Yun Chuan won that round, his low chuckle making even the tips of Yu Xiuyuan's ears grow warm.
Yu Xiuyuan once again resorted to his clumsy topic-changing technique:
"It's so noisy over there. Have you still not wrapped up today?"
Yun Chuan quit while he was ahead. "Yeah, there's still quite a bit to shoot. We're trying to get ahead, or I'm afraid I won't make it back tomorrow."
Yu Xiuyuan lay down, resting his head on the arm of the sofa, his voice languid:
"What's the rush? Take your time. If you don't finish, you can come back a couple of days later."
Yun Chuan's end went quiet for a moment, then his voice came through, neither loud nor soft:
"No. I'm in a hurry."
Yu Xiuyuan suppressed a laugh, his voice almost lilting. "You're in a hurry? Well, nothing for it, then. You'll just have to work hard to get ahead."
That airy tone made Yun Chuan's heart itch. "Stop teasing me."
Yu Xiuyuan denied it. "Don't accuse me unfairly. I said I'm not in a hurry. How am I teasing you?"
Yun Chuan gave a low laugh through gritted teeth, just as a crew member called him back to work.
He called an answer to the crew member in the distance, then brought his mouth back to the phone, his voice low:
"I'm going back to work. Just you wait until I get home."
Yu Xiuyuan was fearless. "Sure. I'll be waiting."
Yun Chuan hurriedly hung up.
Clearly, he was in a real rush to finish work.
Yu Xiuyuan watched a little more television, then went to bed.
He slept until he woke naturally. Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains; it clearly wasn't early anymore.
He rolled over, felt around for his phone, and squinted