into a smile devoid of warmth. “Of course.”

He seemed to recall something pleasant and tilted his umbrella slightly. The raindrops gathered on the lower side instantly slid off, splashing onto the gravestone at his feet.

The tilted umbrella obscured half of Xu Xishuang’s face. The camera couldn’t capture his eyes—only his finely sculpted lips and chin.

Amid the sound of rain, Xu Xishuang delivered Chen Muzhou’s final line, word by word, “I will, of course, make full use of it.”

“Cut! Good!” Cheng Tianwen wiped rain from his face. “Wrap it up!”

That marked the end of the final post-credits scene, leaving the audience with endless possibilities to imagine. It served as both the season one conclusion and a teaser for season two. Cheng Tianwen planned to wait and see how well season one performed before deciding whether to greenlight the sequel.

In season two, Chen Muzhou and Yan Zheng would truly begin their game of cat and mouse. The Special Operations Bureau would engage in international collaborations, joining forces with other countries to hunt Chen Muzhou down.

Cheng Tianwen did a rough calculation and figured season two would cost nearly triple what season one did. But with investor Yan Yushan backing them, they had no financial worries. Whether season two would happen depended entirely on how much the audience liked it.

Cheng Tianwen wasn’t too worried about that either. He looked at Xu Xishuang’s almost perfect face through the monitor and thought, just this face alone would draw in a legion of fans. Not to mention the human traffic magnet Yan Yushan. He was confident this show would be a massive hit.

The rain didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon. The black umbrellas the crew had prepared as props were now all in use. Since many people hadn’t brought umbrellas, they were sharing in twos and threes, sprinting toward the vehicles.

Inside his black suit, Xu Xishuang had stuck on several heat patches and now felt pleasantly warm. He didn’t feel cold at all as he slowly walked alone, holding his umbrella, toward the rain shelter where Yan Yushan was sitting.

Halfway there, he suddenly heard the splash of someone stepping into a puddle. Xu Xishuang looked up and saw a tall, panting foreigner standing in front of him.

He was the textbook image of a blond and blue-eyed young man. His golden hair was a little damp from the rain. His facial features were sharp—if he posted a selfie on Instagram, it would get tens of thousands of likes at the very least.

He probably knew he was good-looking, because he flashed a big smile at Xu Xishuang and squeezed under his umbrella, looking him straight in the eyes as he asked in imperfect Chinese, “Can I have… your phone number?”

Xu Xishuang recognized the voice—it was the same guy who had called him “pretty” earlier. He lifted the umbrella slightly, took a step back to increase the distance, and replied in a flat tone, “No.”

The blond man hadn’t expected such a cold and direct rejection. His smile faltered, but he wasn’t ready to give up. He leaned back under the umbrella and tried again. “I…”

Another series of fast footsteps splashed through the puddles. Xu Xishuang spotted a familiar figure, and the grip on his umbrella relaxed slightly.

Yan Yushan stepped in ahead of the blond man with ease, naturally took the umbrella from Xu Xishuang’s hand, raised it higher, and gently placed his other hand on Xu Xishuang’s shoulder, standing close beside him.

Xu Xishuang turned his head to look at Yan Yushan, a little surprised to find he was actually slightly taller than the blond guy and had broader shoulders too.

Yan Yushan met the blond man’s gaze but ignored him completely. He turned to Xu Xishuang and explained, “I gave my umbrella to Yan Yao and Qu Yue. They left first. Everyone else found someone to share with, and I didn’t want to squeeze in with just anyone, so I came to find you.”

“Wanna head back together?” Yan Yushan looked into Xu Xishuang’s eyes.

Xu Xishuang met his gaze and suddenly felt that Yan Yushan seemed different from usual. His eyes were dark and heavy, like a beast whose territory had just been trespassed. The pressure radiating from him was almost tangible but it wasn’t aimed at him. It was aimed at someone outside the umbrella.

That usual gentle-dog persona—that pitiful, harmless act—was just a disguise. Peel it away and what remained was an unrestrained ambition and something even deeper…

The sound of raindrops striking the umbrella mixed with the pounding of his heart.

Xu Xishuang’s hand, resting at his side, clenched suddenly. He quickly averted his gaze and replied in a soft voice, “Mm.”

The blond man noticed how they were talking like he wasn’t even there, and his face darkened.

Just as he was about to speak, the man beside the beauty gave him a fleeting glance.

He clamped his mouth shut. For a split second, he felt a chill run down his spine.

By the time he came back to his senses, Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan had already walked past him, shoulder to shoulder toward the van.

The black umbrella really wasn’t big enough for two adult men. The blond man watched the taller guy walk with one shoulder fully exposed to the rain, nearly soaked through. The taller one was tilting the umbrella as much as possible toward the cold, beautiful man, shielding him from the icy raindrops with great gentleness—completely different from the fierce and threatening aura he had earlier.

He understood now that this man had the strength to back it up.

The two of them stood very close under the umbrella, shoulders brushing, occasionally turning to whisper to each other, as if they might hold hands or kiss at any moment.

So he was already taken.

The blond man finally bit his lip in frustration, ran a hand through his rain-soaked hair, and jogged off to join his friends—ready to face their teasing.

Inside the van, the heater was on. Xu Xishuang took off his jacket and looked at the small puddle of water forming under the umbrella tip by his feet. He glanced over at Yan Yushan’s soaked shoulder, guessing what must’ve happened. He pursed his lips. “Thanks.”

Yan Yushan paused in the middle of drying his hair with a towel. With a hint of a smile, he replied to Xu Xishuang, “I was the one who borrowed your umbrella—I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

Xu Xishuang didn’t respond at first.

The van fell into silence. Outside, the rain kept falling in a slow, maddening drizzle. Xu Xishuang stared at his own blurred reflection in the window, restlessly fiddling with the umbrella handle—once, twice, three times…

“I mean,” Xu Xishuang suddenly spoke, “thank you for getting rid of that guy who tried to hit on me earlier.”

Yan Yushan’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected Xu Xishuang to catch on to his intent, let alone call it out directly. He tensed, nervously waiting for what Xu Xishuang would say next.

Xu Xishuang gripped the umbrella handle tighter. “You were drunk last time, so maybe you don’t remember, but you asked me what kind of men I liked.”

An ominous feeling surged in Yan Yushan’s chest. He slightly parted his lips, wanting to stop him, but Xu Xishuang had already gone on, “I told you I didn’t have a type, and I wasn’t planning on dating anyone.”

Yan Yushan felt a sharp pang in his chest.

Xu Xishuang’s expression was calm. “Since you asked me that, I’d like to return the question.”

Xu Xishuang said, “What kind of men do you like?”