Chapter 24 – Bayonet or Poison

It was now Jiang Ruo’s turn to frown. “I didn’t…”

Still catching his breath, fearing the cigarette might burn something else, he looked down, and indeed, there was a charred hole in the blanket.

He jumped out of bed in panic, turned on the overhead light, and Jiang Ruo clutched the blanket to examine it closely, extending his fingers to pick up a pinch of powder-like cotton fluff, lamenting, “Damn, I’ve damaged public property.”

Xi Yufeng, aroused by his provocation and then left hanging, wasn’t annoyed. Seeing him with a worried expression, he instead smirked, “This doesn’t count as public property; just pay for it.”

“But what about tonight? There are only two blankets.”

“Isn’t there still another one?”

Jiang Ruo turned his head, following Xi Yufeng’s gaze towards his own bed, then looked back at him.

Confirming that Xi Yufeng was indeed nodding in approval of his thoughts, Jiang Ruo’s lips curved upward as he raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

Twenty minutes later, Xi Yufeng emerged from the bathroom, drenched in water vapor. He saw that the two beds, originally on opposite sides of the room, had been pushed together. Jiang Ruo was sprawled in the middle of the “big bed,” his legs dangling and swinging in the air.

Holding an unlit cigarette in his hand, he turned his head upon hearing a sound, presenting a languid appearance as if tired of waiting: “You’re so slow.”

Xi Yufeng asked, “Do you really want to learn?”

“Of course.” Jiang Ruo handed him the cigarette and lighter. “Start with lighting it.”

Perhaps it was the first time receiving such a request. Xi Yufeng sat down by the bed, took the lighter, opened it with one finger, and slid the flint wheel several times.

The overhead light had already been switched off. A flame rose before his eyes, transitioning from deep blue at the base to a glaring yellow.

Unclear about what he was looking at, Xi Yufeng paused for a moment before snapping the lighter shut with a “snap” and stuffing the cigarette back into its box.

Jiang Ruo was stunned: “Why are you putting it away… Aren’t you going to teach me anymore?”

Xi Yufeng spoke in a detached tone: “When did I promise to teach you?”

“Are you still treating me like a child?”

“Mm.”

“I’ll be twenty-three the day after tomorrow. I — ”

Jiang Ruo stopped himself.

He saw Xi Yufeng turning to look at him with a meaningful glance.

No wonder they were going for barbecue the day after tomorrow.

As if realizing he’d spoken out of turn, Jiang Ruo flipped over and lay on one side of the bed, pulling half of the blanket over himself, facing the wall.

Hearing rustling sounds beside him, Xi Yufeng also lay down.

Time quietly passed forward, and eventually, it was Jiang Ruo who couldn’t resist, lifting the other half of the blanket and tossing it onto the person next to him.

Almost simultaneously, he heard that person’s low voice: “Is there anything you want?”

The tone was no different than when their relationship began, yet it made Jiang Ruo’s heart skip a beat.

After a brief pause, he said, “I still have to stay here for a month. If you have free time, could you water my plants for me?”

Xi Yufeng’s response was straightforward: “Say something practical.”

Jiang Ruo didn’t believe this request was impractical, but he also couldn’t imagine Xi Yufeng holding a watering can to water flowers.

So he thought about it again and said, “Then, make me a superstar.”

Xi Yufeng chuckled softly.

Judging by the tone, he seemed rather unwilling.

“Wanna act in a movie?”

“How about it, President Xi, planning to make me a Hollywood star?”

“It’s up to your own abilities.”

“What abilities?” Jiang Ruo turned his face, looking at the person beside him. “Bedroom skills?”

Xi Yufeng didn’t answer. He reached up to switch off the bedside lamp, plunging the confined space into darkness.

In the darkness, Jiang Ruo heard even breathing, steady and regular whether asleep or awake, and the indifferent two words: “Go to sleep.”

Jiang Ruo couldn’t quite remember how he spent the daytime before his birthday in previous years.

This time was no exception. He vaguely recalled that Xi Yufeng had video conferences all morning, which made him drowsy.

After lunch, a third person entered the small room, barely able to accommodate three people — a doctor Xi Yufeng had invited to check if Jiang Ruo’s foot was truly fine.

After the person left, facing Jiang Ruo’s question, “Are you trying to be the first person in the world who can control me?” Xi Yufeng replied, “We don’t have to go to the hospital, but I didn’t promise not to call a doctor.”

Jiang Ruo continued to argue, though he couldn’t remember exactly what he said. It was probably either “Don’t I know my own foot best?” or “It’s normal for us dancers to twist our ankles.”

Indeed, ankle sprains recover quickly. That very evening, Jiang Ruo could hobble downstairs to buy things, one foot higher than the other.

What he bought was condoms. He had a feeling he wouldn’t escape tonight. He hadn’t prepared earlier because he hadn’t expected Xi Yufeng to come.

To avoid being too obvious, he checked out two towels along with them, perfectly embodying Xiao Shen’s description of “trying to hide something that’s already obvious.”

Sister Wang scanned the barcode with a look at him as if he were a hooligan, asking him which girl he was messing around with.

“Where would there be a girl,” Jiang Ruo answered honestly. “My financier came to visit.”

Sister Wang assumed he was spinning tales again. “Oh, no wonder you got the lead role.”

“Hmm.”

“How old is this financier?”

“He’s older than me by half a zodiac cycle.”

“He’s still young, then.”

“And incredibly good-looking.”

“You’re lucky.”

Jiang Ruo grinned mischievously. “Who says I’m not?”

After buying the items and returning, Xi Yufeng wasn’t in the room.

Perhaps he was handling some matter; half an hour ago, he had taken a call and left.

Opening a box of condoms, Jiang Ruo pulled out two and slipped them under the pillow, acknowledging his dedication to his job. He thought that spending this once-a-year so-called special day making love wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Making love, what a term. As if love was a prerequisite.

Lost in these random musings, the door was knocked on. Opening it, he found Xiao Shen outside, and following his guidance, he circled around to the back door of the hotel, where he saw a black SUV and Xi Yufeng leaning against the car door with a cigarette between his lips. Jiang Ruo froze a few steps away for several seconds, hesitating uncertainly.

Until Xi Yufeng removed the cigarette from his lips, extinguishing it, his eyes holding a hint of a smile: “Didn’t you want to eat barbecue?”

As the car drove out of the film city, Jiang Ruo looked back through the window.

Previously, he could only see the extras waiting for work at the entrance. Today, he discovered the bustling traffic and liveliness of the place, with neon signs flickering, tourists laughing and chatting, entertainment reporters lurking for news, and fans waiting for their idols to pass by.

Yet he and Xi Yufeng were leaving behind this prosperity and hustle to venture into the unknown.

It felt a bit like eloping.

As soon as this thought popped into his head, Jiang Ruo couldn’t help but laugh.

Laughing at his occasional romantic notions that weren’t grounded in reality.

The next few hours felt like drifting between reality and illusion.

They arrived at a food street about ten kilometers away from the film city, as if they had made a reservation long ago. The car drove straight in and parked across from a barbecue restaurant.

Xi Yufeng had already stated his stance: “Go eat by yourself. I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Although he knew that a person like Xi Yufeng wouldn’t easily lower his standards or change his principles, even for a meal, Jiang Ruo still found this behavior bizarre, delivering someone to eat while not even entering the door himself.

His appetite soured as well. Jiang Ruo went into the restaurant and ordered some random items, immediately packing them to go. Within fifteen minutes, he returned to the car carrying the takeout boxes.

Faced with Xi Yufeng’s disapproving expression at the wafting aroma, Jiang Ruo justified himself: “It’s too silly to sit there eating alone. I’ll share this with Xiao Shen when we get back.”

The car started again, but it didn’t follow the same route they came.

Jiang Ruo asked where they were going, and Xi Yufeng repeated that seemingly questioning yet confident tone: “Don’t you like watching movies?”

By the time they left, it was already past eight in the evening. After circling around the barbecue restaurant, they headed towards the nearest commercial center. By the time they actually sat down in the cinema, it was nearly midnight.

There was only one domestic art film available for selection. On a weekday night, there were few spectators. They chose the last row, with a few couples each occupying a row in front of them, heads touching, whispering words that others couldn’t hear but could roughly guess the content.

The movie itself was actually quite interesting, exploring life, love, and some truths that can only be understood after experiencing failure.

Perhaps due to the lack of substance, the content seemed somewhat fragmented, the expression obscure. It was easy to miss many things with a momentary distraction. But it didn’t prevent Jiang Ruo from being moved by certain scenes and remembering an intriguing line of dialogue.

Separation is the true eternity — the protagonist recited this line, and Jiang Ruo involuntarily turned his head to look at the person beside him.

Xi Yufeng wasn’t sleeping this time, still sitting quietly. His sharply defined profile made him seem extremely unreal. In his dark brown pupils, images from the screen flickered, like a cold and austere deity standing in the darkness, overlooking the myriad forms of human life without being affected or tainted.

As the credits rolled, Jiang Ruo pulled out his phone and saw several new messages. An He had sent birthday wishes right on time, wishing him fame across the country in his new age. Lin Xiao also wished him longevity, asking when he would have time to go eat hot pot together.

This reminded Jiang Ruo, making him start to regret choosing barbecue. He had heard that a new hot pot restaurant with private booths for two had opened downtown. It wasn’t as noisy, and perhaps saying a few nice words, Xi Yufeng would be willing to grace it with his presence.

But Jiang Ruo had never been good at saying nice things. Therefore, from midnight until now, he hadn’t even received a word of blessing from Xi Yufeng.

On the way back, Jiang Ruo swayed his head to the soothing music in the car, asking, “Is that it?”

Xi Yufeng repeated the same question: “Is there anything else you want?”

The atmosphere was perfect, the woody fragrance in the car made one feel drunk and dizzy. The word “you” almost slipped out but was swallowed back down. Jiang Ruo chuckled: “Actually, I used to think that rich people like you don’t eat rice normally.”

“What do we eat then?”

“Like in the TV shows — ribeye steak, caviar, paired with an ’82 Lafite.”

Xi Yufeng said, “If you like, I’ll take you tomorrow.”

“Don’t like it, don’t want it.” Jiang Ruo slowly shook his head. “It’s not something unique. I couldn’t care less.”

After returning and taking a shower, his mind became clearer.

The already cooled barbecue was temporarily stored in the fridge downstairs. Jiang Ruo lay on the bed playing with his phone, clicking on the link An He had sent. He saw the super-topic named after him and the promotional video that made him immensely embarrassed.

There were a total of three likes, two of which were from An He and his secondary account, and the other was from Brother Meng of An He.

Xi Yufeng said this was only preliminary preparation. Official promotion would wait until “When Orioles Take Flight” aired, and Zheng Yiting already had a systematic plan in place.

Jiang Ruo exaggeratedly said, “Then I’ll just sit and wait to trend, becoming an overnight sensation.”

Xi Yufeng ignored him and instead produced a palm-sized square box from somewhere, tossing it onto the bed.

Watching the box bounce and land right beside his hand, Jiang Ruo was stunned. “For me?”

“Mm.”

“It’s not a phone again, is it?”

Xi Yufeng was about to take a shower. Bending down to pick up his bathrobe, he glanced at him as he stood up.

Jiang Ruo laughed. “Why does today feel like a last meal before execution? Are you going to expose all my black material tomorrow, making me famous in a different way?”

Draping the bathrobe over his arm, Xi Yufeng was in a rare mood to joke with him.

“Then open it and see if it’s a bayonet or poison.”

Naturally, it was neither.

When Xi Yufeng came out of the shower, Jiang Ruo was still fiddling with the thin chain he had taken out of the box. It seemed off when worn around his neck, too long for one loop around his wrist and too short for two, leaving him in an awkward position.

Just as he was about to ask if the length was wrong or if it was given to the wrong person, Xi Yufeng stepped forward, snatching the pale golden chain from Jiang Ruo’s hands. Holding the ends taut with his fingers, he then bent over, kneeling half-squatting.

Jiang Ruo was still confused when his ankle was gripped. “My foot is already healed…”

Not until the chain was placed on his ankle, circling the protruding bone and fastening neatly on the other side, did Jiang Ruo blink, finally understanding.

A delicate chain, wearing it was almost indistinguishable from not wearing it at all. Only when it moved, the metal rubbing against the skin brought a slight tingling sensation akin to shivers.

At this moment, Xi Yufeng was below, with his cuffs rolled up, revealing his wrist and forearm. His clearly defined hand rested on Jiang Ruo’s instep, his slender fingers brushing against the area around the ankle bone, attempting to adjust the chain properly.

Causing Jiang Ruo’s entire body to tremble uncontrollably, instinctively pulling his leg back.

Xi Yufeng chuckled, asking him, “What are you afraid of?”

Jiang Ruo took a deep breath.

Yeah, it was just a gift. He’d received gifts before, so why be afraid?

But the chain, following all his movements, shimmered with a delicate luster under the light. Jiang Ruo could even imagine himself dancing while wearing it.

If the audience was Xi Yufeng.

Finally adjusting it to the right position, Xi Yufeng released his grip and stood up.

“It suits you well,” he said. “Happy birthday.”

But at this moment, Jiang Ruo didn’t have time to savor the joy of getting what he wanted.

Once again, he was frightened by the inadvertent warmth radiating from the other party.

It was as if he was involuntarily stepping closer to the precipice.

So, before Xi Yufeng turned around, Jiang Ruo grabbed the hem of his bathrobe, using his usual frivolous tone, asking a question bordering on crossing the line: “Are you giving me this to bind me?”