TSBDRA 48: Your CP has Already BE

……

Yan Yao had been feeling like something was off in the crew lately.

The strangeness mainly showed in Xu Xishuang. Everyone else was acting the same as usual, including Yan Yushan—but only Xu Xishuang, whenever he faced Yan Yushan, his eyes would dodge away, like he’d done something he felt guilty about.

Not wanting to suffocate from curiosity, Yan Yao found a moment when no one was near Xu Xishuang, quietly slipped over and sat beside him, and whispered, “Xishuang, why have you been avoiding Yan-ge lately?”

Xu Xishuang replied calmly, “I haven’t.”

To others, the interactions between Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan didn’t seem any different from before. Xu Xishuang also thought he hadn’t shown any cracks but CP fans had sharp eyes. Yan Yao didn’t believe him. “Yesterday, when Yan-ge handed you the water bottle, he just barely brushed your hand, and you jerked away like a spring. You never used to be like that.”

“And the day before yesterday,” Yan Yao recalled, “after you two finished your scene, Yan-ge tried to put your coat on for you, but you dodged him. You put it on yourself and even took a few steps to the side to put some distance between you and him.”

Following Yan Yao’s words, Xu Xishuang remembered that day’s shoot. It had been a retake of the scene where Yan Zheng and Chen Muzhou clashed for the first time in the bookstore, because Cheng Tianwen wasn’t satisfied with the lighting and composition of the original footage.

The first time they shot that scene, the weather wasn’t too cold. He had worn just a shirt, and Yan Yushan had been fine in short sleeves. But now during the reshoot, wearing such thin costumes in the current weather was really pushing it.

So right after filming, Xu Xishuang was looking everywhere for his clothes. Yan Yushan noticed his pale face and reached for his own coat to drape over Xu Xishuang, but Xu Xishuang had dodged. He naturally grabbed his own clothes instead. He hadn’t expected Yan Yao to witness that and start suspecting things.

Xu Xishuang calmly replied to Yan Yao, “You’re overthinking.”

Yan Yao narrowed her eyes suddenly and shot a sharp question, “Was it that night on Yan-ge’s birthday, when he got drunk—did something happen between you two?”

Xu Xishuang’s hands, hidden in his pockets for warmth, clenched for a second before slowly relaxing again. His face stayed impassive as he answered, “He was drunk and couldn’t even get it up. You’re overthinking.”

Yan Yao paused for a moment, then nodded, “Right… Wait, I didn’t say you had to sleep together. There’s a lot you can do when drunk—like touching, kissing, lending each other a hand…”

At the mention of “kissing,” Xu Xishuang’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but he quickly composed himself again, not letting Yan Yao catch his fleeting panic.

That night, after Yan Yushan got drunk, Xu Xishuang had barely slept. He kept unconsciously reaching up to touch the corner of his mouth where Yan Yushan had kissed him.

He even considered taking the next day off from filming, just to avoid seeing Yan Yushan. He couldn’t explain why exactly. He just didn’t want to hear Yan Yushan apologize for an accidental kiss.

The next day, he came to the set feeling anxious, but none of the things he had worried about happened. Yan Yushan seemed to have forgotten everything that happened after they entered the hotel, only remembering that he had given him a safety charm.

From removing the paper petals from his hair in the elevator, to the sudden “heart-to-heart” conversation in the hotel room about his type in men, and finally the unexpected incident at the end—Yan Yushan had forgotten it all.

…It’s better if he doesn’t remember.

Otherwise, Xu Xishuang really wouldn’t know how to deal with what happened that night.

Xu Xishuang thought to himself that if both of them had to pretend nothing happened, that would be even more awkward.

He had originally planned to treat that night like it never happened and try to interact with Yan Yushan as usual, but some subconscious avoidance had still given him away.

Yan Yao had already noticed—who knew if Yan Yushan had picked up on anything too?

“Director Cheng told us to head to the recording studio.”

Yan Yushan’s voice suddenly came from beside him. Xu Xishuang froze, then slowly turned his head to see Yan Yushan standing next to him. At some point, Yan Yao had already run off.

Xu Xishuang nodded, “Okay, got it.”

Who’s Standing Behind the Door, the crime drama they were filming, was nearly wrapped up. The singers hired to perform the opening and ending themes were scheduled to record today.

Xu Xishuang had met one of them once before—his name was Liang Feng, a friend of Yan Yushan’s, and he was in charge of the opening theme. Xu Xishuang had also seen the other singer before—Bai Keke, a regular on the now-removed dating show Can I Like You, and she was singing the ending theme.

Because most viewers now had memberships that let them skip intros and outros automatically, the songs would also be used as background inserts during the drama.

The recording studio was just outside the film lot, only a ten-minute drive away. Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan got into the same production van and headed there together.

Liang Feng and Bai Keke were already waiting at the studio. Because of space limitations, they could only record one song at a time, so Bai Keke, Xu Xishuang, and Yan Yao waited outside while Yan Yushan and Liang Feng went in first to record the opening theme.

Though the three of them had all appeared on the same variety show before, Bai Keke and Yan Yao were even regulars. Yan Yao had barely spoken on the show, so she and Bai Keke weren’t very familiar with each other.

Plus, Bai Keke was a singer, while Yan Yao and Xu Xishuang were actors. There was a bit of a professional gap, and she didn’t really know how to start a conversation with them, so she awkwardly held her phone and started messaging her friend.

Friend: “? Aren’t you recording today with my precious Shuang-shuang baby? How do you have time to text me?”

Friend: “How’s Shuang-shuang doing? Does he have dark circles? Is filming tiring? Wuwu, mama’s heart hurts.”

Bai Keke: “……”

Bai Keke glanced at the rosy-cheeked Xu Xishuang across from her, then typed: “I think Xu Xishuang is in better shape than I am.”

Bai Keke: “He doesn’t look sickly at all.”

She had just sent that message when Xu Xishuang suddenly coughed. Reflexively, she looked up and saw a smear of red blood on the fingertips of the hand he had just used to cover his mouth.

Bai Keke: ?!?!

She and Yan Yao both jumped to their feet in a panic, staring at Xu Xishuang like he was about to collapse the next second. But he remained way calmer than either of them, casually pulling a tissue from his pocket to wipe the blood off his fingers and the corner of his mouth, then tossed the tissue into the trash. He looked at the two of them, puzzled, “Why are you standing?”

Yan Yao and Bai Keke: ……

Yan Yao stammered, “You just—you just coughed up blood!”

“Old problem,” Xu Xishuang said casually. “It’s nothing.”

Bai Keke’s voice was even weaker than his, “Are you really okay? Should we call Yan Yushan?”

“No need,” Xu Xishuang replied. “I’m really fine.”

This time, he had coughed up much less blood than usual—it hadn’t even soaked through the tissue. He didn’t think it was a big deal. Still, remembering what Dr. Xu had told him, he texted a report and got up to clean up in the restroom.

Watching him return and casually start playing on his phone again, Bai Keke and Yan Yao exchanged glances, then sat back down with complicated feelings.

Bai Keke looked down at her phone, only to realize that in her earlier panic, she had sent a line of gibberish from mashing the keyboard.

Friend: “? Did your face smash the keyboard?”

Bai Keke typed out: “I just watched Xu Xishuang cough up blood, and he was so calm it shook me for a whole year,” then silently deleted the sentence and replied: “It’s nothing.”

Bai Keke: “I take it back. Xu Xishuang really is a sickly beauty—the kind who’ll shatter with just a little force.”

Friend: “Right?? A cute little thing like Shuang-shuang baby needs a big strong gong like Yan Yushan to protect him!”

Bai Keke: “Oh, speaking of that—I think your CP has already BE.”

Friend: “?? HOW DARE YOU?! You dare break my ship? I swear I’ll leak your physics grade from middle school to a gossip site!!”

Bai Keke: “……”

Bai Keke: “I’m serious, girl. The crew brought us in to record the opening and ending songs. Xu Xishuang and Yan Yao both got parts. I was originally supposed to record with Yan Yao, and Liang Feng. Yan Yushan, and Xu Xishuang were going to record together but Xu Xishuang said he couldn’t sing the low notes in Liang Feng’s song, so he switched over to mine instead.”

Bai Keke: “But the thing is, Liang Feng’s songs aren’t all low notes—Xu Xishuang could’ve just picked a part in a normal range to sing. I think it’s not that he didn’t want to sing that song—he just didn’t want to be in the same enclosed space as Yan Yushan.”

Friend: “I don’t believe it.”

Friend: “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you!!”

Bai Keke was about to reply to her spiraling friend when Yan Yao suddenly said, “Keke-jie, can you help me figure out how to sing this line?”

So Bai Keke put down her phone, took the sheet music from Yan Yao, and began tutoring her one-on-one. Partway through, Xu Xishuang joined in too. The teacher mode hidden deep in Bai Keke’s soul was instantly activated, and she enthusiastically began teaching both of them, completely unaware of when Liang Feng and Yan Yushan had come out of the recording room.

After Xu Xishuang and the other two entered the soundproof recording booth, Yan Yushan and Liang Feng headed out to the hallway and sat down, taking out the bottled water their assistant had bought to soothe their throats. Liang Feng glanced at the recording room, then turned and smiled at Yan Yushan. “So how far along are you guys? Planning to go public anytime soon?”

The recording booth was completely soundproof, so Xu Xishuang, who was inside recording, couldn’t hear their conversation.

Yan Yushan immediately realized Liang Feng was talking about him and Xu Xishuang. He knew Liang Feng had misunderstood after seeing the two of them hugging outside the broadcasting building during a previous variety show shoot for Fruit Channel. Smiling wryly, he explained, “There’s been no progress.”

Liang Feng clearly hadn’t expected that answer. He looked at him in surprise. “There’s actually someone you, Yan Yushan, can’t win over?”

With his wealth of romantic experience, Liang Feng’s eyes gleamed as he leaned in and said in a low voice, “Let me give you a tip…”