TSBDRA 2: Maintain a Good Mood

Yan Yushan had considered many possible responses but he hadn’t expected that the “compensation” Xu Xishuang wanted was… tonic medicine.

Jiang Yangze had just opened his mouth to promise on Yan Yushan’s behalf, ready to pat his chest and swear that they would get him however much tonic he wanted, when Yan Yushan stopped him first. He looked at Xu Xishuang and said in a low voice, “You can’t just take any random tonic.”

“I’ll find you a proper doctor,” Yan Yushan continued. “Someone professional who can help you recover properly. Is that okay?”

“Mm.” Xu Xishuang looked a little more satisfied.

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Jiang Yangze glanced at the two of them—one is a cold, sickly beauty with lips tightly sealed and the other is an aloof, stone-faced devil-tier man. He felt like he was stuck between two blocks of ice and was about to freeze into a popsicle himself. Doing his best to break the tension, he jumped in. “Uh, Xiao Xu, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Jiang Yangze, Yan-ge’s good buddy. Is there anything else you want? Just say the word and our Yan-ge can definitely get it for you.”

What Xu Xishuang wanted the most right now was emergency contraception. He wanted to see if taking it could help him avoid the plotline in the original book, the one where the child ended up killing him. Of course, there was no way he could say that in front of Yan Yushan and Jiang Yangze. He didn’t even know how the male pregnancy setting in this novel worked. Whoever came up with it must’ve been out of their mind. He had no interest in being labeled delusional.

So instead, Xu Xishuang said, “I want to be discharged.”

Yan Yushan glanced at his pale face, frowned slightly, and said patiently, “I’ll go ask the doctor.”

He turned and walked out of the room, and the tense line of his shoulders finally relaxed a little. Jiang Yangze pulled over a chair and sat beside Xu Xishuang’s bed, trying to strike up a conversation.

Noticing that Xu Xishuang really didn’t have the energy to talk, Jiang Yangze wisely stayed quiet. That gave Xu Xishuang just enough space to start thinking about his next move.

After some serious thought, Xu Xishuang decided to take the simplest approach. From now on, he was going to do the opposite of everything in the original plot. The sickly beauty ran away? He wouldn’t. The sickly beauty quit the industry? He’d stay. He was going to keep acting and stir up a storm in the entertainment circle!

Yan Yushan soon returned to the room and gave a small nod. “The doctor said you’re cleared to leave. I’ve already handled the discharge paperwork.”

Xu Xishuang immediately sat up in bed but forgot just how weak his new body was. The sudden motion made his vision spin and go dark, and he nearly passed out again.

He quickly steadied himself, blinking to clear the dizziness. Under the startled and worried stares of Yan Yushan and Jiang Yangze, he grit his teeth and said, “I’m leaving.”

He stared at Yan Yushan’s perfect, heartthrob face for two seconds, then reluctantly looked away. Yeah, the man looked exactly like his type, and sure, his performance in bed was excellent but he was the shou protagonist’s man. Their fates were never meant to intertwine.

“I’ll send you the doctor’s contact later.” Yan Yushan reached out, hesitated, and pulled his hand back. “About the film…”

He had assumed that after everything that happened, Xu Xishuang would absolutely refuse to continue working on the movie but to his surprise, Xu Xishuang didn’t show any special expression. Instead, he grabbed his coat from the side, put it on, and calmly said, “I’ll keep filming.”

Jiang Yangze’s jaw dropped.

Xu Xishuang was in a hurry to buy emergency contraception and didn’t want to waste any more time. He gave them a nod and left the hospital room without looking back.

Jiang Yangze stared dumbfounded at his retreating figure. After a long pause, he turned to Yan Yushan and said, “Yan-ge, looks like Xu Xishuang really hates your guts,” and he really was that committed to his work.

Yan Yushan said nothing and left the room in silence.

On the other side, Xu Xishuang walked out of the hospital and realized it was a private facility with excellent privacy. No wonder a top star like Yan Yushan dared to walk around without a mask. He checked his coat pockets and was relieved to find his phone, wallet, and keys still there.

Then he noticed that he was wearing one of Yan Yushan’s shirts underneath—probably something the man had worn on him. It was from a brand that definitely cost five figures, oversized and loose on his frame, and faintly carried Yan Yushan’s woodsy cologne.

Xu Xishuang thought for a few seconds and decided he would find a chance to return the shirt later.

He dug out a face mask from his coat, covered his face tightly, hailed a taxi, and gave the driver the location near last night’s hotel.

After getting out of the car—slightly dizzy—he followed his phone’s GPS to a nearby pharmacy. Even that short walk left his legs feeling like jelly. Once again, Xu Xishuang marveled at the frailty of this “sickly beauty” body. He scanned the QR code to buy a box of emergency contraception, stuffed the box into his coat under the cashier’s scornful “cheater” glare, and slowly made his way back to the hotel.

Back in his room, he boiled some water, mixed it with bottled water to make it lukewarm, and took two pills.

Xu Xishuang silently whispered an apology to the maybe-baby in his stomach, hoping it would have a better next life and not end up as cannon fodder in some damn novel like him.

After taking the pills, he felt even worse—his stomach began cramping painfully. He curled up for a while, breaking into a cold sweat before the pain finally subsided. Still clutching the medicine box, he stepped out of his room and—like a thief—threw it into the public trash bin in the hallway.

There was no way he was leaving that in his room. Given the unprofessionalism of this hotel staff, he wouldn’t be surprised if a scandal broke before morning.

After disposing of the evidence, Xu Xishuang shuffled back to his room at a snail’s pace, completely unaware that someone had been watching him from the shadows.

Yan Yushan had returned to the hotel to deal with the person who drugged him. He hadn’t expected to run into Xu Xishuang. Remembering Jiang Yangze’s words about how much Xu Xishuang hated him, he instinctively paused, planning to wait until he left.

He had no intention of invading anyone’s privacy, but as he passed the trash bin, he couldn’t help glancing inside.

Amid crumpled tissues and cigarette butts, the bright packaging of the emergency contraception stood out like a beacon.

That moment hit Yan Yushan like a bolt of lightning.

…

Back in his hotel room, Xu Xishuang received the doctor’s contact from Yan Yushan. He replied with a simple “thank you,” then opened the doctor’s info—surprised to find they shared the same surname. A distant relative, maybe.

He added the doctor on WeChat and scheduled a full-body checkup for the next day. The doctor promised to draw up a complete recovery plan as quickly as possible. Satisfied, Xu Xishuang said goodbye and flopped onto the bed to catch up on sleep.

After all, thanks to that damn dog Yan Yushan flipping him around all night, he hadn’t slept a wink. Filming wouldn’t officially start for another week and the production team was still preparing locations so the actors had some downtime. Since Yan Yushan was footing the hotel bill, Xu Xishuang had no intention of wasting it.

He also planned to use these few days to dig through his phone and the internet to piece together the original body’s social connections. After all, he hadn’t inherited any memories. Everything he knew about this world came from that danmei novel.

By the next day, on his way to Dr. Xu’s private clinic, he had already formed a rough understanding of this world and of Yan Yushan’s terrifying status in the entertainment industry.

Yan Yushan had been born into a wealthy family. All his childhood friends were second-gen elites with serious clout, and they each stood at the top of their respective fields. He had entered the entertainment industry before he was even an adult, debuting as a child actor in a film by a famous director. He had started high, and his talent hadn’t let him down—earning him the title of “young movie king” early on. After coming of age, he went on to win all three major film awards.

Not only was he a god in the acting world, Yan Yushan was a true all-rounder—singing theme songs, dancing ballet and Latin, even serving as a mentor on an idol show. Now he was ambitiously pivoting into directing, working on a new art film centered around a same-sex romance.

Xu Xishuang had already learned that same-sex marriage was legal in this world, though the law had only passed a few years ago, so public acceptance still lagged behind.

Since the original novel didn’t go into much detail about the film, and Xu Xishuang hadn’t seen the script yet, he didn’t actually know what kind of story Yan Yushan planned to tell. The film hadn’t been officially announced either and he only knew he was one of the leads. The rest of the cast was still a mystery.

The original body’s parents had passed away, and the grandparents who raised him had also died a few years ago. He had spent most of his life recuperating at home, only taking jobs when money ran low. His manager basically let him do as he pleased but still made sure he didn’t miss any good opportunities. All in all, not too bad. He had a weak constitution, few friends, and no energy for socializing, so his circle was extremely small.

While Xu Xishuang was spiraling into overthinking, his full-body exam was finished. Now he sat across from Dr. Xu, waiting for the results.

Dr. Xu was a young man with a rigid, severe face and a slightly thinning hairline—one look was enough to make anyone sit up straight. He had the kind of aura that silenced any doubts about his professionalism.

Noticing that Xu Xishuang was staring at his hairline, Dr. Xu lifted his gaze and said, dead serious, “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

“Bad news.” Xu Xishuang thought to himself, This doctor has a sense of humor, huh?

Whatever the bad news was, it couldn’t possibly be worse than transmigrating into a book as a cannon-fodder childbearing tool.

“Your immune system is congenitally weak. The current medicine can’t fix it and you’ll need long-term nourishment,” Dr. Xu said.

Xu Xishuang wasn’t surprised. “And the good news?”

“We’ve decided to name the condition after you.”

Xu Xishuang: ???

He choked for a second, then asked, “So… how do I treat it?”

Dr. Xu gave him a look. “For now, just try to stay in a good mood.”

Xu Xishuang: ……