The days of accompanying Jiang Zhixia on the set were generally dull and boring. Because the two were still in an underground relationship, Xia Zhi could not openly appear on the set. Also, because other crew members were staying in the hotel, he rarely left his room and was limited to the one-bedroom suite. Xia Zhi mocked himself more than once, saying that he seemed to be a canary locked in a cage by Jiang Zhixia.
But even so, he still stayed with Jiang Zhixia in this small suite for a full half month, until U University was about to start school and he had to go back to prepare for work.
"When are we leaving?" As the day of separation approached, Jiang Zhixia's mood became visibly increasingly depressed.
"I bought a flight for the day after tomorrow at 2pm and will be home in the evening." Xia Zhi's mood was not affected. He had already started packing his luggage and his tone sounded somewhat excited.
Why do you sound like you can't wait to leave
Jiang Zhixia became even more depressed. Xia Zhi was still packing clothes to take away in the closet when she walked over and hugged him from behind.
"Hey!" Jiang Zhixia's hug was a little forceful. Xia Zhi was caught off guard and was almost thrown into the closet. She instinctively reached out and grabbed the arm in front of her chest, and the clothes that she was holding in her hands fell to the ground.
After standing firm, Xia Zhi turned around and looked helplessly at the big emo dog buried in his shoulder. His heart softened immediately, and the words of accusation turned into gentle comfort.
"Okay, we're just separated for a while. It's not like we'll never see each other again." Xia Zhi gently touched the back of his head with her backhand, "I'll come to see you when I have time. Is that okay?"
Jiang Zhixia buried her head in the crook of his neck and rubbed it, then suddenly said, "Let's go on a date."
"What?" The topic changed so suddenly that Xia Zhi couldn't react for a moment. "Date? Now?"
"Tomorrow." Jiang Zhixia said, "I only have half a day of filming tomorrow morning, so we'll go on a date in the afternoon."
Xia Zhi turned around in his arms, looked at him and raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Are you sure?"
"Sure." Jiang Zhixia lowered her head and gave him a kiss. "Looking back carefully, it seems we have never had a proper date."
"What if we get photographed?" Xia Zhi asked with a smile.
"If they take the photo, then take the photo. Anyway, everyone already knows that I'm in a relationship." Jiang Zhixia said indifferently, "If you don't want to be recognized, just disguise yourself."
Xia Zhi thought about it and nodded: "Then, let's go."
The next day, Jiang Zhixia went out to film early in the morning and returned to the hotel around 1:00 p.m.
Xia Zhi had no work to do today, so he watched a movie in the living room all morning. Because Jiang Zhixia specifically said before she left that she would take him out for lunch when she came back, he only ate two slices of bread in the morning and hasn't had lunch yet.
Jiang Zhixia opened the door and walked in, and saw Xia Zhi lying on the sofa with a pillow on her stomach. She didn't say anything or move when she saw him come in, only her eyes followed his figure.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhixia walked over quickly, a little worried, "Are you sick?"
Xia Zhi lazily lifted his eyelids and weakly uttered two words: "I'm so hungry."
"Aren't there snacks? Why don't you eat something first?" Jiang Zhixia felt both distressed and amused, and helped the man up from the sofa.
"I'm so hungry that I don't want to move." Xia Zhi hummed softly.
"Poor little thing." Jiang Zhixia held his face and kissed him, then reached into her pocket and took out a chocolate bar, tore open the wrapper and gently stuffed it into his mouth, "Eat a little first, I'll change my clothes and take you to dinner."
"Oh." Xia Zhi sat cross-legged on the sofa. He was so tired that he had no strength left. Even eating a chocolate bar seemed a bit difficult.
Jiang Zhixia changed her clothes very quickly, and when she came out of the bedroom, Xia Zhi had just finished eating a chocolate bar.
"Let's go." Jiang Zhixia came over and took his hand. "Do you want another chocolate bar?"
"No." Xia Zhi shook his head and ate some sweets. The feeling of hunger and shortness of breath was finally relieved a little, and he also had some strength.
The two walked to the door, and Jiang Zhixia squatted down to help Xia Zhi change his shoes.
"What are we going to eat?" Xia Zhi put her hands on his shoulders, lifted one foot, and enjoyed her lover's service with peace of mind.
"How about going for some Southeast Asian food?" Jiang Zhixia said. "I heard from a crew member who likes to visit restaurants that there's a Southeast Asian restaurant in the city that tastes pretty authentic, so I asked Jiang Chi to reserve a seat in advance. Or do you want to eat something else?"
"Southeast Asian food is pretty good too," Xia Zhi said. "It's sour and spicy and quite appetizing."
"good."
Jiang Zhixia put on Xia Zhi's shoes and then put on his own. Xia Zhi turned around and took down the two caps hanging on the wall, put on a white one, and put the black one on Jiang Zhixia's head. After struggling for a while, he opened the drawer above the shoe cabinet, took out two black masks from it and put them in his pocket for emergency use.
Xia Zhi looked at himself in the mirror, and was a little dazed for a moment when he saw himself fully armed in the mirror.
Even when they were still in the entertainment industry, the five of them didn't need to disguise themselves when they went out together because no one knew them. But after retiring for so many years, they have to worry about being recognized when they go out to eat.
What a twist of fate.
Jiang Zhixia changed his shoes and stood up. He saw Xia Zhi staring at the mirror in a daze. He reached out and hugged him from behind, whispering in his ear: "Are you impressed by your own handsomeness?"
"What?" Xia Zhi was amused. "You think I am you? How can I be so narcissistic?"
Jiang Zhixia smiled silently, and used his chin to gently lift the loose collar to the side. Then he lowered his head and placed a kiss on her shoulder. Before leaving, he deliberately sucked hard, successfully leaving a bright red mark on that snow-white skin.
"..." Xia Zhi pulled up his collar and wordlessly pushed the person behind him away, "Why are you so boring?"
Jiang Zhixia smiled calmly: "Others can't see this place."
Xia Zhi glanced at him with a cold look in his eyes: "If you stay in a conspicuous place, do you think I will let you go easily?"
Jiang Zhixia smiled without saying anything, stretched out her hand to pull open her collar a little, and said generously: "Why don't you kiss me too? It's a give-and-take."
"That's what you said." Xia Zhi smiled wickedly, hugged his neck and sucked hard.
Jiang Zhixia: “…”
Xia Zhi curved his eyes in satisfaction and smiled like a cat that had successfully stolen some fish.
"What does it have to do with me?" Xia Zhi raised his chin and said confidently, "You let me kiss you."
Jiang Zhixia raised the corners of her mouth lightly, her smile was helpless and doting. Before leaving, she went back to the house and changed into a dress with a slightly higher collar, barely covering the bright red kiss mark.
The two drove out of the hotel and prepared to go to the restaurant for dinner. The car was prepared by the hotel, an ordinary commuter car, blending into the traffic without being noticeable.
The restaurant was a little far from the hotel, and it took 40 minutes to drive there. When Xia Zhi arrived at the restaurant, he was already starving. However, eating late also had its advantages, because it was past lunchtime, so there were not many guests in the restaurant, and there were only four tables including them.
The restaurant does not have private rooms, but there are partitions between the tables, so the privacy is quite good.
Xia Zhi took off his hat and mask after he sat down. After being an ordinary person for so many years, he always felt uncomfortable wearing these disguises for a long time.
The waiter was standing at the table taking their order. When he saw Xia Zhi taking off his hat, he subconsciously glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and was stunned.
Seeing her expression, Xia Zhi knew that she had been recognized. Then she thought that it was not shameful to come to eat, so she smiled at her. The waiter was pouring water for the two of them. He did not expect Xia Zhi to smile at him suddenly. He was so shocked that his hands shook and he almost spilled the water on the table.
"Be careful." Xia Zhi reminded quietly, and then took out a tissue and handed it over, "Wipe your hands."
"Thank you, thank you." The waiter took the tissue tremblingly, his face flushed red, not sure whether it was because of excitement or shyness.
Xia Zhi pretended not to see it, picked up the tablet and quickly browsed through the menu, quickly ordered the dishes, and handed the tablet back to the waiter.
"It's troublesome."
"No, it's not a trouble." The waiter's face was flushed and his steps were light when he left. It was obvious that he was still immersed in Xia Zhi's gentle smile and couldn't come back to his senses.
Xia Zhi picked up the water cup and drank calmly. Sitting opposite him, Jiang Zhixia crossed his arms and looked at him without saying a word. Just now, since there were outsiders present, he did not take off his hat and mask immediately, and did not speak the whole time. The fact of ordering was left entirely to Xia Zhi.
Xia Zhi took a sip of water, looked up and saw Jiang Zhixia was still wearing a mask, so he gently reminded her: "You can take it off now."
Jiang Zhixia took off his hat and mask as he was told, revealing a sullen face.
Xia Zhi couldn't help but laugh: "What's that expression on your face?"
"Your tone just now was quite gentle." Jiang Zhixia tried her best to make her tone sound calm, but even so she couldn't stop the jealousy from escaping her words.
"What else?" Xia Zhi held up his chin with one hand and said with a smile, "We are here to eat, not to rob. Do you really have to speak in a threatening tone?"
“…” Jiang Zhixia was very upset. She knew that he said that on purpose just to tease her, but she couldn’t find any words to refute him.
Xia Zhi used to be a good talker, and the other four people in Victoria couldn't beat him in an argument. After working as a teacher for these years, his ability to shut people up has improved. Jiang Zhixia thought with mixed feelings that if the two of them quarreled in the future, she would be crushed unilaterally.
"That girl doesn't look very old. She's probably a nearby college student working part-time." Xia Zhi still had to pamper her boyfriend. She didn't want to tease him too much, and smiled and explained, "After becoming a teacher, I would unconsciously take better care of girls of this age when I see them."
Jiang Zhixia's expression eased a little, but only a little: "Do you talk to your students like this?"
"It depends on the situation. Normally they are very well behaved in class, so I don't want to be too harsh on them. But when it comes to marking their homework..." Xia Zhi didn't say anything else here, but just gave Jiang Zhixia a look that said "you know".
So Jiang Zhixia understood, and recalled that a few days ago, he occasionally came home early from work and saw Xia Zhi working on the computer. He suddenly became curious about what it was like for this man to teach students.
"Are you curious?" Xia Zhi seemed very happy after knowing his thoughts. She tapped the back of his hand twice with her right index finger, her eyebrows curved, "I'll take you to the classroom to listen to my lecture some other day."
"Do we have to go to the classroom?" Jiang Zhixia grabbed his wrist with her backhand.
"If we don't go to the classroom for class, where else can we go?" Xia Zhi didn't turn around for a moment.
Jiang Zhixia rubbed her fingers slowly on her wrist and lowered her voice: "For example, in bed? It's a class anyway, so it doesn't matter where you go, right?"
"…" Xia Zhi finally understood his thoughts at this moment, slapped the hand on the back of his hand, and glared at him fiercely, "You are really hopeless!"
Jiang Zhixia didn't argue, and stubbornly chased after the retracted hand: "Will you go back tonight?"
"Fuck you big head!"
Xia Zhi tightly clenched the water cup in his hand, and really wanted to pour the water on his head to wash his dirty brain full of yellow waste. However, a waiter happened to come over to serve the food, so he had to hold back.
Jiang Zhixia didn't say anything else. He lowered his head slightly and pushed down the brim of his baseball cap, turning back into the serious and cold man with an expressionless face.
Xia Zhi was so impressed by his rapid expression change that as soon as the waiter left, he commented with disdain: "Hypocrisy!"
"Of course I can't treat a stranger the same way I treat my boyfriend." Jiang Zhixia took off her hat, picked up the chopsticks and picked up a shrimp ball for him, her tone quite innocent, "How can this be called hypocrisy? At most, it's just treating you differently. Aren't you the same?"
"How could I do that?" Xia Zhi denied it flatly.
"You see, you are always gentle and polite to others, and you speak softly, but you never act like that with me."
"What? Am I rude to you?" Xia Zhi swallowed the shrimp ball, raised his eyebrows and looked at the person opposite him, with an ambiguous smile on his face.
"Not bad," Jiang Zhixia continued to help him peel shrimps with a calm expression, "How could you be rude to me? I'm just not very gentle. You may need to buy me a walking stick before we leave the restaurant." After all, a foot under the table had kicked his calf several times, and he would most likely limp when he walked.
Xia Zhi smiled and retracted his foot, then put the shrimp into his mouth with the help of Jiang Zhixia's hand, and spoke vaguely: "You really should let your fans see this look of yours now." Especially those blind fans who said he was "cold", "serious" and "abstinent" should see his true face.
"Are you willing to show it to them?" Jiang Zhixia asked.
Xia Zhi thought about it seriously. Well, it is true that she is reluctant to do so.
It was like he usually pretended to be a gentle teacher in front of his students, but he could release some unreasonable little willfulness without any scruples in front of this person. Jiang Zhixia was a serious and cool male god in front of his fans and the media, but no one would have thought that he was a clingy big dog who talked a lot of dirty talk and was not serious at all in front of his lover.
This is a private side that belongs only to each other. It is enough for them to know it themselves and there is no need to let outsiders know it.
(End of this chapter)