No Marks If You Have to Take Off Your Shirt

Song Mingzhou narrowed his eyes. [You want to watch me get beaten up?]

527 shook its head. [No, I was just making a comparison. Um, you've made him angry several times, but whenever he gets mad, he forgets about it in the blink of an eye. Is he really that forgetful?]

[How would I know?]

Thinking of Duan Xun, Song Mingzhou couldn't help smiling. [Maybe he thinks I'm too cute and likes me too much, so he can't bear to stay mad at me.]

[...]

They'd seen narcissists before, but never one this narcissistic.

Song Mingzhou happily pulled out his phone and called Duan Xun. The call was answered after only one ring, and he blurted out, "Gege."

"Mr. Song, it's me."

It was Lin Cheng's voice.

Song Mingzhou: ...Damn it, what bad luck.

Click.

He hung up.

Lin Cheng looked at the disconnected phone with a complicated expression, then turned to glance at Duan Xun, who was filming. Silently, he lit a candle for him.

When Duan Xun finished filming and came over, he asked curiously, "Why were you staring at me just now? Is something wrong?"

Lin Cheng reported honestly, "Yes."

"Speak."

"Mr. Song just called. I answered it."

Duan Xun paused, the corners of his lips rising despite himself. "Oh? What did he say?" He didn't ask whether Song Mingzhou had said he missed him.

Lin Cheng shook his head. "Nothing. He only called out 'gege' and didn't say anything else."

Duan Xun: "??? Are you sure?"

Lin Cheng nodded. "Yes."

Duan Xun gritted his teeth as he confirmed, "You answered it?? He called you gege??"

Receiving Duan Xun's murderous glare, Lin Cheng silently shuddered. He blinked, reviewed the entire sequence again, and nodded with difficulty. "Y-yes. Mr. Song called out 'gege,' I said I was the one who answered, and then Mr. Song hung up."

"..."

Speechless, Duan Xun withdrew his killing intent.

Lin Cheng felt his entire body relax. His legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

Duan Xun unhappily took back his phone and shot him a look. "Next time, get the order straight before you speak. Where's your brain?" It usually worked so well, yet it malfunctioned at a critical moment.

Lin Cheng was drenched in sweat. "Yes, I'll definitely pay attention next time."

How strange.

Could Mr. Song be his nemesis??

Forget it. Since the boss liked him, even if he was Lin Cheng's nemesis, Lin Cheng had to put up with it. Who told him he was a miserable corporate slave? Sigh.

Duan Xun called back.

The call connected.

"Zhouzhou." Smiling warmly, Duan Xun called the little one's name. The person on the other end clearly froze for a moment, followed by a very obvious sharp intake of breath. Then Song Mingzhou calmly replied, "Mm, gege, are you done with work?"

Duan Xun hummed. "I'm done. What about you? What did you do today?"

Song Mingzhou excitedly told him about everything that had happened today. Once he finished, he cautiously tested the waters. "Gege, was it okay for me to say that?"

Having listened to that long speech, Duan Xun didn't quite understand which sentence he meant. Confused, he asked, "Which sentence?"

"The part about saying I had someone backing me and threatening my manager."

The little thing was clearly thrilled to death, yet he still pretended to look pitiful. Duan Xun could practically picture his arrogant, domineering expression and the proud way he wagged his tail.

Wagging his tail...

That position from last time, when he had knelt on the floor and wagged his tail, seemed pretty good. Maybe they could try it again tonight?

No, no. Tonight was too rushed. He still had filming tomorrow, so they couldn't be that reckless. No, absolutely not.

Ahem.

"Gege? Gege, are you listening?"

Song Mingzhou called out several times from the other end of the line before Duan Xun snapped back to his senses. "Hm? I'm listening. What did you just say again? Say it one more time."

Song Mingzhou: "..."

If he was listening, why did he need Song Mingzhou to repeat it??

Duan Dog was being way too perfunctory! Next time in bed, Song Mingzhou would be perfunctory with him too. He'd put on a performance so convincing it would make him question his life.

Song Mingzhou viciously added another mark to his mental ledger, repeated what he had just said, and then asked, "Is it okay for me to tell my manager so bluntly that I have a patron?"

Duan Xun thought for a while. Just as Song Mingzhou was about to lose patience, his soft, unhurried voice came through the phone.

"It's fine. You were telling the truth."

"!! Really?"

Duan Xun couldn't help laughing. "Of course. You've already said it. Wouldn't it be too late for me to say it wasn't okay now?" Of course, he was deliberately teasing him.

Song Mingzhou knew that too and immediately blew a kiss into the phone.

Hearing the sound, Duan Xun's legs went weak. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Film properly. I'll be back the day after tomorrow."

"Ah?"

"What, you don't welcome me back?"

"No, no. Then... the usual place?"

"Mm, the usual place."

After hanging up, Duan Xun let out a heavy breath. Lin Cheng immediately handed him a bottle of water. "President Duan, have some water."

It was cold.

Perfect for putting out a fire.

Duan Xun gave him a cool look. Lin Cheng stared back stiffly and calmly. What was wrong? He had done exactly the right thing this time.

Sure enough, Duan Xun only looked at him and said nothing. He unscrewed the cap and drank more than half the bottle in one go.

Tsk.

He really had been right.

Lin Cheng took the bottle, handed over a towel, then quickly pulled out his phone to book plane tickets back to the capital.

"President Duan, there's another shoot the morning after tomorrow, and it'll probably end rather late. Is the three o'clock flight okay?"

Duan Xun said, "Arrange it as you see fit. Try to make it earlier."

"Okay."

After Song Mingzhou finished talking to Duan Xun, he tossed and turned as well. He simply sat up and found one of Duan Xun's books to read.

There were quite a few notes marked inside.

He really was such a good boy.

It was only in the middle of the night that he finally lay down and ended the day.

Ever since the director learned that his relationship with Duan Xun was unusual, he had deliberately and subtly looked after Song Mingzhou on set. Whenever someone came looking for trouble, the director would come over and take Song Mingzhou away. Shen Qing had even fewer chances to speak with him alone.

The past two days had been especially pleasant.

By the time Song Mingzhou received Lin Cheng's message, he had already finished filming for the day. As usual, he stayed on set to study. But upon seeing the news that Duan Xun was back, he could no longer sit still.

"Chen Fei, pack up. Let's go."

"Sure."

The two had just stood up when the director came over with a grin. "Heading back?"

Song Mingzhou nodded. "Yes, Director. I'm going back."

The director's teasing gaze landed on him. "Going back to keep your boyfriend company?"

"..." Song Mingzhou neither nodded nor shook his head. He only said softly, "Brother Duan is back. I'm going to see him."

The director clicked his tongue and waved him off. "Go on, then."

"Thank you, Director."

"Oh, right. Don't leave any marks." The director specifically reminded him, "There's a swimming scene tomorrow, and you'll have to take off your shirt. Don't leave any marks."