ABOES 63: Congratulations on Being Discharged

This question was both simple and not so simple. It felt like a casual inquiry, yet it also seemed like something Duan Zhiyan had been waiting a long time to ask, carefully choosing the moment to toss it in front of Chi Yunxing.

Chi Yunxing froze for a long time, unsure how to answer.

Should he say yes? But it didn’t quite feel like it.

What stuck in Chi Yunxing’s mind more was what Duan Zhiyan really meant by “you like older people.”

As a friend? Or something more intimate—a lover?

To Chi Yunxing, age had never really been a concern, whether it was in friendship or relationships.

He carefully gathered his thoughts before responding, trying to sound calm, “It depends on the person, really. If I had to say… I think it’s more about how it feels. As long as the feeling is right, age isn’t a problem. There are lots of friendships between people of different generations these days.”

If he really liked someone, then none of that would matter to him.

Duan Zhiyan chuckled softly, his voice light with amusement. “It’s alright. Even if you do think I’m too old, that doesn’t change the fact that I’ll always be your Ge.”

Chi Yunxing hurriedly said, “I don’t—”

“Mhm,” Duan Zhiyan nodded, “You don’t.”

Chi Yunxing’s protest landed like a punch in cotton, it was soft and ineffective.

He suddenly felt helpless. He could tell Duan Zhiyan didn’t really believe him. What could he say to make Duan Zhiyan believe him?

Should he just say it directly—that he liked him?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Chi Yunxing’s heart slammed in his chest.

Heat surged from his chest to his limbs. He felt like his whole body temperature spiked. His palms were damp, and his cheeks flushed pink again.

What was he even thinking?!

But to say he didn’t like Duan Zhiyan… that wasn’t right either.

Duan Zhiyan had always looked out for him and had helped him so much during filming.

To Chi Yunxing, Duan Zhiyan was someone like Chi Xiwen—a figure he naturally looked up to. Of course he liked him. It was the kind of admiration any younger brother would feel toward an older brother.

But not entirely. His feelings for Duan Zhiyan were different from how he felt about Chi Xiwen. There was something else in the mix—something strange and hard to describe.

Chi Yunxing opened his mouth, but in the end, couldn’t say a word.

It was Duan Zhiyan who finally broke the silence with a low laugh. “Alright, I won’t keep you. Are you done filming?”

Chi Yunxing mumbled, “Just one last scene.”

“Then finish up and get some rest,” Duan Zhiyan said. “I’ll hang up now?”

“Okay.” Chi Yunxing’s brain was already in shutdown mode, just following along with whatever Duan Zhiyan said.

When the call ended, Duan Zhiyan stared at the phone screen, his brow slightly furrowed.

Just then, He You walked in and noticed his expression. “What’s wrong?”

Duan Zhiyan glanced at him, paused a moment, then said, “Nothing,” He looked down and mumbled, “I was probably overthinking it.”

He You: “Huh?”

But Duan Zhiyan just shook his head and didn’t elaborate.

He You didn’t push.

…

“Cut!”

Li Chao couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped out from behind the monitor and walked quickly over to Chi Yunxing, asking in a low voice, “What’s going on?”

Chi Yunxing looked apologetic and said quickly, “Sorry, Director Li, it’s my fault. I just can’t seem to find the right headspace today…”

Li Chao scratched his head. This evening scene was a fairly important one. If Chi Yunxing couldn’t get into the role, forcing the shot would only make it worse.

After thinking for a moment, he decided, “Alright, let’s stop here for today. Everyone go home and rest, we’ll continue tomorrow!”

Chi Yunxing immediately felt even more guilty. “Sorry, Director Li, I…”

“Hey!” Li Chao waved him off good-naturedly. “Everyone has off days. You’re one of the most consistent actors in the whole crew. Next to Duan Zhiyan, you NG the least. Don’t worry about it. Just get some rest!”

Chi Yunxing could only keep apologizing and then went back to the dressing room to remove his makeup and change.

In the van on the way home, Xie Yi finally couldn’t hold it in. “What happened? Is it the online comments?”

Ever since joining the crew, Chi Yunxing had been hitting his marks like clockwork. It was the first time she’d seen him rack up so many takes.

Chi Yunxing quickly shook his head. “No… it’s not the internet stuff. It’s just…” He hesitated, then gave her a small apologetic smile. “It’s fine. I’ll get myself back on track soon.”

Xie Yi could see he didn’t want to talk, so she didn’t press.

Everyone, including Chi Yunxing himself, thought he’d bounce back quickly.

Until the next day’s shoot.

Before Li Chao could even call “cut” a third time, Chi Yunxing was already bowing in apology to everyone on set.

Li Chao watched him closely, then finally said, “Alright, switch scenes. We’ll push this one.”

He cleared Chi Yunxing’s entire schedule for the day and didn’t say much, just told him, “Get yourself sorted. You’ve got one day off.”

The more supportive Li Chao was, the guiltier Chi Yunxing felt. He opened his mouth. “Director, I can still try…”

Li Chao turned around and looked at him seriously. “Xiao Chi, I’m a director. I direct, but I don’t act. Still, even I know that you can’t force it. The more pressure you put on yourself, the worse it’ll turn out. So stop worrying, relax a bit. We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

“Oh, and don’t stay around here watching other people act either. Go out, have some fun!” Li Chao smiled.

Seeing that the director was firm about it, Chi Yunxing had no choice but to agree.

But he had no idea where to go or how to “relax.” So he decided to go visit his grandmother in the hospital.

He hadn’t seen her in over two weeks, their only contact had been through video calls.

Since the surgery, Grandma Chi had been recovering well. She could even eat again.

When Chi Yunxing arrived, she was in the middle of a meal, assisted by her nurse.

She had lost a lot of weight, unsurprisingly, but looked in decent spirits.

Chi Yunxing stood outside the sterile room, eyes burning. He had planned to go in, but worried that if she saw him mid-meal, she might stop eating. So he waited until she was almost done, then went to disinfect and change into protective gear before entering.

With the thick goggles, Grandma Chi didn’t recognize him at first. It wasn’t until he softly called, “Grandma,” that she froze.

She sat up straight, staring in disbelief.

Chi Yunxing stepped forward and held her hand through his gloves. “Grandma, it’s me, Yunxing. I came to see you.”

Through the goggles, Grandma Chi finally recognized him. Her aged eyes instantly filled with tears as she held his hand tightly. “Yunxing, it really is you. How did you find time to come see Grandma today?”

Chi Yunxing was overcome with guilt. “I’m sorry, Grandma. I should’ve come earlier.”

“What’s there to be sorry about?” She wiped at her face, trying not to let him see her tears. “I know you’re busy filming. Your mom always shows me your pictures. I even saw those ones of you and Zhiyan! The photographer did a great job, our Yunxing looks so handsome…”

Chi Yunxing sat by her bed as she held his hand, chattering away.

She asked many questions she had already asked on video before, but Chi Yunxing never lost patience. He answered every one with care.

Eventually, she asked, “So how come Zhiyan didn’t come with you today?”

Chi Yunxing realized she didn’t know about Duan Zhiyan’s hospitalization. His smile dimmed slightly. “Zhiyan Ge’s stomach was acting up again a few days ago, so he’s in the hospital too. Otherwise, he definitely would’ve come.”

“Stomach again?” Her brows furrowed. “That boy… he never takes care of himself! I’ve told him so many times, but he never listens!”

Then she turned back to Chi Yunxing. “You mustn’t be like him! Your brother and Zhiyan, those two are hopeless!”

Chi Yunxing couldn’t hold back a laugh and quickly nodded. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll eat well and take care of myself. Once you’re better, I’ll take you on a trip!”

She smiled at that.

She tired quickly though, and eventually dozed off.

Chi Yunxing left quietly.

On the way out, he ran into her doctor, who said she was recovering well and might be moved to a regular room in half a month.

Chi Yunxing was relieved.

A nurse who had been caring for his grandmother leaned over and said, “Ever since you came today, she’s been smiling more.”

Chi Yunxing felt a pang of guilt. “I haven’t spent enough time with her.”

“You’re a star,” the nurse replied, kindly. “You must be busy.” Then she lowered her voice. “By the way… about that thing on Weibo yesterday…”

Chi Yunxing gave her a questioning look.

She looked embarrassed. “My little sister’s a fan of Duan Zhiyan. She saw the trending topic yesterday and got really worried…”

Chi Yunxing understood. He smiled. “Tell her not to worry. Zhiyan Ge—” He caught himself. “I mean, Mr. Duan is doing fine now.”

The nurse exhaled in relief. “That’s good to hear!”

Xie Yi hadn’t expected that just one trip to the restroom would lead to Chi Yunxing being cornered like this. She hurried over. “Yunxing, time to go.”

Chi Yunxing gave the nurse a polite smile. “Goodbye.”

She waved.

As soon as he and Xie Yi disappeared around the corner, the nurse turned to her colleague, eyes wide. “He just called him ‘Zhiyan,’ didn’t he?”

Her friend looked puzzled. “So?”

The nurse slapped a hand over her mouth—this couldn’t get out. But internally, she was screaming.

My ship is REAL!!!

…

The ride home was quiet.

Chi Yunxing couldn’t stop thinking about Duan Zhiyan.

He opened their WeChat chat.

The last message was from the day before. They hadn’t spoken all day.

Before this, Duan Zhiyan had sent him a message every day—sometimes just a simple “morning” or “goodnight.”

Sometimes it would be voice messages answering his acting questions, which Chi Yunxing would listen to carefully, replying to every point.

But today, nothing.

And Chi Yunxing didn’t send anything either.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, he didn’t dare.

He was still haunted by that strange, unnamed feeling from yesterday. He couldn’t define it, but he could tell. It was different from anything he’d felt before.

So he stayed cautious, and his acting kept suffering.

He knew exactly why he couldn’t focus.

It was Duan Zhiyan and that one line from yesterday.

From then until now, Duan Zhiyan kept invading his thoughts.

He shut his phone and closed his eyes.

This was getting dangerous.

He needed to get a grip fast.

The only solution he could think of was distraction.

Once home, he asked Li Chao for raw footage of all the scenes so far and spent the rest of the day watching them.

And it worked.

The next day, his NGs were fewer and he got into character much faster.

Li Chao finally smiled with satisfaction.

By the end of the day, the director clapped him on the shoulder. “See? You’re back! Let’s finish your solo scenes in one go. Once Duan Zhiyan’s back, we’ll shoot your scenes together, then wrap you up!”

Chi Yunxing’s expression twitched at the name, but he quickly nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

Everything ran smoothly the next few days.

But only Chi Yunxing knew how much effort it took not to think of Duan Zhiyan.

He forced himself to read scripts non-stop, even though he already knew them by heart.

Because the moment he stopped, Duan Zhiyan would slip in through every crack in his mind.

And once that happened, it took forever to pull himself out.

The only relief was that Duan Zhiyan hadn’t messaged him either.

A full week passed. Maybe he was really over it.

Until that weekend.

He had shot until late the night before and spent the morning catching up on sleep.

By the time he woke, it was already 2 p.m.

It had rained in the morning, but now the sky was clear, and the air smelled fresh.

He showered, turned off the air conditioning, opened a window, and stepped out onto the balcony.

The lounge chair was soaked, so he went to get a towel.

Then, he heard a car horn.

He paused and looked down. It was a familiar Bentley.

His heart thudded hard.

He stopped in his tracks.

The driver opened the door.

Long legs, upright posture, dark eyes—Duan Zhiyan.

Chi Yunxing’s breath caught.

Duan Zhiyan looked up and smiled, his voice bright and teasing, “Yunxing, I’m out.”

Something exploded inside Chi Yunxing’s chest.

He bolted downstairs without thinking, flying past the house staff.

When he flung open the door, Duan Zhiyan was standing there. Wearing that familiar smile.

“Why the rush?” he asked, voice still warm and rich.

Chi Yunxing was panting hard. He shook his head, tried to speak, but all that came out was wheezing.

Realizing he really had run fast, he took several deep breaths and insisted, “I… I didn’t run that fast.”

Duan Zhiyan smiled, not exposing the lie. “Mhm. Not fast.”

Then he turned back to the car.

When he returned, he handed Chi Yunxing a tissue.

“Wipe your sweat.”

Chi Yunxing’s face went red. He protested, “I just showered… it’s the steam!”

Duan Zhiyan laughed and tucked the tissue away. “Alright, I misjudged.”

Chi Yunxing felt even his ears heating up.

After a pause, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting out? I would’ve come get you.”

That actually annoyed Duan Zhiyan. He looked down at him, voice low, “I wonder which little heartless brat didn’t message me once the whole week I was in the hospital?”

Chi Yunxing was mortified. “Well… you didn’t message me either!”

“Who’s the patient here, huh?” Duan Zhiyan shot back.

“I’ll send you one next time!” Chi Yunxing said, before realizing what he just implied. “I mean—”

Duan Zhiyan cut him off. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

Chi Yunxing looked nervous. “Hm?”

“I’m out now, Yunxing.”

Chi Yunxing’s breath hitched again. “Congrats on being discharged, Zhiyan Ge.”

Duan Zhiyan suddenly held out his arms. “Don’t I get a hug?”

Chi Yunxing’s heart nearly burst.

“You… what did you say?”

Duan Zhiyan tilted his head. “Can’t I?”

Chi Yunxing wanted to say no.

But his body moved before his brain did, stepping forward and wrapping Duan Zhiyan in a tight embrace.

Duan Zhiyan chuckled and held him back.

Chi Yunxing’s head rested right under Duan Zhiyan’s chin.

He could feel the man’s scent and warmth. His heart was pounding louder and louder.

And in that moment, Chi Yunxing finally understood what that strange feeling was.

Eyes tinged red, he tilted his head and whispered.

“Zhiyan Ge… congrats on being discharged.”

And I think I’ve fallen for you.