The flight was at noon, and Zhou Ziheng originally wanted to go back to the apartment early in the morning to pick up Xia Xiqing and go to the airport with him, but Jiang Yin saw through his thoughts and refused to let him go.
"Now that public opinion has calmed down for a while, you should avoid suspicion if you can."
Zhou Ziheng's face suddenly fell.
Why avoid suspicion? He wished that everyone in the world knew that he was close to Xia Xiqing, and that people would think of him first when they saw Xia Xiqing. But in the end, Zhou Ziheng couldn't bear to see Xia Xiqing being scolded, so he could only reluctantly agree to act separately.
Xia Xiqing did not sign with any company, but he needed an assistant when filming. Jiang Yin called the company to transfer an experienced male assistant, but Zhou Ziheng refused to agree, so they had to replace him with a female assistant.
"Do you know where Xiqing lives now? I'll give Xiaoxiao the address and she'll pick Xiqing up later."
Hearing his sister-in-law ask this, Zhou Ziheng almost blurted out the answer, but he suddenly thought that if he said it, it would be equivalent to telling his sister-in-law that he and Xia Xiqing lived across the street. Although this was just a coincidence, it was too easy to cause bad associations.
His current mood is completely like trying to cover up one's own faults.
"Well... you should let Xia Xiqing go to the airport by himself. It's easy for someone to follow him when he leaves your company. You can pick him up later. What if a reporter writes that you signed him?"
Jiang Yin rolled her eyes at him and said, "I worry about him every day now, what's the difference between that and signing him? He still can't make money for me."
Zhou Ziheng flattered his sister-in-law all the way. Jiang Yin also took into account the possibility of what Zhou Ziheng said and changed her previous decision, letting Xiaoxiao go directly to the Capital Airport. The group finally met at the airport. Zhou Ziheng's car was stuck on the road for a while and became the last to arrive. When I walked to the waiting area, I saw a large group of girls surrounding them, calling Xi Qing brother one by one, which was very sweet.
He originally wanted to approach quietly, but the sharp-eyed fans immediately exposed Zhou Ziheng's whereabouts.
"Hengheng, your clothes look great today. The grey sweatshirt looks great!"
"Hengheng is so handsome!"
"Zhou Ziheng, you are too arrogant today!"
Zhou Ziheng nodded repeatedly, rejected the gifts from fans with great regret, and walked with difficulty to the center of another vortex. Xia Xiqing, who was sitting on a chair surrounded by a group of girls, took off his headphones when he heard the noise. He was rarely wearing casual clothes, a black short-sleeved shirt with high-waisted dark gray overalls, and a light gray baseball cap on his head. When he saw Zhou Ziheng's face in the crowd, a sly and playful smile finally appeared on his always gentle face.
"Oh, I just realized that Xiqing and Ziheng look so well matched today."
"Yeah, they're all black and grey, couple outfits!"
Zhou Ziheng was a little surprised. He looked at his outfit: a gray sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and a black baseball cap worn backwards. He had just casually brought them from home and put them on before leaving. He didn't expect that they actually matched Xia Xiqing's outfit one by one.
What a coincidence, is this what others call telepathy
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziheng felt that he looked very handsome today and looked comfortable no matter how he looked at it.
When they were about to board the plane, there were so many fans that they couldn't walk. Afraid that Xia Xiqing would fall, Zhou Ziheng stood behind him and held his shoulders with both hands. Only then did people realize how much the slim black T-shirt he was wearing showed off his waist. It was so beautiful and smooth, which made people feel itchy.
"Ziheng, can you open the store this time?" a fan asked in the crowd.
"Opening?" Zhou Ziheng looked puzzled. "Opening what?"
A group of fans laughed and said, "It's a romance movie!"
Zhou Ziheng was almost choked by these girls, and he lowered his head and coughed a few times. Xia Xiqing felt that the hands on his shoulders tightened a little. He smiled lightly and explained to the girls around him, "This is not a romance movie either."
There were bursts of regret among the fans.
"The relationship between those two people is quite complicated. From my understanding of the script, it goes beyond friendship." Xia Xiqing turned his head and looked back at Zhou Ziheng, "What do you think?"
That pair of beautiful eyes suddenly caught his sight, Zhou Ziheng was startled and hesitated for a second.
"Oh, yes, I think so too."
No, more than friendship.
It's love.
Zhou Ziheng repeatedly confirmed his judgment in his heart.
The flight time was not long, but this time the person sitting next to Zhou Ziheng was Director Kun Cheng, while Xia Xiqing was sitting in front of Director Kun. He was still the same as always, closing his eyes and sleeping as soon as he got on the plane. Director Kun had a lot to say to Zhou Ziheng, and took this opportunity to share with him some of his insights and understanding of the play during the time he was polishing the script.
But Zhou Ziheng's heart was on the person diagonally in front of him. His eyes glanced over from time to time, almost sticking to Xia Xiqing's slender white neck.
"The final version of the script is actually very visual. Editor Xu is very good. He saved me a lot of time in storyboarding." Director Kun opened the photo album on his computer. "We took the filming crew there in advance last week. Look, this is what we shot."
Zhou Ziheng hummed, and turned his gaze from Xia Xiqing's back in the gap between the seats to Director Kun's computer. The photo showed two rows of buildings that were too high to be captured by the camera. The windows were small, and there were illegal constructions everywhere. The distance between the buildings was only about one and a half meters, forming an alley with little light. The picture was divided into two from the Zhong family. Below was the dark and muddy road and the mottled walls painted emerald green, and above was the unreachable skylight.
Kun Cheng observed the expression on Zhou Ziheng's face, "Did you feel that way all of a sudden?"
Zhou Ziheng nodded belatedly, "Yes... that's right."
It was this road. Gao Kun, who was desperate on this road, followed the bewildered Jiang Tong and pushed him against the wall. The emerald green paint surface exuded a deep luster in the dim light.
"Is this the scenery of Wuhan?" Zhou Ziheng couldn't quite believe it. He had been to this city many times before for travel plans. It was a developed and prosperous city, completely different from the one in the photos.
“Yes.” Kuncheng nodded. “Editor Xu had already decided on the filming location when he was writing the script. I heard that Editor Xu is from Wuhan, so he might be familiar with it. He said this is an urban village in Wuhan. Scenery like this is almost extinct now. It’s really rare.”
Xu Bian is from Wuhan. So is Xia Xiqing.
Zhou Ziheng raised his eyes and saw that Xia Xiqing's sleeping head was about to tilt to the middle. He nodded slightly and then straightened it back, which was a bit cute.
Returning to his hometown to film, would he recall some bad memories? He was a little worried, but he thought of what Xu Qichen had said before.
Xia Xiqing cannot escape for the rest of his life, he has to face his past.
When the plane landed, Zhou Ziheng immediately felt the power of early summer in the former "furnace" city. It was only mid-May, but it was already like an open-air sauna. He felt that the sleeves of his sweatshirt were about to stick to his arm skin after walking a few steps. The humid and hot weather in the south really made him, a real northerner, not used to it.
Xia Xiqing was not affected at all, as he had already adapted to the climate of his hometown. However, he did not sleep well throughout the journey and his neck felt a little uncomfortable. He turned his head to try to relieve the symptom. He listened to Zhou Ziheng and Director Kun talking and laughing as they walked behind him, which made his bad mood, which was caused by not sleeping well, even worse.
Who would have thought that the next second, a warm, dry hand would press on the back of his neck, pinching it gently. Xia Xiqing turned his head and saw that Zhou Ziheng's face was still facing Director Kun, but his hand was gently pressing on his neck.
Zhou Ziheng said loudly, "Director Kun, shall we go to the hotel first or to the filming location first? Where are the others?"
Kuncheng smiled and waved his hand, "We haven't started filming yet." He looked at Xia Xiqing, "Xiqing, in order to let you get into the role earlier, we rented a house in Hua'anli. That's where Jiang Tong will live after the filming starts. Won't you live together for a period of time? Live there with Ziheng for a few days first, run in and get used to it, and find the feeling." There was some apology in his smile, "The conditions may be very difficult, and you need to adapt."
"It's okay." Xia Xiqing smiled and slapped Zhou Ziheng's hand that was still hanging around his neck, "I can endure hardships."
As soon as they left the airport, the car arranged by Director Kun picked them up. The driver was a local man who spoke Hampshire, a dialect that Xia Xiqing found very friendly. He was enthusiastic and talkative. Xiao Luo and Xiao Xiao took their luggage and went to the hotel first.
Kuncheng sat in the passenger seat. He was already familiar with this guy when he came to Wuhan last time. The two of them were talking and laughing, chatting about everything. The driver glanced at Zhou Ziheng from the rearview mirror and smiled, "I recognize this handsome guy, a big star, my daughter likes you very much. Oh, by the way, my name is Yang Fei, you can call me Lao Yang."
"Let me call you Brother Fei." Zhou Ziheng smiled friendly.
Fei Ge's eyes turned to Xia Xiqing who was standing beside Zhou Ziheng. "This handsome guy is quite fair-skinned. He doesn't look like a northerner."
Xia Xiqing raised the corners of his mouth and raised the brim of his hat slightly, "I'm from Wuhan."
This was the first time Zhou Ziheng heard Xia Xiqing speak in dialect.
Unlike many southerners, he has always spoken standard Mandarin, even with a northern accent, making it difficult to tell where he was born from his pronunciation.
His voice was very low when he spoke his hometown dialect, and when he said this sentence, the word "Han" was inadvertently dragged out very long, which was much more vivid than Mandarin, and sounded cool and cute to Zhou Ziheng.
"Oh! You are a local, no wonder." The eldest brother also spoke Wuhan dialect, "I mean, you look a lot like us Wuhan people."
Xia Xiqing glanced at Zhou Ziheng and found that he had been staring at him. He smiled and asked in a low voice, "Do you understand what Brother Fei said?"
Zhou Ziheng was stunned for a moment, "Ah? Um... they said you are good-looking."
What? Xia Xiqing laughed, "You're pretending to know." He deliberately shrunk back on the seat, the brim of his hat casting a shadow on his lower eyelid.
While chatting and laughing, Xia Xiqing turned his head to look out the window. There were towering office buildings, blue fences waiting for construction, and the overpass under the light rail. The familiar street scene was covered with a layer of gray filter by the sunshade film on the car window, like a black-and-white silent movie that he had watched many times.
Every time I watch it, it feels familiar, yet I can see many differences.
Zhou Ziheng also followed his example and shrunk down, but his long legs had nowhere to stretch, so he pretended to casually stretch to Xia Xiqing's feet and inserted his right foot between Xia Xiqing's legs. He didn't want to disturb Xia Xiqing by talking, so he sat quietly beside him.
After driving for a while, the scenery suddenly changed. There were still many buildings here, but they looked like they were from the 1980s. The old building design and the pink and orange walls that were about to peel revealed the sense of age all the time. The most conspicuous building had a sign that read "Friendship Department Store" in old fonts. The surrounding buildings of all sizes were like this, but there were also some new shops such as chain convenience stores.
"This place is close to the river, so we can't afford to demolish it." Xia Xiqing suddenly said, "So many old buildings were preserved. In fact, this area used to be very prosperous."
"I can see that." Xia Xiqing took the initiative to talk to him, and Zhou Ziheng was very happy.
Not long after, their car was on the Yangtze River Bridge. The surrounding view suddenly widened. The sparkling river surface was floating with golden fragments sprinkled by the setting sun. Several ferries were drifting slowly, occasionally emitting long whistles. Looking into the distance, the red clouds that burned the entire sky looked like a fire burning on the Yangtze River.
Although it is a waterscape, it is completely different from the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Here are big rivers and lakes, full of hot and unrestrained Jianghu spirit.
This point is very consistent with Xia Xiqing. It looks like gentle water, but only when it really flows in can it touch his lively and unruly soul.
"So beautiful." Zhou Ziheng sighed sincerely, and he thought of a famous poem, "The dusk is heavy and the sky is vast."
Hearing this poem, Xia Xiqing smiled softly, "It's really hard for you, a science student."
Kuncheng and Fei Ge were still chatting, and Xia Xiqing asked in the middle, "Director, where is the specific filming location?"
"Hua Anli."
"Hua'anli?" Xia Xiqing was a little surprised, but soon regained his composure, "It's hard for you to find that place."
Kuncheng laughed, "That's what Editor Xu said. He said he came back specially when he was writing the script."
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot." Xia Xiqing looked out the window, "In fact, almost no local people in Wuhan have ever been to Hua'anli. It's basically full of immigrants."
"Hmm..." Director Kun turned his head and looked at Xia Xiqing, "I heard that you and Editor Xu were classmates, Xiqing? So you have known each other for quite a few years."
"Well, we were in the same class in high school. He was very good at that time. He participated in essay competitions all the time and wrote very good articles." Xia Xiqing's face was gentle when talking about high school. "But he was very introverted at that time and didn't talk to anyone."
Just as he started to speak, his wrist was grabbed. Xia Xiqing turned around in surprise and found that Zhou Ziheng was blocking their hands with a backpack. He tried to struggle free, but Zhou Ziheng held him tightly and forced his finger into his, forcing Xia Xiqing to hold his fingers together.
Xia Xiqing mouthed something to him, asking him what he was doing. But Zhou Ziheng just smiled and said nothing, holding his hand tightly.
He liked the genuine tenderness that Xia Xiqing revealed, but he didn't like that tenderness not because of himself.
"Editor Xu doesn't like to talk now, but he has a very gentle personality, is very easy to talk to, and has a good temper."
"Ah? Well... he is like that." Afraid that the hand-holding incident would be discovered by Director Kun, Xia Xiqing was absent-minded and didn't even want to reply.
The perpetrator Zhou Ziheng was happy and relaxed, and even squeezed his hand, "What about you?"
"Me?" Xia Xiqing turned his head sideways in confusion, "What's wrong with me?"
“Are you the same in high school as you are now?”
For some reason, Xia Xiqing felt that Zhou Ziheng's words contained a hint of regret. It was as if he had missed something important, which was a pity.
Zhou Ziheng's eyes were so sincere that they made people timid. Xia Xiqing lowered his eyes and answered hastily and perfunctorily, "... almost."
"Xi Qing must have had a lot of admirers in high school." Director Kun teased him, "He's so handsome, he must have been the most handsome guy on campus."
"That's right, there aren't many classes as good-looking as Xi Qing." Brother Fei also joined in.
You are really bringing up something that is not related to the topic.
Xia Xiqing felt the hands holding him tighten, and wanted to turn around and glare at him, but Zhou Ziheng took the initiative, raised his eyebrows at him, leaned close to Xia Xiqing's face and smiled, "Yes, you are so beautiful."
The sarcasm in his tone was too obvious.
"Then what?" Xia Xiqing raised the corners of his eyebrows.
Zhou Ziheng looked at the face under the brim of the hat ambiguously. The two clasped hands were covered, and the palms touching each other were hot.
"I'm just curious, did many people line up to pursue you, or did you pursue many people?" Zhou Ziheng's voice was low, inadvertently revealing too many secret codes.
Xia Xiqing smiled silently, and gently tapped the back of Zhou Ziheng's hand with the fingers embedded in his fingertips. Then he rubbed the protruding blue veins on the back of his hand lightly and slowly with his fingertips, caressing the flesh, like a cigarette butt that was about to go out, burning every piece of skin it rubbed against.
Xia Xiqing answered his question, but his answer was irrelevant.
“I’m hard to chase.”
He tried to lower his voice, but couldn't suppress the teasing frivolity, and his words were like a half-burned feather, lightly falling on Zhou Ziheng's heart, burning his blood.
Zhou Ziheng's thumb casually scratched the side of Xia Xiqing's index finger again and again.
"I guess so."