Xu Chun walked past his door without looking aside. Three seconds later, he silently backed up.
Under the influence of alcohol, Xu Chun did something he would never normally have done.
He rang Xie Jianyuan's doorbell.
Because of the recent trending searches, Su Li's marketing had inadvertently affected Xie Jianyuan, causing him harm.
So Xu Chun felt a little uneasy about it, and with the alcohol going to his head, he couldn't resist taking action.
After the doorbell rang for a few seconds, the door opened. Xie Jianyuan opened it with one hand and, the moment he saw Xu Chun, raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. Then he smiled and said, "Brother Chun? What's wrong?"
Xu Chun looked at him in silence for a moment. Several seconds passed before he slowly held out his hand, indicating that Xie Jianyuan should shake it.
"I heard we haven't been getting along lately."
Xie Jianyuan looked at him. "..."
Chapter 13: Catching Them in the Act
Xie Jianyuan studied Xu Chun closely for several seconds. Looking at his face, he could hardly keep from laughing, but he still held out his hand to play along.
"I heard that too."
Xu Chun's gaze slowly moved up from their clasped hands to his face, his expression somewhat hesitant.
Xie Jianyuan smiled and, before Xu Chun could speak, reassured him, "I won't take those rumors to heart."
Xu Chun's expression seemed to relax in relief. He had become much more candid after drinking, and what he was thinking showed on his face.
Now reassured, he tried to pull his hand back, but when he moved it, he found it wouldn't budge. Xie Jianyuan was holding on to it.
When he looked up, he also noticed that Xie Jianyuan's expression was a little strange. His beautiful dark eyes were fixed on Xu Chun without blinking, and there was no telling what he was thinking.
"Let go," Xu Chun muttered, a little displeased. His sluggish mind didn't give it much thought.
Xie Jianyuan froze slightly, as though he had just come back to his senses. He smiled and let go of Xu Chun's hand.
"Brother Chun, do you want to come in and see Zora?"
Xu Chun looked tempted. After hesitating for a while, he finally nodded.
After entering, he found the television still playing in the living room, with several books scattered across the coffee table. Xu Chun's sharp eyes caught the words on their covers, and he saw that they were mostly books about acting.
Xie Jianyuan noticed where Xu Chun was looking and unobtrusively blocked his view.
"We're about to join the production, aren't we? I thought, since we're acting together, I can't hold you back, Brother Chun."
Xu Chun was very pleased with his attitude and nodded. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me when the time comes. One way or another, I'm still your senior."
Xie Jianyuan looked delighted to hear that. His lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, Brother Chun."
The more Xu Chun looked at Xie Jianyuan, the more obedient and sensible he seemed. Comparing himself with him, he was only better at acting. If he were Jiang Xiuyan, he would have fallen for Xie Jianyuan too.
But if anyone asked whether he still liked Jiang Xiuyan now, the answer was naturally no. If he had to put a name to it, it was disgust. There was nothing wrong with Jiang Xiuyan liking Xie Jianyuan, but dragging Xu Chun into it was disgusting.
In this life, he had no time for romance. The mess of things at work was enough to give him a headache.
As he was thinking this, Xu Chun happened to glimpse the photographs on a cabinet in the corner of the living room, and his eyes abruptly narrowed.
There were quite a few photographs of Xie Jianyuan on the cabinet, from his kindergarten days through his university graduation. There were also many photos of him receiving awards after entering the industry, along with trophies.
One photograph in particular caught his eye.
In it, he and Jiang Xiuyan were holding up an award together, beaming at the camera.
Seeing him suddenly space out, Xie Jianyuan followed his gaze. When he saw what Xu Chun was looking at, he paused, then smiled a little sheepishly and explained, "My mom put those there."
Xie Jianyuan's mother, An Pingru, cherished her son as her own life and was proud to have such an outstanding son, mentioning him to everyone she met. Photographs like these were not only in Xie Jianyuan's home; there was another collection at the Xie Household's main residence, and it was even more extravagant.
Xu Chun narrowed his eyes and stared at the photographs for a few seconds. Then he suddenly stood up and walked straight toward the cabinet, decisive and without hesitation.
"Brother Chun, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Seeing this, Xie Jianyuan followed behind him, a puzzled look on his face. Xu Chun paid no attention to his words. He walked up to the cabinet, put his hand on one particular photograph without missing, and abruptly turned it face down. Only after making sure it was out of sight did he slowly mutter to himself.
"That's better."
Xie Jianyuan: "..."
Xu Chun turned to leave, thoroughly satisfied. Frowning in confusion, Xie Jianyuan tried to turn the photograph back over to see what was wrong with it.
The moment he turned it over, Xu Chun, who had already walked away, whipped his head around as though he had eyes in the back of it. He said nothing, merely glaring at him in silence.
Xie Jianyuan raised a hand helplessly. "I won't touch it."
Xu Chun gave a nasal hum. Perhaps because he was drunk, it had a lazy sound to it.
He sat on the sofa with the beautiful white cat in his arms, lazily smoothing its fur with his hand.
Xie Jianyuan recalled the photograph he had just seen. Although he had only seen it for an instant, he had still caught a glimpse.
If he remembered correctly, it should have been a photograph from when he and Jiang Xiuyan won an award for a research project while studying abroad. What was wrong with that photograph?
Xie Jianyuan thought it over. After pondering for a moment, he carefully chose his words. "Is it because of Jiang Xiuyan?"
Once he ruled out the other factors, that was the only possibility.
Hearing the name, Xu Chun frowned tightly. He glanced at Xie Jianyuan before slowly saying, "I hate him."
Xie Jianyuan's heart sank. He had always felt that something was strange between Xu Chun and Jiang Xiuyan. He had found Xu Chun's earlier reaction odd, and the fact that Jiang Xiuyan had taken the initiative to tell him that day that he wanted to treat Xu Chun to a meal had concerned him even more.
With that in mind, he continued coaxing him. "Why do you hate him?" Xu Chun was usually tight-lipped and kept everything to himself. It was rare for him to be a little more candid after getting drunk.