Chapter 35: Eavesdropping

Chapter 35: Eavesdropping

The production crew called everyone together over the walkie-talkie.

Chen Jiadong stopped talking and turned to walk back toward the car that had just been refueled.

A white van sped past on the road, and Chen Jiadong's tall figure came to a halt. Lu Hechi watched him.

On a sun-drenched basketball court, he saw a young man shooting hoops with abandon, and not far away, a slim, tall youth with a perfect build.

Past and present blurred together.

That back really had lost a lot of weight.

And he'd changed a lot, too.

"..."

"What did you talk about with him?"

Song Jiyao had just finished a phone call nearby. When he turned and saw them chatting by the gas station entrance, he thought better of interrupting.

He fished a cigarette from his pocket, put it between his lips, and lit it. His gaze lingered on them, lost in thought.

They stood about a meter apart.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Chen Jiadong spotted him and quickened his step. With people around, he kept things low-key—just grabbed the hem of Song Jiyao's shirt and tugged.

He winked at him and said in a lowered voice, "Talking about how my sugar daddy pampers me."

"..."

Lu Hechi watched the two of them get back in the car. He felt a pang of regret—what nonsense had he blurted out a moment ago?

A perfectly good opportunity for a deep conversation, and he'd turned it into a roast. Chen Jiadong probably wanted nothing to do with him now.

Lu Hechi mulled it over as he walked toward his black van.

After climbing in, Ji Ziyang noticed the half-empty bottle of water in his hand.

"Hechi, where's my bottle of water?"

"..." Lu Hechi had completely forgotten.

He coughed a couple of times. "I'll get you one when we get to the hotel."

By late afternoon, when the sun was setting, the car finally arrived at their destination.

The production crew set everyone up at a lakeside hotel.

The rooms were assigned in pairs, and to keep things simple, everyone was paired with their own friends.

Lu Hechi's head was about to explode. After the room assignments, he snuck off to find the director, saying he was a married man and asking if he could have a single room.

The director gave him a look and said they were two grown men, it's not like they'd be sharing a bed.

Lu Hechi dropped his head in defeat and reluctantly accepted the arrangement.

Chen Jiadong and Song Jiyao had a suite at the end of the hall. Lu Hechi hesitated, then on his way back, he stopped at Chen Jiadong's door, debating whether to knock.

As he raised his hand to knock, he suddenly heard faint sounds seeping through the crack.

Lu Hechi's face turned bright red.

In broad daylight, of all things, they were actually...

"..."

Inside the door.

Unlike what Lu Hechi imagined, Chen Jiadong was indeed groaning in pain—but not for the reason he thought.

After a long day of travel, compounded by his chronic motion sickness, he'd lay down on the bed as soon as the rooms were assigned, dizzy and achy all over.

When Song Jiyao came out of the shower, he saw him sprawled out, looking miserable.

He raised an eyebrow, walked over, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong, baby? Did I go too hard last night? Not feeling well?"

Chen Jiadong shot him a look, whining in a half-coquettish way, "It's all your fault. My waist hurts, and my legs hurt too."

Song Jiyao could never resist him like this. He chuckled softly and took mercy on him.

He had Chen Jiadong lie down and massaged his waist and legs. His hands were strong, and Chen Jiadong couldn't help moaning in pleasure.

Song Jiyao was getting turned on just listening. He swatted Chen Jiadong's ass.

"Quit teasing."

Which only made Chen Jiadong moan louder.

"..."

That was exactly when Lu Hechi arrived at the door, and he heard every word loud and clear.

He wanted to turn and leave immediately, but he was afraid the sound of his footsteps would alert the people inside.

So he slowed his pace, planning to slip away quietly and pretend he hadn't heard anything.

"Click—"

The door suddenly clicked open.

Lu Hechi's heart nearly stopped. He turned around and saw Song Jiyao in a bathrobe, his face flushed, holding the door open.

...There was no way to explain this.

Lu Hechi was at a loss for words. How had it come to this?

"Eavesdropping, huh?" Song Jiyao smiled. "So, how was it? Enjoy the show?"

Chen Jiadong also stepped out at that moment. When he saw Lu Hechi at the door, he was clearly startled.

Then, remembering what had just happened, his face immediately changed: "Don't get the wrong idea—he was just giving me a massage."

Lu Hechi gave an awkward smile. "Massage! Yeah, massage is great!"

With that, he turned and hightailed it out of there.

Chen Jiadong watched his retreating figure disappear, then turned to the man in front of him, puffing out his cheeks in frustration, "It's all your fault, he must have misunderstood!"

Song Jiyao closed the door, pressed Chen Jiadong against it, squeezed his cheeks between his thumb and forefinger, and curved his lips into a smile, "Misunderstood?"

Before Chen Jiadong could react, his lips were suddenly captured in a kiss.

"Mm."

"..."

Lu Hechi stowed his luggage, sat on the edge of the bed, still rattled.

He never thought he'd walk in on something so awkward.

Then he remembered what Chen Jiadong had said back when they'd met at the club.

"I'm just some kept little star."

He hadn't given it much thought back then, because the two of them looked like a normal couple dating.

Now that he thought about it, was his relationship with Song Jiyao some kind of binding contract?

And what kind of guy was Song Jiyao?

Lu Hechi raked a hand through his hair, wondering if Chen Jiadong had gotten himself into some kind of trouble, why else would he have thrown himself headfirst into this cesspool.

He remembered that back in high school, Chen Jiadong had wanted to major in animation design.

Outside the window, the lake was painted orange-red by the setting sun, with the occasional bird skimming across.

Lu Hechi set his thoughts aside, pulled out his phone, snapped a photo of the view outside the window and sent it to Shen Lanxue.

"Bro, I made it!"

Shen Lanxue replied right away: "Mm"

Then, a few seconds later, another text came through.

"Did the trip wear you out?"

Lu Hechi stared at those two lines for a couple of seconds, replied, "Not tired, but I kind of miss you."

He put his phone down, lay sprawled out on the bed, his mind still replaying the sounds he'd heard outside the door earlier.

The more he thought about it, the hotter his face got.

Because Lu Hechi suddenly realized something.

Now that he and Shen Lanxue were married, did they have to do that kind of deep exchange too?

The thought got Lu Hechi all worked up.

In the end, he just buried his face in a pillow.

"..."

Everyone had dinner together, at a local restaurant, with two long tables pushed together, guests and staff sat mixed together.

Lu Hechi was seated two spots away from Chen Jiadong, and the whole time, they didn't make eye contact or say a word.

When they were just about done eating, he finally couldn't help glancing over.

Chen Jiadong was whispering to Song Jiyao, his smile looking easy and carefree.

But Lu Hechi's eyes were sharp, and he caught a glimpse of half a hickey peeking out from under Chen Jiadong's collar.

So it really was just a massage.

Lu Hechi glanced at Song Jiyao again; the exposed skin was fair and unmarked, nothing noticeable.

His gaze kept flicking back and forth between the two, trying to figure out if there was any real affection between them.

If there wasn't, he wanted to help Chen Jiadong get rid of Song Jiyao, that troublemaker.

Lu Hechi didn't bother to tone down his staring, and just as he was staring hard, Chen Jiadong suddenly turned his head, and their eyes locked.