TOW 18

Liang Xuan really did come to Daxing in July.

The weather was unbearably hot. The sunlight was dry, the air was dry, even the wind carried no moisture. Even the street vendors’ voices sounded parched, as if they were about to crack from the heat. Xu Fei, dressed in heavy firefighter gear, had barely stood on set for a moment before sweat soaked through his body. The makeup artist rushed over to fix his hair and touch up his face.

“That take was good!” the director poked his head out from behind the monitor and added, “Just in case, let’s do another one. Xu Fei, get ready.”

Xu Fei gave an all good gesture. By the time he finally stepped out of the set, he was so overheated he was close to fainting. His assistant came over to help him take off the protective gear, handed him a bottle of cold water, and pointed at the phone on the chair. “It’s been ringing non-stop.”

Xu Fei muttered a thanks, picked up the phone, and saw Liang Xuan’s profile picture on the screen.

“I’m in Daxing,” Liang Xuan said in the message, with an address attached.

Xu Fei stared at the address for a while. After filming, he drove back to the hotel, took a shower, and sat on the bed watching TV. It was just past six. All the news channels were the same, and flipping through them yielded nothing new. He tossed the remote aside, turned his head, and saw the phone on the nightstand.

He bit his lower lip. After a long moment, he cursed, “Fuck it,” grabbed his phone, and got out of bed barefoot.

Liang Xuan was staying at a hotel on the outskirts. Xu Fei knocked hard on the door, his voice rough with mockery. “Room service.”

A few seconds later, the door opened. Liang Xuan had just gotten out of the shower, hair still damp, water trailing down his chin. Xu Fei shoved him back into the room, kicked the door shut behind him, and grabbed his collar, pulling him in for a kiss.

“I’ve been waiting for over five hours,” Liang Xuan said.

“Shut up.” Xu Fei glared and pushed him onto the bed.

They tangled together for a long time. Liang Xuan pinned Xu Fei to the sheets, kissing down from his neck all the way to his ankles. Xu Fei squirmed from the ticklish kisses, his cock so painfully hard it throbbed, but Liang Xuan refused to fuck him properly.

“Be patient,” Liang Xuan murmured, biting and sucking Xu Fei’s nipples like they were cherries on top of a chocolate cake.

When Liang Xuan finally entered him, Xu Fei felt like he had waited a damn century. He pressed his lips to Liang Xuan’s and muttered, “You better move faster.” Liang Xuan didn’t hesitate. He fucked him hard, fast, and without pause. Kneeling on the bed, he forced Xu Fei’s legs apart and drove his thick cock deep into him, each thrust landing with a sharp, punishing rhythm. The sound of skin slapping filled the room. Xu Fei rocked with every movement, his cock swinging with the motion, precum dripping freely.

“Wait. Hold on,” he gasped between breaths. “Liang Xuan..”

Before he could finish, Liang Xuan suddenly pulled him up. Xu Fei barely had time to react before Liang Xuan’s cock slammed into him from an unexpected angle, driving deep inside.

“Fucking hell!” Xu Fei cried out, arms flailing before he clutched onto Liang Xuan’s back. Liang Xuan pulled him close, settling him on his lap, hands gripping his ass as he drove his hips upward.

Xu Fei was fucked speechless. Their bodies were pressed tight, skin to skin, and he bit down on Liang Xuan’s ear. Liang Xuan let out a low chuckle, kneading Xu Fei’s soft, pale ass as he murmured, “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

What the fuck do you think? Xu Fei thought, his ass clenching tight around Liang Xuan’s thick cock. Liang Xuan groaned, thrusting up as heat surged through his length, stretching Xu Fei wide and full.

Xu Fei moaned, his own cock rubbing against Liang Xuan’s solid abs, sliding messily between their stomachs.

“I’m gonna cum,” Xu Fei panted, holding onto Liang Xuan. “Liang Xuan, I’m gonna cum…”

“Good,” Liang Xuan said, reaching down to toy with Xu Fei’s cock. He only had to pinch the tip and drag his fingernail over the slit twice before Xu Fei came hard. Cum spurted into his hand, which he smeared across Xu Fei’s waist before grabbing his ass again with sticky fingers.

Xu Fei felt like a sticky mess all over. He wanted to complain but couldn’t even speak, only slumping bonelessly against Liang Xuan as he continued to fuck him.

Liang Xuan didn’t last much longer either. Xu Fei’s post-orgasm hole was tight and hot, and those little moans and licks at his ear sent his mind reeling. He slammed into that pale ass a dozen more times, scalp tingling as he edged closer to the brink. At the last second, he pulled out. Xu Fei leaned back slightly, their foreheads pressed together, and gave him two firm strokes.

“You’re so fucking big,” Xu Fei muttered. Liang Xuan came into his hand.

They sat there for a while, catching their breath. Xu Fei lowered his head to rest against Liang Xuan’s shoulder. Liang Xuan reached up to tousle the messy ends of his hair, then let his fingers trail down, brushing over the yellow sparrow tattoo on Xu Fei’s shoulder.

“Wanna shower?” he asked.

Xu Fei gave a soft “mm” in response, rested for a bit longer, then got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Liang Xuan followed him in and turned on the hot water for him. Xu Fei said, “I have to get up early tomorrow.”

Liang Xuan hummed in acknowledgment and grabbed the body wash to help Xu Fei clean up down there.

They lingered in the bathroom for about twenty minutes. Afterward, Xu Fei picked up his pants and started getting dressed. Liang Xuan watched his movements and sat down at the edge of the bed.

“You can stay the night,” he said.

Xu Fei glanced at him, then lowered his head to pull on his T-shirt. Only after putting on his socks did he reply, “This place is too far from the set.”

Liang Xuan didn’t press the issue. Xu Fei went back into the bathroom, checked himself in the mirror, ruffled his hair a couple of times, and came out to see Liang Xuan still sitting there cross-legged, head down, like he was lost in thought.

“I’m heading out,” Xu Fei said.

Liang Xuan looked up. “I’ll come see you on set tomorrow,” he said.

Xu Fei froze for a moment. He wanted to say “Don’t,” but then he thought, there wasn’t really a reason to refuse. So in the end, he just asked, “Did you tell your agent?” Because if Liang Xuan showed up on set, the press would definitely follow. Better to give the crew a heads-up.

Liang Xuan said, “Nothing worth mentioning.” Seeing Xu Fei frown at him, he added, “You’re my friend.”

Xu Fei’s hand on the door handle tensed slightly. Yeah, he thought. They were friends. Friends visiting each other on set wasn’t something that required special notice.

“Alright then,” he nodded at Liang Xuan. “I finish work at four-thirty.”

—

Liang Xuan showed up at the set a little after three. The assistant led him over, looking thrilled and slightly dazed, cheeks visibly flushed, clearly overwhelmed from seeing their idol. Xu Fei was filming at the time and didn’t react, and Liang Xuan didn’t say anything either, standing quietly under the shade tent to wait.

After Xu Fei finished two takes, he finally came over and greeted him. “Hey.”

He was holding two bags of iced water. A few production assistants eagerly offered to help him pass them out. The director and producer also came down from their positions to shake hands with Liang Xuan, exchanging pleasantries and taking photos. The whole thing took more than half an hour before the two of them were able to get away.

“What kind of movie are you shooting?” Liang Xuan asked.

They went back to Xu Fei’s trailer.

“A horror film,” Xu Fei said, tossing him the script. He was playing a firefighter sent to put out a blaze in an abandoned apartment complex on the outskirts of town. In one of the units on the fifth floor, he heard a woman crying and rushed in, but found no one. After the fire was extinguished and part of the wall collapsed, two bodies were found hidden inside. An adult and a child, likely a mother and daughter.

“Sounds like an interesting story,” Liang Xuan said.

Xu Fei shrugged. “It’s a small production.”

Still, it was the most commercial film Xu Fei had ever been a part of. If nothing went wrong, it could probably win something at a few film festivals and maybe bring in decent box office earnings. The production team even asked him to participate in the promotion. The indie films he used to shoot never got that kind of attention.

He wiped his face clean, then sat under the AC for a while to cool off. Seeing Liang Xuan still flipping through the script, he said, “Thanks for the free promo, by the way.”

Liang Xuan smiled. “Don’t mention it.” But his eyes stayed locked on Xu Fei.

Xu Fei raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Judging by that look, this might actually be paid service,” he teased, dragging out his words.

Liang Xuan didn’t reply, but the smile on his face deepened, his eyes curving with an unexpected softness.

Xu Fei couldn’t handle that kind of gentleness. He looked away, heart thudding, and after a long pause finally muttered, “Showbiz is scary.” He met Liang Xuan’s gaze again.

Liang Xuan was still smiling, like he’d stepped out of one of Xu Fei’s spring dreams. Xu Fei licked his lips and slowly walked over, settling down in Liang Xuan’s lap.

Just then, someone knocked loudly on the door.

Xu Fei jumped, quickly stood up, and nearly tripped over the chair behind him.

“Fuck!” he cursed under his breath and shot Liang Xuan a glare.

The assistant shouted from outside, “Five minutes left, final scene of the day!”

“Coming!” Xu Fei called back, standing still for a second, then gave Liang Xuan one more glare before heading out.

Liang Xuan stayed in Daxing for another three days. At first, after Xu Fei finished work, they would go out and walk around, maybe take a stroll along the old city walls at sunset. But the heat was suffocating, and the wind carried too much sand. They lost interest quickly and spent most of their time holed up in Liang Xuan’s hotel room watching TV.

They fast-forwarded through two episodes of Southbound, then switched over to Qiyi Cable and found Xu Fei’s series Verdant Green.

They watched all seven episodes over two nights.

The final scene froze on Xu Fei’s lifeless face. He was lying flat on the ground, a hole in the center of his head.

Liang Xuan stared at the screen for a while, then commented, “You died pretty ugly.”

Xu Fei kicked him in the stomach.

On their last night, Liang Xuan pinned Xu Fei against the wardrobe and fucked him there. The movement was so intense the wardrobe creaked loudly with every thrust. Right before climax, Liang Xuan suddenly pulled out, panting, pointed at his cock, and said, “Lick.”

Xu Fei’s hole clenched instinctively, the emptiness driving him mad enough to punch something, but he still knelt down, grabbed Liang Xuan’s thighs, and gave him a blowjob. Liang Xuan gripped his hair and fucked his mouth fast and rough, thrusting his thick cock in and out with no mercy. Xu Fei couldn’t stop moaning, squeezing Liang Xuan’s balls in one hand while running his tongue delicately over the tip inside his mouth.

“Tastes good?” Liang Xuan asked, breathing heavily.

He didn’t often say dirty things, so Xu Fei almost laughed, but at the same time, it turned him on like hell. He looked up and moaned in response, “Mm.” Then sucked harder on Liang Xuan’s cock. Liang Xuan stared down at him, his face flushed, eyes hazy. He murmured, “Good then,” before suddenly thrusting deep and coming in Xu Fei’s throat.

Xu Fei held onto Liang Xuan’s legs. He swallowed the load, and came himself right then and there.

He stayed kneeling, resting against Liang Xuan for a bit. When he finally looked up, Liang Xuan was still staring at him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Xu Fei said. “Sucking your cock is just that good…”

Liang Xuan let out a quiet laugh, helped him up, then grabbed the back of Xu Fei’s head and kissed him hard.

They showered again, rinsing off the stickiness. Afterward, lying in bed, Xu Fei asked, “What time’s your flight?”

“Seven a.m.,” Liang Xuan replied. “You can keep sleeping here. I’ll tell the front desk.”

“Thanks,” Xu Fei said. But around five, he was woken by the sounds of Liang Xuan packing.

He turned his face to the side and saw Liang Xuan sitting on the floor, folding his clothes. The hallway light was dim, and all Xu Fei could make out was a faint silhouette.

Liang Xuan seemed to notice he was awake. He looked up and said, “Still early. Go back to sleep.”

Xu Fei murmured a reply. His head was heavy, and he turned over, wrapping himself in the blanket. But not long after, he rolled back, scooted to the edge of the bed like a cocooned silkworm, and slowly sat up.

Liang Xuan didn’t say anything, just zipped up his backpack and put on his shoes. Then he said, “I’m leaving.”

“Take care,” Xu Fei replied, watching him step out and gently close the door.

The hallway light was still on, casting a long shadow of the wardrobe across the floor. Xu Fei sat slouched for a while, then laid back down, eyes wide open until morning.